Joe Simon Wedding Films- International Wedding Cinematography

Lacey + Chris's Wedding Trailer - Fort Worth, TX

2012-01-31T11:54:00.000-06:00

Lacey + Chris were married at Van Cliburn Studio at Bass Hall in Fort Worth Texas followed by the reception at the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum. It was a perfect day in Fort Worth and we had amazing time sharing in their love. Congratulations Lacey + Chris!

Here is a quick teaser from the day, enjoy!

Lacey + Chris's Ingredients -
Wedding Planner - Tami Winn
Photographer - Clayton Austin
Band - Cuvee

Jose & Joel's Wedding Highlights - Los Olivos, CA

2012-01-04T16:27:00.001-06:00

Joel and Jose are amazing people, they are so much in love. I was so flattered that they asked us to film their wedding, being artists themselves it was the highest compliment!

They were married at Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse in Los Olivos, CA. The place was so beautiful and had a lot of history for Joel and Jose, it was where they had their first date. It was the perfect place for their wedding!
Lisa Vorce of Oh, How Charming put together the design of the event, it was amazing. There were so many details, from the Leather napkin wraps, finished with wax seals, to the vintage J button boutonnieres, everything was handmade and perfect!
It was awesome to work alongside Elizabeth Messina from Kiss the Groom documenting Joel and Jose that day, we made a great team and had a lot of laughs!
I love documenting true love, and that is what this wedding was, true head-over-heals love!

Joel + Jose's Ingredients -
Event Design & Production: Oh, How Charming!
Event Design & Flowers: Mindy Rice Floral and Event Design

Catering: New West Special Occasion Catering

Stationery: Papel Paper & Press

Calligraphy: Anne Jones

Cake: Sweet and Saucy Shop

Lighting: Bella Vista Designs

Wedding Photography: Elizabeth Messina

Linda + Vu's Wedding Highlights - Hearst Castle

2011-12-06T09:26:00.001-06:00

Wow Wow Wow! This wedding was so fabulous! Linda and Vu put so much time and thought into creating their perfect dream wedding. Michelle Groom from Mele Amore did an amazing job of pulling everything together to make this event to die for. There are very few weddings that happen at Hearst Castle and when Linda and Vu decided this is where they wanted to have their wedding they would not take no for an answer. They jumped through lots of hoops and finally Hearst said yes and the wedding was on!

There are so many amazing aspects about this wedding, from the beautiful Vera Wang dress and Louboutin shoes to the very touching personal vows they wrote for each other. Nothing was overlooked and this meant for an unforgettable event for the guests as well as the best day in Linda and Vu's life!

Grab some tissues, this one is going to take you on an emotional roller coaster!

Ingredients -
Wedding Planner - Mele Amore
Photographer - Table4Weddings

Linda & Vu's Wedding Trailer - Hearst Castle, California

2011-11-21T17:17:00.001-06:00

Linda + Vu's amazing wedding took place at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA. This unbelievable backdrop set the stage for one beautiful wedding. Here is a quick teaser from their wedding day -

Ingredients -

Wedding Planner - Meleamore events
Photographer - Table4Weddings

Ashley + Dave's Wedding Highlights - Positano, Italy

2011-10-31T11:26:00.000-05:00

What an amazing time we had filming Ashley + Dave's wedding in Positano, Italy. They wanted to have an small intimate wedding and what better place then a secluded town on the Almafi coast in Italy. Positano is simply breathtaking, and seeing Ashley and Dave driving down the coast on the Vespa was awesome!

The day was a fairytale for Ashley and Dave, from the getting ready at Le Sirenuse to the boat ride along the coast everything was perfect. I could not have asked for a better location or couple to work with, thanks for having us be apart of your amazing day!

