Haleema and Humza chose The Fennes, in Essex as their venue for their Muslim wedding reception. With a talented make-up and hair person on hand to assist, the girls were soon ready to present themselves (and looking beautiful). Meanwhile The Fennes staff were hustling around doing the final preparations and ensuring that the marquee was all set-up and ready for their reception. Before long the guests started to pour in, eager to see Haleema and Humza. We sent a camera operator about to capture some of the venue sights, taking in the fountains and green lawns and some of the fine architectural details of The Fennes. It makes for some nice detail which we can cut into the final video. Our lovely bride made an entrance trailed by many family members all carrying red roses. She met the groom and they posed for many photographs as a family unit. With the photos complete, it was time to eat. The kitchen had been working double-time to prepare all the food and soon it was served up to the appreciative guests. The dinner conversation bubbled throughout the room and we made our way about with the camera to capture suitable footage. After dinner, it was time for Haleema and Humza to cut the wedding cake – and once again the cameras came out. They posed like pros. When the time came for them to leave, their families followed them out to the car to wish them well. Let us join in their good wishes!

Shahida & Asif celebrated their Muslim wedding at the Hilton Hotel in Warwickshire where they were able to surround themselves with their nearest and dearest to celebrate their union as man and wife. Shahida was upstairs in the hotel getting dressed for her wedding with a few helpers to aid her with some of the trickier bits. She was in great spirits and was clearly enjoying it all. It wasn’t long before their guests started to arrive to the hotel with their children in tow. Their theme of red and white even extended to a beautiful stack of decorated cakes – white with red ribbon. Asif had a drummer and dancers to escort him into the building with all the guests trailing behind him. With everyone gathered for the Nikah, they received the wedding sermon.

After, it was time for the Walima – the celebratory feast and the Hilton staff did a great job of laying on a lovely meal. Before eating, there was a chance for us to get around with our video camera to capture all the guests. Soon enough though the food started to arrive and people were ready to tuck in. We put our camera away while people were eating. Later in the evening, when it came time for Shahida & Asif to say goodbye, there were a few tears from family members bidding the couple off to begin their married life! We wish them all the best.

Rouba & Samer’s Muslim Walima, or wedding reception, took place at the lovely London hotel, the Dorchester. The Dorchester is a classy hotel and was a fitting location for Rouba & Samer’s classy celebration. From the candles, to the beautifully adorned wedding cake, it was an affair with style. Our bride and groom made quite an entrance and their guests stopped everything they were doing to applaud the couple. Later, while the guests were seated for dinner, it was a good time for us to make our way around the room ensuring that we captured footage of all of Rouba and Samer’s wedding guests – we know it will be nice for them in years to come to look back and remember who was there for their big celebration. The hotel staff had prepared an exemplary meal which was well enjoyed (although we generally avoid filming people while they are eating – it makes them uncomfortable!).

When our newlyweds took to the floor for their first dance, they swayed to the live music and looked deeply in each other’s eyes. We filmed this part in black & white to give it some old Hollywood glamour! Afterwards, they cut the wedding cake to the accompanying flash of cameras. Rouba and Samer were radiant throughout the event and we hope they enjoy reliving the memories of their Walima for years to come.

Many clients visiting our website and YouTube channel find it useful to watch clips featuring a venue they are planning to hire for their event. Over the years we’ve filmed at hundreds of venues around the country so now have an enormous resource which we can offer people access to. Consequently, we have just launched a weddings & event venues section on website which lists all these in an easy to use way. Over the coming weeks we shall be adding more and more videos. We are excited that this will provide a fabulous opportunity for people planning their weddings & events to visualise how they might look in these locations.

For 2010 Bloomsbury Films has already been booked for dozens of new and interesting venues both in the UK and overseas. We therefore hope that we shall be able to continue adding to this resource in the future and look forward to helping our clients plan the perfect day. To visit our new wedding & event venues page click here.

A few months ago we decided to launch our own Facebook Page as a way of interacting with past, present and future clients. We now upload highlights of different jobs to the page as they are completed, so visitors can see our range of work and make comments in an easy, friendly environment. I am pleased to say it is very popular, with clients taking a keen interest in the videos and newcomers watching these as a source of inspiration. Indeed our videos seem to not only serve as an example of good videography, but provide an excellent source of ideas for planning their wedding or event!

We heartily welcome comments from prospective clients, whether they are wondering about how to achieve the best videography, which photographers we recommend or what venues to book. As film-makers we know a lot about making things look good, so our advice is sought after on many subjects. Meanwhile the ‘Discussions‘ section of our Facebook page has a number of topics that are being widely shared. We’ve also included some general tips and advice which we hope our clients enjoy.

