The Walima was held at Watford’s The Grove with its splendid landscaped gardens. Once again there were some remarkable cars to convey the wedding guests to the Walima. When Muneer arrived, he was again showered in flowers and garlanded with flowers. Taking his place inside with Sara they enjoyed another feast. The Grove’s gardens were a wonderful setting for wedding photographs with Sara & Muneer looking at their best. We wish them both much wedded joy together.

When the guests began to arrive at Hampton-in-Arden everything was set up and ready to greet them with platters of fresh fruit, small plates of food to nibble on, and a ready drink. As they milled about in the summer sun we got about with our video camera to capture footage of all the guests. We’ve seen some spectacular entrances over the years; however Hamad arriving by helicopter is definitely one that will stand out! When bride and groom were united, the wedding feast began. The guests enjoyed a wonderful dinner to celebrate Farha & Hamad’s union. Congratulations to you both!

The large banquet room was set (complete with a many-tiered wedding cake) and soon it was time for the guests to file in and take their seats ready for a sumptuous banquet of food. The hall had a great gallery level which allowed us to film the throng from above without making anyone feel self-conscious. After dining, we went back outside to get some very dramatic evening shots of the couple. We wish Sarah and Afzal much joy and happiness in married life together!

The reception was similarly elegant, with tables laden with fine crystal and china place settings. Meanwhile in the kitchen the chefs were creating spectacular plates of cuisine. Each course that came out of the kitchen was even more spectacular than the previous one, but the pièce-de-résistance was the architectural wonder which was their wedding cake complete with sparklers! It’s no wonder everyone lined up to take pictures of it.

As the couple took to the dance floor for their first dance together as husband and wife they were grinning from ear-to-ear. It’s lovely to see a couple so happy and in love. That’s one of the great things about filming weddings – we see people enjoying one of the greatest days of their lives. We consider it a privilege to share in those special days.

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.

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

New Bloomsbury Films Office

A stone’s throw from Brick Lane, it is conveniently close to Aldgate & Aldgate East tube stations as well as Tower Gateway DLR. From these new offices we continue to operate our sales & administration, video kit storage and maintenance, production planning where our director’s overseeing all our projects. Over the coming months we shall also be introducing additional in-house studio facilities that will enable us to extend our range of services.

We’re very excited about the move, especially as we continue to expand the range of services provided by Bloomsbury Films. Although wedding videos are still currently our biggest market, we are beginning to attract more types of live event filming including interest from businesses for conference filming. We hope you will be able to pay us a visit sometime!

After watching the BAFTAS I began reflecting on how relevant and widespread his work is, particularly in the field of Asian Wedding videos.
We always ask our clients to supply some choices for the music they want for their wedding video and they tend to choose popular, romantic songs from recent Bollywood films. These very frequently are songs composed by the man himself and we have found his work to be brilliant for enhancing the emotion in our films making them engaging even to viewers who did not attend the wedding!

It really adds that “Bollywood Love Story” element to the work we make here at Bloomsbury Films. Another huge plus is the sheer range of the music he puts out, music that goes well with dancing, the actual marriage ceremony, people socializing and the wide variety of special performances young people put on for Asian Weddings.

The other great thing is that many of the most popular movies have weddings in the story and so in turn the songs contain well suited lyrics that are relevant to work. Recently the most popular requests have been songs from the soundtracks of: Guru, Jodhaa Akbar, Rang De Basanti & of course Slumdog Millionaire… all composed by A R Rahman.

This allows us to give every Asian couple the Bollywood movie experience for their wedding video!

Also lucky for Jehan & Guillaume was the fact their wedding day was organised by society wedding planners Niemierko [formerly Smith Niemierko] who provided their usual creative flair and expertise. Their function was attended by several dignitaries, so I imagine it was with some relief their wedding day ran perfectly and the guests were wowed with plenty of nice touches and a magnificent banquet. During dinner a very proud father gave an eloquent speech in praise of the bride and the pair enjoyed a great deal of warmth and attention from many others. One particular highlight of the event was the live musical entertainment provided by two different bands, who both seemed to capture the mood of the guests very well.

Without being stuffy, it was a very elegant wedding which I feel is reflected in the highlights of the video below. I am also glad to say this was confirmed by Jehan herself who called us this week to order some extra wedding DVDs!

I remember meeting Sohit for coffee a week earlier to discuss the possibility of us filming his wedding and him saying “so I guess you know I’ll be coming in on a white horse?” Not sure whether it was a trick question to test my knowledge of Indian wedding videos, I cautiously shrugged in manner suggesting ‘yes of course!’. As soon as I got back to my partner that evening I shrieked out my disbelief at the idea of a groom appearing on a white horse! After looking up the facts online to check I hadn’t inadvertently blown my cover, I was thrilled at the prospect of a wedding video with something REALLY filmic!

To make the most of the opportunity, I decided to hire in a Glidecam 200 crane at my own expense and to shoot the whole wedding in super widescreen. We were lucky with the mid-April weather and I was able to create my first Asian wedding video in a way that evoked the cinematic qualities I wanted to offer. As soon as the film was edited and online, it had an instant impact on our business with several other Asian couples booking us to film their wedding with a similar aesthetic.

The peak of this rise came in Autumn 2007 we went to Newcastle to film what is still the grandest wedding I have ever done – Surita & Sumita’s double wedding celebration at the Sage centre. During 2007 we produced many other Asian wedding videos including Amrita and Benjis Sikh wedding video which was the first to use three cameras. Needed for the sheer scale of the wedding, this enabled us to film multiple perspectives and simultaneous action. Personally I think you need at least 2-3 videographers for any type of live event filming.

Meanwhile Aatish & Amita’s wedding in July 2007 offered similar spectacle, hosted as it was in the grounds of Bhaktivedanta Manor in Watford. I remember meeting the couple at the venue a few months before their wedding and being struck by two huge bullocks transporting visitors around by cart. The venue features a beautiful temple in the main house and one of my favourite moments in the film is ‘Feeding the Holy Cows’. For me, this was something I never expected to see in a wedding video! Raising the bar from the Asian groom entering on a horse, I was delighted to film something that was as visual and interesting as I had hoped.

During the course of 2007-2009 we have filmed many Asian weddings – many of these amazed me for the sheer scale, spectacle and sense of occasion. I have also been very touched by how important they are to the families and the wider Asian community that is frequently invited to participate. I hope that as more couples see our Asian wedding films that we have produced for our clients, we will be invited to film many others – as I have come to love creating Asian wedding videos!