Director//Cinematographer//Editor//Colorist - Joe Simon
Editor - Hussain Pirani

1st song licensed through New Jerusalem records - newjerusalemmusic.com
2nd song licensed at The Music Bed // bit.ly/n94IGC

Audree + Matt's Wedding Highlights - Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu, CA

2011-09-28T16:57:00.002-05:00

Audree + Matt's amazing wedding took place at Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu, CA. This dream wedding among the vineyards was beautifully created by So Happi Together. Audree + Matt put so much thought and planning into their wedding, from all the perfectly crafted paper details to the horse feeding area for the guests there was so much to take in!

Enjoy their amazing wedding day!

Thanks to our amazing team on this shoot -
Hussain Pirani - Cinematographer/Editor
Ari Perilstein - Cinematographer
Joe Simon - Director/Cinematographer/Editor

Adele + Carl's Wedding Trailer - Florence, Italy

2011-08-27T12:49:00.004-05:00

Adele and Carl's wedding took place in beautiful Florence Italy! It was so amazing! They are from the UK but on a visit to Florence they fell in love and decided to have their wedding there. The Ceremony was held at Orsanmichele in downtown Florence, followed by the reception at Villa Olmi.

Here is their wedding trailer!

New Event Cinema Workshops!

2011-07-01T14:36:00.003-05:00

As some of you may know, a few times a year I will teach workshops on how to create the amazing wedding films. Kevin Shahinian and myself have been teaming up for the past year to put on one of the best training courses, it's called Event Cinema Workshop.

We have just announced a new round of workshops for October and we have also added Patrick Moreau from Still Motion to the lineup! This is going to be our best workshop yet!

"An unprecedented experience offered by Kevin Shahinian, Joe Simon & Patrick Moreau. An exclusive, 2-day, hands-on filmmaking intensive both in Chicago, IL and Boston, MA. Prepare to discover the intracacies of HD-DSLR cinema production and survive a gauntlet of real-world shooting conditions with three of the best in the industry."

To learn more about it go to www.eventcinemaworkshops.com I hope to see you there!

Karen + Graham's Wedding Trailer - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

2011-02-27T07:30:00.002-06:00

Karen and Graham's wedding took place at Cabo Azul in Los Cabos, Mexico. It was a beautiful setting to have an intimate destination wedding.

Planning a wedding in another country is not easy. When it all comes together and you are on the beach having the time of your life's with your closest family and friends, you know it was all worth it!

Here is a sneak peak for what is to come in Karen and Graham's wedding film -

Karen and Graham's ingredients -

Ceremony & Reception - Cabo Azul
Photography - Chris + Lynn

Gabi + Rod's Wedding Trailer - Laguna Gloria, Austin

2011-02-17T15:52:00.003-06:00

Gabi and Rod had a beautiful wedding here in Austin, Texas. The ceremony took place at Smith Family chapel followed by the reception at Laguna Gloria. I love shooting at both of these places!

The wedding day was perfect, from the weather to the food the guests enjoyed a fun filled event that brought people together from all over the world.

There will be more to come in their Highlights film, but for now here is the wedding Trailer!

Gabi + Rod's Ingredients -

Ceremony - Smith Family Chapel
Reception - Laguna Gloria
Photographer - Jenn Lindberg
Wedding Planner - Clink Events
Catering - Word Of Mouth
Flowers - Merveille
DJ - Look No Further Entertainment
Cakes - Simon Lee Bakery
Ceremony Music - Lake Austin Strings

Yamilet + Jordan's Wedding Highlights - San Juan, Puerto Rico

2010-12-31T10:08:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!

For the last day of the year I want to share with you Yamilet + Jordan's Highlights film. I have held this back because they wanted to share it with their family during Christmas before it went online. They said it was wonderful to watch it with all their love ones and relive the day together!

This wedding was simply amazing and fun. Yamilet is from Puerto Rico and Jordan is from New Orleans. They combined both of their worlds for this one of a kind celebration.

