Lavini & Ryan | Destination Wedding | Montego Bay, Jamaica
Our first wedding of our 2016 season starts in just a few weeks but that doesn’t mean we’re quite done with 2015! Our final and most tropical wedding of last year picked us up in a steel bird and brought us out to Montego Bay, Jamaica! From the beautiful warm weather to Red Strip beer, swimming from morning until night – this is one wedding I’ll never forget. Let me walk you through the short story of how we met Ryan and Lavini. A few years ago I was contacted by Soruban and Tarini (Lavi’s sister) to film their wedding. While their wedding ceremony + reception took place in Brampton they actually lived in Edmonton. I had the fortunate opportunity to fly out to Edmonton and film their portrait film. Not only did we have a blast shooting it but it turned out to be a big hit when we played it at their wedding reception.
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Fast forward to us wrapping up their wedding film and delivering everything to Tarini and Soruban – we kept in touch and maintained a great relationship. The best learning experience I’ve taken away from running my business is to keep in touch with “clients” even after you’ve delivered a final product. I’ve always seen and placed a stigma around these interactions but I’ve changed my perception for the better and besides – what’s not to love about Tarini and Soruban?! Needless to say the both of them graciously recommended me to Ryan and Lavini and the rest is history!
The weeks and days leading up to me flying out with some of Lavi’s family was filled with errands, surprise birthdays, packing and oh yes – feeling incredibly nervous! After all, this was our first “destination wedding” right? In theory we’ve been commissioned to film weddings and portrait films in Florida, New Jersey, New York, Chicago and Edmonton but this was different. Jamaica wasn’t exactly home court and there was a lot of learning to do but I was ready for the challenge. As soon as we landed in the Montego Bay airport and hopped on our bus to the resort – the first thing I did was open my backpack and start filming. So I grabbed my camera, lens, memory card and battery and started to shoot. I was exhausted and so was the rest of the family but we were happy to have arrived safely only to be greeted by more family at the hotel. A few short hours later and I was finally reunited with Tani, Sor, Ryan, Lavi and all of their guests! We caught up and enjoyed a drink!
The first few days admittedly were very relaxing and we all went from jumping into the pool, eating by the beach, swimming in the ocean and having breakfast + lunch + dinner together to going on a full day excursion visiting Dunns Falls and the Bob Marley tourist site where his family was buried. Before I knew it Pranavan had flown in from Toronto to help out in shooting their wedding and the real fun started. Having a second shooter always helps in any situation of filming a wedding and this case his help was priceless. Not only did he help me out when I needed it but he took direction well and was up to the challenge to figure out the best way to get things done. We started off by filming a variety of exterior and interior shots of the the entire resort and later that night we discussed our game plan for shooting the ceremony and reception the next day. The day of the wedding we were faced with sweltering heat and a much cooler reception that featured an EPIC fire breather! This wedding was one of many that I’ll never forget and the week I spent out there was an experience I’ll always cherish. Thank you to Ryan and Lavini for bringing Pranavan & myself out to create something that will last forever. Enjoy their wedding trailer and all of the sun!
