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Enchanted Elopement | Ritchie Hill | Condcord, NC Wedding

On the 8th of April, we had the privilege to film a stunning enchanted elopement in Concord, North Carolina. The venue choice was Ritchie Hill, partially for its modern beauty but also, the venue has a touch of magic in the building structure with a lovely sky view balcony. Located in a quiet neighborhood just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, what a special place to celebrate your wedding day and the days prior, with the comfort of Ritchie Hill’s staff, as well as, many room options for you, your family and friends, and bridal party to get ready or relax in.

Our gorgeous bride chooses a peach, pink, and gold floral theme to decorate throughout her intimate wedding. Her dress was a spectacular choice of a peach shade on a less formal ball gown. She chose simple jewelry to accessorize and pull off a new trend for 2017 weddings: wear the theme you are in! How daring to step out in a dress other than ivory or white! Her shoes and wedding ring added the gold she needed to completely pull off her wedding theme attire. Her hair fell loosely in light curls, with the top half pinned back like open flower heads. She chose “less is best” with her makeup, which gave her such a beautiful authentic appearance to step out on her wedding day and “wow” her guests right at the entrance.

During her finishing touches of “getting ready” we took the time to film the details of her day. Pink & peach draping cloth wrapped in greenery, hung along an open brick wall for their ceremony spot. The entrance to Ritchie Hill that morning opened up with such a peachy & pink glow, you would almost think the day was just meant for them. We took note of the farm tables decked out with beautiful candelabras and flowers of a variety of peach and pink colors standing out announcing another special spring morning. We had never seen such a neat assortment of dishware, gold forks & knives, plates with a peach glass piece separating the top from the bottom. The glasses for the bride & groom matched those of their guests with the same peach of the glass dinner plates. They choose to add a deep purple into their invites, as well as, into the table numbers and bride & groom seating cards, which added a touch of elegance into their Spring Peach & Floral Enchanted elopement wedding theme. The cake was the final touch in making the whole setting comes together with its three white layers, blanketed with a delicate floral arrangement coming up from the left bottom layer to reach the top layer on the left side. They had to know as they finished getting ready, truly how beautiful their wedding day was going to be. We could see behind our lenses how perfectly planned and crafted each element had been prior to this day.

The guests begin to arrive, as well as, the bridal party, so we begin to move upstairs and check on both bride & groom. Ashlie was patiently waiting in the opposite room of Brendon. During this time, we grabbed a few intimate photo moments of her and then followed her to the balcony as she peered off to watch her family & guests, which gave us another great opportunity to film while we were beginning to understand and see her side of this great love story. We left to grab a few shots of the groom, Brendon, while he waited for the go ahead to head downstairs toward the ceremony site. Both Ashlie & Brendon lacked any hesitation to their wedding day. We could see they were both ready to finally tie the knot.

We quickly grab our things and get ourselves set up for the ceremony. We feel a breeze slip in that afternoon, keeping the possible spring heat from affecting the wedding. After everyone gets to where they need to be, the music starts and it’s not long before the groom gets to see his bride walk down the aisle. These two were nothing but smiles standing there waiting to say their vows and with their vows came another 2017 wedding trend of using the iPhone to guide them to speak with ease. The vows were the kind of vows you only hear in the movies, so intimate, loving, and caring toward each other. By the time the moment was done, we hear “you may kiss the bride”, and we were off to capture the reception. Because their wedding was an elopement with a few family & friends, the size was unlike your normal reception, but had a “at home romantic dinner” feel to it. They allowed the floral arrangement which was their table centerpiece to give them a slight disconnect from everyone else, without being totally separated by broken up tables.

We know you guys are ready to fall in love with this wedding film. It can be watched below. =)

Cinematography by Fesiuk Films

The cake cut was surrounded by their best friends. You just never know how those will turn out, whether the couple stays sweet or they decide to get a little messy with this American tradition. The cake was just as wonderful as it looked, by the way. As the dinner approaches the end, you see the bride & groom take the floor for their “first dance”. We couldn’t get over how perfect the evening felt for this first dance, being outside, on the front porch, as the night chill sets in, with candles and lanterns illuminating in the background. It was as if we ourselves, our gear, and the whole world, was absent as they danced. Young love at its finest.

They spent the rest of the evening, hand in hand, like two candles that wouldn’t stop burning. When they finally slipped away into the back side of the porch, we found them resting, which was our final shot of the night. Ashlie & Brendon’s love story brought enchantment, a spring fresh feel, and several 2017 wedding trends. We looked forward to the time we spent with this couple and we hope their wedding brought all the emotions and wedding excitement to you as it did for us.