Here is what they had to say about their film -

"Well - I'm officially at a loss for words. The job you and your crew did for us was absolutely incredible. You captured any and everything we could have imagined on that day. We can truly say you made us feel like movie stars - just without all the Hollywood drama :) As I said before, I'm genuinely sad that the wedding prep is over and that we don't get to work with you guys anymore......but that's why we have anniversaries, haha. I just want to again thank you for the personal imprint you have made in our life. We will never forget you guys."

So sit back and enjoy their Highlights Film -

Music provided and licensed by www.songfreedom.com

Kelly + Brian's Wedding Trailer

2010-12-01T11:16:00.004-06:00

Kelly & Brian contacted me last year about filming their wedding in Dayton, Ohio. Brian is a wedding filmmaker, so I was very flattered that they wanted us to film their day.

Kelly & Brian's wedding took place at Carillon Historical Park. It's comprised of old buildings and antique trains as well as other pieces of Dayton history. It created a great backdrop to a amazingly fun wedding. There will be more to come in the Highlights Film, but first I wanted to introduce you to Kelly & Brian and their beautiful love.

Ali + Spencer's Wedding Trailer - Florence, Italy

2010-11-01T18:47:00.002-05:00

Ali & Spencer's wedding in Italy was a dream come true. Ali had visited Chiesa Di San Biagio in Montepulciano, Italy, when she was in college and dreamt of returning to be married there one day. It was hands down the most beautiful church I've ever filmed.

You couldn't ask for a more perfect day, a beautiful wedding in a 15th century church followed by an amazing reception at Castello di Vincigliata!

Ali says it best here -

"The whole week was amazing. Having the group grow each day that went by coming up to the date of the wedding was so incredible. Our dinners got bigger each night with all the guests arriving into town to a final total of 80 people making it all the way over to Italy for our celebration. That was truly amazing in and of itself. If I had to pick one part of the wedding day that was my favorite, it has to be dancing our first dance and having the amazing firework show start in the middle of our dance. That was truly spectacular!"

So sit back and enjoy Ali + Spencer's wedding trailer!

Ali + Spencer's Ingredients -

Ceremony - Chiesa Di San Biagio
Reception - Castello di Vincigliata
Dress: Ian Stuart-UK
Wedding Planner- Monica Balli-Florence, Italy
Photographer- Carlo Giorgi-Florence, Italy
Creative Design- The Pillow Gift Company- PA, USA
Catering- Galateo- Florence, Italy
Wedding Cake- Vivoli- Florence, Italy

Yamilet + Jordan's Wedding Trailer - San Juan, Puerto Rico

2010-10-09T04:08:00.002-05:00

I'm very excited to share the trailer of Yamilet + Jordan's wedding! This beautiful wedding took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico, it was a perfect day!

Event Cinema Workshops in Mexico!

2010-10-07T11:21:00.004-05:00

I'm excited to announce two workshops that Kevin Shahinian and I will be hosting in both Cabo San Lucas and Cancun, Mexico. These two day workshops are geared towards event filmmakers and will be taught in a hands-on environment. For more info please visit www.eventcinemaworkshop.com

April + Adam's Xcaret, Mexico Wedding Highlights

2010-08-12T12:43:00.002-05:00

What an amazingly fun wedding this was! April and Adam's wedding was held at Xcaret Eco Park just outside Playa del Carmen, Mexico. This 200 acre park had so much diversity, from a turtle filled lagoon, Jaguars, Mayan Ruins to a spectacular underground cave! The ceremony took place at St. Francis chapel followed by a cocktail hour at the ancient Mayan ruins. The guests then walked down a spiral path with warriors blowing into conch shells that led into this giant, amazing cave where the reception was held. It was breathtaking!

We had such a great time working with Adam and April, you can tell that they had the time of their lives as well. I love our couples, they are awesome!

Congrats Jess + Tom

2010-06-23T18:51:00.003-05:00

We filmed Jess and Tom's amazing wedding at Lakeway Resort outside of Austin TX this past weekend. It was amazing! Thanks for having us be apart of your big day! Trailer coming soon.