If you haven’t already subscribed to our Facebook page or know a friend who might like to check it out, please don’t hesitate to look it up at The Bloomsbury Films’ Facebook Page

One of the things we’ve noticed at Bloomsbury Films is the number of mixed cultural marriages we film. Recent projects have included an Anglo-Persian wedding, an Anglo-Greek wedding, an Anglo-Asian wedding, an Anglo-Jewish wedding, an American-Sikh wedding, an Italian-Persian wedding.. I could go on!

Perhaps this a reflection of being based in London, but perhaps also it shows the growing acceptance in our society for marriage based on love and like-mindedness, rather than seeking a cultural safety net. A particularly good example of this is Shahara & Christophers wedding which we filmed at York House, Richmond in early August. Shahara is from a Muslim Bengali family and Christopher from a traditional English one. In marrying Shahara, Christopher not only adopted a new family, but a new (Muslim) name. When I met them both months prior to their wedding, it was clear they were both very much in love and that whilst Christopher may not have have grown up in a Muslim/Bengali lifestyle, he was more than willing to adopt one.

I like their video very much, and the trailer shows their coming together well. They had splendid weather on the day and I am glad that there was a lot of opportunities for filming outdoors – which I always believe looks so much better than filming indoors! We have done several Bengali wedding videos of late including a stunning Bengali wedding in Newcastle, but this is the first mixed Anglo-Bengali marriage I am aware of filming. I therefore wish Christopher and Shahara all the very best in the future! Below are highlights from their day:

Another Muslim wedding we filmed this year was Shazma & Omar’s Nikkah, held at the Dorchester Hotel, London in May. Attended by 500 guests, the couple booked our Premiere package which I supervised personally with our videographers Dan & Tunji. Dan began the day in Berkshire filming Shazma leaving her family home, whilst Tunji and I went over to Chigwell to film Omar and his family getting ready and conducting the Sehra Bandi. Its quite rare for us to film grooms getting ready, (usually this is domain of brides!), but Omar’s outfit and preparations were considerably more elaborate than most grooms. Indeed it tends to only be Sikh & Muslim grooms that really warrant the filming treatment, for example see this Sikh wedding video and this Muslim wedding video. Omar’s family were very welcoming and I had a particularly pleasant chat with Omar’s father.

After departing from their respective homes the two families descended upon the Dorchester Hotel in central London. From a filming perspective, the highlight of the day was the Baraat. Behind the hotel in a small street the groom pulled up in a Rolls Royce Phantom and mounted a beautifully decorated horse. 200 guests and a large professional band then proceeded behind the groom into Park Lane to the astonishment of many bystanders. Buses full with commuters were temporarily held up for the jaw dropping spectacle as the band and guests danced their way down Park Lane to hotel’s ballroom entrance. Here the families met and greeted one another, before two Scottish bag pipers took over and led the whole gathering into the hotel ballroom. It was a fabulous setting and after the Nikkah was completed an evening of food, speeches and entertainment provided a treat for all. You can see highlights from Shazma & Omar’s Muslim wedding celebrations below

Another Muslim wedding video we finished editing over the last few months was for Asif and Reshmin. Both of them are from Bengali families, so they found themselves at the centre of a fabulous wedding celebrations that went over for several days! The culmination of this was a lavish wedding reception at the Marriott Grosvenor Square attended by some 500 guests. Reshmin is the ideal bride to film as she always animated and wearing a big smile, she looked fabulous at her wedding reception. I was particularly pleased that she and Asif had a chance to do some photography in the park and it makes a big difference to the visual quality of the film. They are a lovely couple and I wish them well in the future. You can see highlights from their Muslim wedding video below

Earlier this year we were invited by the A&R Allstars to film a concert they were doing at Sound in Leicester Square, London. The band wanted us to capture them live so they could create a demo DVD for clients and have a trailer on their website. After consulting us on the how to capture it in a way which focussed on the different vocalists and instrumentalists, we decided on using three videographers with a jib arm and a steadicam flyer. The concert filming was a lot of fun, and the band managed by Lisa and Andy, were a real pleasure to work with.

You can see highlights from the concert filming below, it shows 30 second clips from 6 different numbers. We shot around 12-15 tracks in all which were then edited and put on a specially designed DVD that the band now send out to clients. I like the trailer because it shows some of the camera movements and the details of the performers. I’d very much like the opportunity to do more concerts, although in future I would consider having four videographers and using slightly different equipment.