Wedding Date: April 5th, 2017
Wedding Season: Spring

Vendors from Ashlie & Brendon's Wedding

Cinematography:
Fesiuk Films
www.fesiukfilms.com

Photography:
W4 Photography
www.w4photography.com

Wedding & Event Planner:
Elena Weddings and Events
www.elenaevents.com

Wedding Venue:
Ritchie Hill
www.ritchiehill.com

Dress/shoes/earrings:
Paige and Elliott - Bridal Boutique
www.paigeandelliott.com

Dishware/Tables/Accessories:
Evermore - Classic & Vintage Rentals
www.evermoreeventcompany.com

Flowers:
Inspired Design of NC
www.inspireddesign-nc.com

Cake:
Sky's The Limit Bridal Sweets
www.stlbridalsweets.com

Invitations:
Sweetest Beginnings Stationary and Design
www.sweetestbeginnings.com

Hair:
Mirror Bomb Studio
www.mirrorbombstudio.com

Makeup:
Layne Barter Makeup
www.laynebarter.com

We decided to add 8 tips from an article written by The Knot to help you choose your wedding style and theme.

www.theknot.com/content/weddings-with-color

1. Get Inspired by Your Setting

First things first: location. Have a color palette in mind as you start your venue search. Think about what colors you'd like to use, and whether you'd want to prioritize finding the perfect venue or having your perfect color palette. If you find a venue that you love, but it doesn't work with your colors, you'll want to switch up a hue or two so you don't bust your budget on trying to cover up or distract from the fact that it doesn't match. Venues like converted warehouses, lofts and tents are all blank slates, meaning you can really add as much or as little as you want to carry out your vision for color and style. If you've already found the perfect venue, use the space to help you come up with your color scheme. The colors of your reception space and its surroundings, whether it's the vintage Persian rug in the dining room or the view of the ocean, can spark an idea. And that way, you won't have to work against a clashing color palette and your colors will enhance what you love about your venue.

2. Keep Your Priorities In Mind

While the venue is usually the biggest choice you have to make in your wedding planning, sometimes there are other details to consider that might come before choosing your colors too. If you've always dreamed of having your wedding overflowing with purple dendrobium orchids, then you should use that as a starting point for your palette, instead of trying to figure out a way to work it in later. You don't want to choose a color scheme only to find that a must-have, like your grandmother's ivory table runner, looks out of place or may get lost in the décor rather than standing out like you want it to.

3. Think Seasonally

Just like your wardrobe, your wedding color scheme can be inspired by the time of year you're saying “I do." Think about the shade you want to use to bring out the season in your color palette. Rosy pink is perfect for spring, while a brighter coral is a summer staple. For fall, a rich fuchsia pairs well with other jewel tones, and blush and silver are a pretty wintry combo. Don't shy away from colors you love though just because of seasonal color “rules," which have pretty much gone the way of wearing white after Labor Day. Light pastels and barely there hues, like buff, can work for a fall or winter wedding. The trick is to concentrate on texture, and maybe even bring in a stronger accent color.

4. Set the Mood

Your wedding colors can also help create a vibe for your wedding day. If you're going for a lot of drama, then a dark or jewel tone palette, like ruby red and black or emerald and gold, is a better choice than, say, light pastels. Think about the style and atmosphere you want to have, whether it's relaxed or nostalgic, and what colors put you in that mind-set.

5. Look to What You Love

The colors that inspire your home décor are ones you know you can live with for a long time (and it's an extra perk that leftover items like Moroccan lanterns will get used after your wedding day). Open your closet: What color clothes and accessories are you drawn to? Use that as a starting point for choosing your wedding hues.

6. Do Your Research

Magazines, art galleries and friends' weddings are all great sources for inspiration. While you wouldn't want to choose a color combo just because it's on trend, looking towards art and design may help you see colors you already love in a new way.

7. Consult the Color Wheel

You don't need a degree from art school to pick your palette, but there are some basic principles to follow. Typically, colors that go well together are ones that are opposites because they pair a cool and warm (examples include orange and sky blue and turquoise and coral). Other color pairings that work are “neighbors"—they're similar to each other and share a primary color (think: sunshine yellow and melon orange or fuchsia and blush). A classic way to build your color palette is by pairing a bright, saturated color with a neutral, like violet and gray or blush and gold.