Kristin + Justin's Wedding Trailer - W Hotel Dallas

2010-06-20T10:10:00.008-05:00

Kristin & Justin's wedding was amazing! Jordan Payne Events set the stage for another drop dead gorgeous day. The ceremony was held at Highland Park Methodist Church in Dallas followed by the reception at the W Hotel.

Kristin & Justin wrote their own vows, I love it when my couples do this! It gives you beautiful glimpse into their lives and the love they share. After the ceremony the party started at the W Hotel and went on well into the night. After the confetti flew they finished with a flower pedal exit and off to their honeymoon.

Here is their wedding trailer!

Kristin + Justin's ingredients -

Ceremony - Highland Park Methodist Church

Reception - W Hotel Dallas

Flowers + Event Planning - Jordan Payne Events

DJ - Andy Austin

Congrats to Yamilet + Jordan

2010-06-10T18:58:00.007-05:00

Last week we had the pleasure of filming Yamilet and Jordan's wedding in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was an amazing day filled with love and laughter with family and friends. Their unique New Orleans Saints theme was awesome, I can't wait to share all the details! We will have their wedding trailer up soon, but for now here are a couple screen grabs from the wedding day.

"City of Lakes" Feature - Udaipur, India

2010-04-28T19:15:00.002-05:00

We posted the trailer for this concept wedding film last month. Myself along with 4 other studios spent 10 days in India filming both the actual wedding and staged film scenes. Read more from the director Kevin Shahinian -

"What happens to a dream when it becomes reality?

Does it still exist somewhere, in some ethereal place, waiting to come to fruition again?

Could a fictional narrative capture an emotional state, and the true meaning behind a real, live event with more drama and conviction than a traditional documentary?

These were just some of the questions that arose when I took on the “CITY OF LAKES” project late last year. First, it would become an unprecedented attempt to combine a fully scripted, produced film with Melissa & Samir's real, live wedding, with intention of creating one, seamless film. Second, the live wedding and production would be shot entirely on-location in Udaipur, India over a period of nine days. Third, the skeleton crew I would commission would be made up solely of live event filmmakers from across North America, who would shoot the live wedding events and production simultaneously & exclusively on DSLRs, the Canon 5D MarkII and Canon 7D.

“CITY OF LAKES” is as much a documentary about what it means to return to the birthplace of one’s ancestors, as it is an exploration of the Hindu faith, and the rituals of a Hindu marriage. Central to this is the Ganesh puja, which in simple terms, is a prayer over a fire believed to invoke the spirit of Ganesh, a great deity and protector, who can remove all obstacles from one’s path. The puja is performed several times in the film and carries great significance to the plot and characters in both literal and metaphoric ways.

Melissa & Samir had always dreamed of being married in India. We hope this film helps them cherish that dream. But it could not have been without the acting talents of Anubhab Saha, Sharon Chawda and Rushad Rana, who were consummate professionals and a joy to work with. It also could not have been without the support of our sponsors: Canon, who provided two pre-production 7Ds and a host of L-series lenses; Tiffen, who provided all of our lighting; and Cinevate, who sent us much needed gear and sponsored an incredible behind-the-scenes campaign viewable at Cinevate.com.

The challenges were immediate, abundant and frequent. At times, we were certain the film was destined for failure; I often wondered if the film was too ambitious to execute. But what resulted was due in no small part to a crew made up of live event filmmakers who deal routinely in making the spontaneous appear staged. We're proud to share Melissa & Samir’s ‘hybrid’ feature, “CITY OF LAKES,” which hopefully achieves more than a documentary, and perhaps at the same time, more than a scripted film.

There is a final question we hope you’ll find difficult to answer as you watch our film. In more ways than one, try to answer:

What is real?

Thanks for watching,
-Kevin

Pacific Pictures presents “CITY OF LAKES”
Starring Melissa Kumar, Samir Shah, Anubhab Saha, Sharon Chawda & Rushad Rana
Written & Directed by Kevin Shahinian
Produced by Kevin Shahinian & Patrick Moreau
Line Producer Pravin Thakur
Director of Photography Patrick Moreau
2nd Unit Director Joe Simon
2nd Unit Steadicam Casey Warren
Film Editor Kevin Shahinian
Jib Operator Chris Geiger
Set Photographer Amish Solanki

"City of Lakes" Trailer - Udaipur, India

2010-03-02T15:06:00.003-06:00

In September I traveled to Uaaipur, India to shoot a concept wedding film with a few of my great filmmaking friends. Kevin Shahinian wrote and directed this movie, it was an amazing experience that I will never forget! This is only the beginning of collaboration filmmaking, and I can't wait to see where this takes weddings.

There are so many ways to tell a story...

And so much a marriage symbolizes. So many questions it tends to raise: What is love? What is faith? It was our hope to explore these themes in a far more dramatically engaging way than we felt possible in a traditional documentary... Perhaps there is more within this story then meets the eye.

In the fall of 2009, Melissa & Samir embarked on an incredible journey to Udaipur, India, to fulfill a lifelong dream of having their wedding in the country of their ancestry. This transcendent place, affectionately called the "CITY OF LAKES," located in the breathtaking region of Rajasthan, would be the setting for their extravagant, three-day marriage celebration, and the backdrop of our unprecedented film production - shot entirely on-location. We believe this to be the first ever live event/scripted concept production 'hybrid' film produced on this scale.

We hope you enjoy the trailer for "CITY OF LAKES" and look forward to sharing the film with you soon.

Pacific Pictures presents "CITY OF LAKES"

View on ExposureRoom

A complete list of cast & crew credits is viewable at PacificPicturesblog.com/blog

Pacific Pictures presents "CITY OF LAKES"
Starring Melissa Kumar, Samir Shah, Anubhab Saha, Sharon Chawda & Rushad Rana
Written & Directed by Kevin Shahinian
Produced by Kevin Shahinian & Patrick Moreau
Line Producer Pravin Thakur
Director of Photography Patrick Moreau
2nd Unit Director Joe Simon
2nd Unit Steadicam Casey Warren
Film Editor Kevin Shahinian
Jib Operator Chris Geiger
Set Photographer Amish Solanki

Patty + Danny's Wedding Trailer, Key West

2010-02-07T09:20:00.005-06:00

Patty & Danny had a really fun wedding in Key West Florida. It was held at Nine One Five restaurant right on Duval St. We spent most of the day filming the preps, first look and photo session. It was really hard making this trailer because we had so many amazing shots!

I really wanted to make a tease of this one and not give away too much, you'll have to wait for the Highlights film to see the story unfold!

Congrats Patty and Danny! Thanks for having us out, you guys are awesome!

Special thanks to Ryan Koral from Epic Motion for coming out to shoot with me!

Patty & Danny's ingredients -

Venue - Nine One Five
Photographer - Tim Wong from Timecut Foto
Hair + Makeup - Marie-Pierre Sander
Dress Designer - Stephanie James Couture

EventDV Magazine Cover

2009-10-26T09:32:00.004-05:00

It's been a busy fall for us. I love this time of year in Austin, the crisp air returns and makes for some amazing outdoor weddings. This past weekend we had a shoot at www.greenpasturesrestaurant.com , the weather was perfect!

We have been shooting from coast to coast over the past two months. A beautiful ranch wedding in Santa Barbra and a sea breeze wedding in Key West. Trailers will be coming soon for these two gorgeous events!