8. Don't Overthink It

It's easy to get caught up in the idea that you have to have a strict wedding color palette. If you're early in the planning process, you'll probably get asked, “What are your colors?" a lot by friends and family, and that can put pressure on you to pick the “right" hues. But color doesn't have to play the major role that it's sometimes made out to be. While your palette will inform a lot of your wedding decisions, like your flowers and your bridesmaid dresses, you should use it as a guideline instead of a rule. Not every part of your wedding has to match perfectly, so don't stress on having every detail color-coded just right. Instead, think of your wedding planning in terms of style, formality, texture and mood, in addition to color.

9.) Just have fun! We decided to add number nine here to remind you all, most importantly, have fun! This is your day. =)

For more wedding tips from The Knot, head over to Theknot.com.

Beauty & the Beast Themed Shoot | Duke Mansion | Charlotte, NC Wedding

Photography by Katherine Elena Photography

Last week on March 13th 2017, we had the opportunity to join talents from the Charlotte area to film a Beauty & the Beast themed staged shoot. With the new release of a modern twist of Beauty & the Beast coming out the following Friday, we were excited to capture something to help fulfill everyone's excitement. It was pretty phenomenal to see all of the elements in the movie being portrayed in the smallest details. I(sarah) haven't seen the original Disney movie in years, but seeing the clock again, the books, the yellow from the diamond, blue in the grooms suit, and that pretty little mirror, brought back my childhood memories.

Photography by Katherine Elena Photography

You already know it. You see it in our work. We are film driven. Movie inspired. Cinematic styled to the finest detail. We decided to capture something from this staged shoot to create another Fesiuk Film's favorite movie miniature. We knew this "wedding day" would be different without the usual vows and actual ceremony, so we worked with the elements of sights & sounds. Where is the story here? Watch our "Beauty & the Beast, Love Story" below.

Cinematography by Fesiuk Films

The editing process is where the actual story unfolds. We decided to stick to the color theme we knew from the latest movie release & from the original. Our model/actor couple barely knew each other before the shoot, but we knew with the right advice, we could inspire them to warm up to each other to become more of a couple "who could be falling in love". The idea behind our short film is the wait before knowing. We knew this idea could relate to the experience Belle had with the Beast in the original film; unknowing, slightly afraid, unsure, and the wait. By the end of the shoot, there was life between the two models and that life & love came out so clearly in our "Beauty & The Beast, Love Story".

Photography by Katherine Elena Photography

We can't credit enough to everyone involved who made this shoot happen. Their skills & talents exceeds even our own expectations to something as unique as a staged shoot. They performed as well as anyone with experience in doing the staging and setup for an actual movie set. We hope to have the pleasure to work with each of them again in the near future. A big shout out goes to Something Perfect & Katherine Elena Photography for including us. Detailed design and a photography mind helped in making this "Beauty & the Beast, Love Story" possible. Thank you guys!

Photography by Katherine Elena Photography

A special thanks to ALL involved:

The Duke Mansion
Chelish Moore Flowers
Evermore
Party Reflections, Inc
Mirror Bomb Studio
Layne Barter Makeup
Hayden Olivia Bridal
Manolo Blahnik
Windsor Jewelers
Honey Silks & Company
Nona's Sweets Bakery Cafe
Katheryn Jeanne Photography
Brittney Dacosta
Michael Kolch

Huffington Post did a great job going over the history of where the original story of "Beauty & the Beast" came from. If you are interested in knowing, go ahead and read below.

A wealthy merchant falls into penury after his ships founder at sea. He moves his family to the countryside to live a more frugal lifestyle. His six daughters and six sons resent the loss of their comfortable life, their social engagements, and their many admirers. His youngest daughter, Beauty, is the only one to make the best of the circumstances, throwing herself into the daily upkeep of the home in order to keep the family clean and fed. Her older sisters, who are less beautiful and less dutiful, resent her, and they mock her for contenting herself with menial work.

Have you read this story before? Not sure? Here’s just a bit more:

Then, the merchant receives a welcome surprise: One of his ships, thought to be lost at sea, has come safely to harbor with its full cargo. His children think their fortune will surely be restored. When he sets out for the city to deal with his freight, he takes with him requests from his sons and daughters for expensive clothes and other gifts. Only Beauty is hesitant to ask for a gift, and finally asks that he bring her a single red rose.

Now is the story starting to sound familiar? One more hint: A live-action film based on the fairy tale is hitting theaters this week.