I wanted to share a couple of cool things that have been happening in our world lately. I was blessed to find out that I along with a few other amazing filmmakers ended up on the cover of www.eventdv.com magazine this month. You can find the article about "Fusion" here - EventDV Article

I also just returned from a trip to San Francisco where I was part of a conference teaching about wedding filmmaking. It was called Re:Frame. I had an amazing time talking and learning from other industry pros. San Francisco is a great city with lots of inspiration for a visual artist, it gave me a chance to breath and shoot some really fantastic scenery. I will also be talking at the upcoming In[Focus] event in January here in Austin. It's going to be an great event, so if you missed Re:Frame and want to learn more about wedding filmmaking I suggest you sign up.

I will be posting a lot of new clips over the next month, so keep checking back for more beautiful weddings! Let me leave you with a new edit from my talk at Re:Frame, this is a collection of recent Time-lapses.

Joe Simon on Film Fellas Web Series

2009-08-09T18:20:00.001-05:00

FilmFellas: Zacuto Films presents 10 webisodes highlighting avant-garde wedding filmmaking and cinematic storytelling. Cast Four and Five will discuss the changing model of wedding videography and the emergence of Wedding Filmmaking with full-scale productions, camera movement, special effects, scripted concept films, same day edits and more. Steve Weiss, Director of FilmFellas, who started his own film career from 1981 to 1984 by making what was then called, wedding videos, returns to the table along with six exceptional FilmFellas cast members who are changing the landscape of wedding videography/filmmaking/cinematography.

Starting August 5th, Zacuto Films will release their first webisode of FilmFellas Cast Four: “The Artistic Wedding ~ One Take.” Offering a fresh perspective to the fellas cast, Kristen* (Bliss* Video Productions) discusses branding her unique style as a Couture Wedding Filmmaker. “My Job,” states Kristen*, “allows me to be a documentary filmmaker shooting weddings.” John Goolsby, known as The Godfather of Wedding Videography, and a prolific wedding film producer at (www.weddingvideo.com), elaborates on his model of producing over 250 videos a year. Rounding out this cast, Joe Simon (Joe Simon Productions), whose cinematic filmmaking creates some of the most magical, movie-trailer wedding films in the industry, discusses his approach to creating a film for a couple with the same passion and expertise as his independent films. FilmFellas Cast Four Webisodes: Aug 5, Sept 9, Oct 7, Nov 11, & Dec 9, 2009.

To learn more about these featured filmmakers, view behind the scenes footage, watch previous FilmFellas webisodes, and get a sneak peek at other soon to be released Zacuto Films Productions, visit www.Zacuto.com. Starting Aug 5th, watch exclusive full episodes of Cast 4 at http://www.zacuto.com/filmfellas-cast-4 . FilmFellas Cast Five: “The Epic Wedding,” premieres August 12th and Critic’s a new show with Philip Bloom and Steve Weiss premieres August 17th. For more information visit www.zacuto.com .

Joe Simon Productions on Event DV Top 25 list!!

2009-03-23T13:39:00.003-05:00

This past week Joe Simon Productions was named to EventDV Magazine's list of the 25 Hottest and Most Influential event filmmaking studios in the industry. We were very humbled to receive this honor, especially since you are voted in by other studios around the world.

This recognition would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of our main visual artists Joel Moody and Hussain Pirani! And of course this would not be possible without our amazing couples! Thanks for all the support.

You can view the awards video here - www.eventdv-tv.com

We are just beginning the 2009 wedding season and look forward to shooting your event this year!!

Joe Simon Productions on EventDV magazine Cover

2009-03-15T21:25:00.003-05:00

We posted the article that we had on the EventDV website last week. Well when I received the magazine in the mail this week, I was ecstatic to see we were on the cover! We feel very honored and blessed to have had the chance to be involved with EventDV. Thanks everyone for all the support over the years! We love our couples!

Joe Simon Productions featured in Event DV Magazine!

2009-03-06T18:43:00.002-06:00

We were honored recently when Event DV magazine asked to do an article about Joe Simon Wedding Films. Event DV is a magazine for wedding and event videographers, so It's amazing to be featured in it. You can check out the article and videos here-

Event DV Magazine Online