Like so many fairy tales, “Beauty and the Beast” has evolved considerably during its journey from oral tradition to the page to the screen. Moreover, there is not only one literary version ― but dozens. Today, Disney-fied fairy tales are most familiar to the masses in their animated forms; the originals, when revisited, can seem comparatively brutal and dark. 

Unlike Disney’s “Cinderella” and “Snow White,” however, “Beauty and the Beast” hardly sugarcoats the violence of the original. It’s literally a romance between a captive woman and the monster she at first believes might physically attack her.

Still, the original fairy tale might not sound terribly familiar to readers.

The definitive, most well-circulated version, “La Belle et le Bête,” was composed by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and published in 1756. Her story, a short and sweet tale with a small cast of archetypal characters ― the ingénue, the loving yet hapless father, the protective brothers and jealous sisters, and the hideous but noble-hearted hero.

That’s right: Though Disney’s Belle is an only child, in the classic tale she has siblings. Unsurprisingly, her sisters serve the role of foils for Beauty. She’s gorgeous, they’re merely average-looking; she’s generous, they’re selfish and envious; she’s hardworking, they’re lazy; she’s well-read, they’re frivolous:

The youngest, as she was handsomer, was also better than her sisters. The two eldest had a great deal of pride, because they were rich. They gave themselves ridiculous airs, and would not visit other merchants’ daughters, nor keep company with any but persons of quality. They went out every day to parties of pleasure, balls, plays, concerts, and so forth, and they laughed at their youngest sister, because she spent the greatest part of her time in reading good books.

In Beaumont’s story, Beauty’s father, a ruined merchant, stumbles upon the Beast’s castle when returning from a futile trip to recover profits from a trading ship that unexpectedly returned to harbor. Caught in a storm, he takes refuge in a mysterious castle where he meets no one, but finds food, a fire, and a bed prepared for him. When he leaves, he takes a single rose from the garden to bring Beauty ― which brings the Beast’s wrath down upon him. In exchange for his life being spared, he agrees to return with one of his daughters. Beauty agrees to go, though she’s fearful that the monster will eat her.

Instead, she’s given a lavish chamber and plied with good food and constant entertainments. She never sees anyone ― except in the evening, when the Beast joins her for dinner. She enjoys his sensible conversation, but every night he asks her to marry him, and she refuses. Finally, after several months, she admits that while she’s quite attached to him, she misses her family. The Beast allows her to return home for a visit, but warns that if she delays her return, he will die of grief.

This is where the sisters get extra vicious! Jealous of the finery Beauty wears upon her return, they overwhelm her with affection so that she will miss her deadline, assuming that the Beast will kill her and eat her in his anger. Instead, Beauty returns late and finds the Beast dying of sadness. Seeing him on his deathbed, she realizes that she loves him and begs him to live and marry her. Immediately, he is restored to his handsome, princely self ― and Beauty is rewarded for choosing a virtuous husband over a handsome or witty one. Her sisters are condemned to be living statues outside the castle, forever viewing their sister’s better fortune.

OK, sure, this isn’t too different from Disney’s take. But this is only the beginning. It turns out that Beaumont’s fairy tale was an abridged adaptation of a 1740 story written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve ― very abridged.

Villeneuve’s “La Belle et le Bête” features monkeys that speak via parrot interpreters (they serve Beauty and keep her company in the palace), five jealous sisters and six brothers, and an exhaustingly elaborate backstory ― revealed at the conclusion of the tale ― involving ugly evil fairies attempting to force handsome princes into marriage, baby princesses being snatched from the cradle, and both fairy and human political struggles for power.

The didactic message of the story is also more heavy-handed, and more retrograde: Beauty has an imaginary lover, a handsome prince who speaks to her in her dreams; in the same dreams, she’s visited by a lovely woman who urges her to look past superficial qualities. Beauty has fallen in love with her dream prince, but the longer she stays with the Beast, as he has demanded, the more sympathetic she feels toward him. Though the Beast in Villeneuve’s version is not only hideous but has been cursed to stupidity, and can barely carry on a conversation, she feels more and more guilty that she doesn’t marry the Beast out of gratitude for the opulent life he’s provided for her and the love he feels for her. Finding him dying of grief:

She regretted her conversations with the Beast, unentertaining as they had been to her, and what appeared to her extraordinary, even to discover she had so much feeling for him. She blamed herself for not having married him, and considering she had been the cause of his death ... heaped upon herself the keenest and most bitter reproaches.

It’s worth noting that the Beast himself spurned the love of an ugly fairy who fell in love with him. She curses him in retaliation, imprisoning him in a beast’s body ― but while this makes her the villain of the story, Beast’s imprisonment of the woman he hopes to marry is painted as kind and generous. Belle isn’t granted the luxury, like the Beast, of rejecting an unattractive suitor; she’s expected to learn to accept his love. Ultimately, she decides to marry him because she owes him and is fond of him, proving her virtue by denying her own desires and choosing instead a man who’s earned her through his love and gifts.

In short, the Beast may have been the original Nice Guy™!

Those two stories don’t cover the full breadth of “Beauty and the Beast” tales. Some believe the roots go back thousands of years, and many cultures have some variety of the story.

In the Italian rendition, “The Pig King,” written in the mid-16th century by Giovanni Francesco Straparola, a queen is cursed to have a son who appears as a pig until he’s been married three times. When he’s grown, his mother convinces the first daughter of a poor family to marry him, but the girl is horrified at the match and tries to kill him on the wedding night. He tramples her with his hooves, killing her instead. The same happens to her younger sister. Then he marries the virtuous youngest sister, who is kind and accepting of her new husband. At night he reveals himself as a handsome young man to her, and the couple eventually rules the kingdom together. Yes, despite the fact that he literally stabbed her two sisters to death with his hooves, the girl falls in love with him.

A truly bonkers Norwegian fairy tale, “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” stars a white bear who convinces a peasant to give him his youngest, prettiest daughter. At night, he comes and sleeps with her as a man, though she can’t see him. One night, she lights a candle to see his face, but drips hot tallow on him and wakens him. As a consequence, he has to marry his evil stepmother’s choice for him: a troll princess. But his young lover refuses to give up, following him to the troll kingdom and winning his hand through trickery ― at which point the troll princess explodes in rage. (Literally, she explodes.)

In many of these older versions, Beauty is distinguished most by her docility and selflessness. Even her bookishness, so heavily played up by Disney, is merely one aspect of her dutiful feminine lifestyle ― she plays a variety of instruments, enjoys art and the theater, and amuses herself in the country by “dress[ing] her hair with flowers” when she’s not cheerfully caring for the home. Other female characters who privilege their own desires are portrayed as spoiled and even cruel, and aside from elevating Beauty as the one deserving woman, they often serve the function of disposable vessels for male needs (see: those two poor women who are trampled to death by a pig).

The Beast might prove his worth through devoted love, but Beauty proves hers through submerging her own passions and awarding herself to the most worthy suitor. The message is clear: Women should love the ones they’re with, no matter how seemingly repulsive ― it’s all part of the life of extreme self-sacrifice that makes them worthy of happiness and respect.

Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” tweaked this story, making Belle an unconventional bookworm with an independent streak rather than a pretty, submissive maiden. It relegated the unsympathetic, frivolous female role to a chorus of silly village girls who swoon over Gaston, rather than making a cruel sister central to the story. Emma Watson, who portrayed Belle in Disney’s live-action remake, has openly hinted that the new, updated heroine will be still more brilliant and self-reliant.

Certain aspects of the story, though, will remain ― and some of the most shocking and controversial aspects of the story are the very plot points that make it “Beauty and the Beast.” When it comes right down to it, every version is essentially the same story: A beautiful woman redeems her hideous captor with her love ― parrot/monkey servants optional.

audaciNews: David & Sarah | audaciChurch | Arden, NC

Who are David & Sarah, exactly?

Well, on any given day we are filmmakers, film creators, with one mission: to bring something new, something fresh, and something inspiring into a world that has begun dimming into darkness. A hashtag you may have heard of before, or seen us share, #iamaudaci on our Facebook pages, explains another piece of who we are. What is audaci, exactly? audaciChurch is one of our favorite places to call home. It's a place we can be true to who we are, an environment that inspires the deepest desires of our hearts, and an experience like non-other in Asheville, NC.

Part of how we help out in our community, other than giving financially, is our time. We invest time into the production side of audaciChurch to make sure the audaciExperience on Sunday morning has a perfect flow. We not only give our talent of singing on stage, but off stage and out of the limelight, we do all of the production videos such as, inspirational countdowns and an audaciFavorite, the audaciNews.

audaciNews was created to bring warmth after our worship experiences. We are lucky to have such a funny fantastic cast in our newsCrew. What I love the most though, audaciNews shows a side of David & I, most have a hard time seeing because a lot of what we do is behind the scenes. So, not only do you get your information for weekly & monthly news, some Sunday's, you get a double dose of David & Sarah, and whether you want to or not, you begin to look forward to it. :P

For more information about audaciChurch visit audaciChurch.com