Monica and David’s beautiful wedding took place at the awe inspiring Guastavino’s in New York City.  When Josh and I first experienced this historic venue, we were like kids in a candy store with all the possibilities and the sheer majestic nature of the building itself.  Then to see it transformed into something that is unlike anything I’ve ever seen is beyond words. They shared their personal vows under a custom built tree in front of their friends and family who travelled far and near to experience this epic event.  After the ceremony, the room was transformed again into something even more amazing and would be the scene where they would dance the night away.   Enjoy this preview to their Feature Film.

The team:

Coordinator:  Daughter of Design

Photographer:  Belathee

Design: Hatch Creative Studio

Location: Guastavino’s

One word could describe this wedding, intimate.  Without question one of the most, if not the most intimate weddings I’ve had the honor of filming.  Ashley and Adam were married in an old church that is no longer in service anymore.  The decorations were stunning, the energy was contagious, and the spirits couldn’t have been higher.  Ashley is the sister of Jessica Wallace of studio3z and I was so excited to be filming her wedding.  It truly was a magical evening full of so many distinct features such as foot washings, open mic toasts, and a post ceremony Baptism for Ashley and Adam.  I had the great pleasure of sharing the evening with Melanie and Adam of Loft 3 Photography and the super talented Katie Elfers created some of the most amazing arrangements I’ve ever seen.  I truly hope you enjoy their wedding film which is a hybrid of HD and Super 8mm film.

My wonderful wife, Reagan (left) who is our Marketing + Studio Manager received some amazing news this week that she and our good friend, Jennifer Moon (right) of Northernlight Filmworks made the cover of EventDV Magazine!  Reagan and Jennifer co-founded POSH: A Retreat for the Female Filmmaker which is the first ever event for women event filmmakers and photographers interested in event film. The event is all about education + inspiration + relaxation and is happening in November on a Bahamas cruise. They have some talented women lined up as featured presenters and are doing an inspirational shoot on a private island in the Bahamas. Here is EventDV Magazine featured article.

Stephanie and Adam had an wedding that was beyond amazing. Despite the forecast, the rain held off long enough for them to enjoy their day with their closest friends and family. From custom jewelry Stephanie had created for each bridesmaid to the special song Adam surprised Stephanie with as their ceremony began, this was indeed their day and it was filled with so many special moments and individual touches. My friends John and Jen Moon of Northernlight Filmworks drove in from Indianapolis to help me with this wedding, and I had the awesome opportunity to work with Steph Carson again. Stephanie and Adam wanted to surprise their guests with a Same Day Edit, which is a short film of their wedding presented that evening during dinner. Its such an amazing experience and their guests truly loved it and I wanted to share it with you.

Jessica + Cody: The Highlight from Steve Zugelter on Vimeo.

What a gorgeous evening for a wedding, and even better that it was New Years Eve. Jessica and Cody joined their lives in front of their closest friends and family at the amazing Drees Pavilion. I remember meeting Jessica and her mom, Susan in our studio and how excited they were to have us film their day. That energy certainly carried over to the wedding day when Josh and I walked into the room to start filming the preparations. They chose the stunning Wiedemann Hill Mansion for their photos and what an incredible place that is. Geri, Josh and myself were like kids in a candy store, the possibilities are endless! There wasn’t a single dry eye when they exchanged their personal vows to one another and I’m very honored to have been there for it all.

The Team:

Planner: Viva Bella Events
Photography: Ciulla Photography
Makeup: Molly with Brideface
Hair: Sam Hills (Salon Cherry Bomb)

Wow! Many many thanks to the 2009 brides who voted Studio+Z Films the best videographer in Cincinnati for 2010.  This is the People’s Choice of the wedding industry awards and it truly means so much to us. We cannot thank you enough for this HUGE honor and for giving us a great start to this new year! See the full list of the “Best of” vendors in the Spring/Summer issue of The Knot magazine.

First the personal events.

Without question the single best event of 2009 for me was the birth of our second daughter, Sadie. She came into this world on June 3rd and has not stopped finding new and inventive ways of melting my heart. She’s smiling and rolling over and it won’t be long until she’s crawling. Of course she has seen the camera more than once and I’m working on putting together a film of her first year like I did with Mya. Nice segue to Mya here, she turned two years old in May and is going full steam ahead, no really, she doesn’t walk anywhere, she runs for no apparent reason but to get from point a to point b, really really quickly. We took her to Disney last January and to say she had the time of her life would be a ridiculous understatement. I bet we rode the flying Dumbo ride at least a dozen times and looking back at the smile on her face as if every time was the first time, I could’ve ridden it another dozen times. Those times were priceless! Every day she continues to make Reagan and I laugh at something silly she says or does but we’re also in complete awe of her desire to share and help out with her little sister. These are in fact the best days of my life and I’m certainly enjoying every minute of them. I’m looking forward to the days when Sadie and Mya are able to play together more and we’re able to do more things as a family. Certainly Mya and Sadie have the best mom in the world and I have the best wife. Reagan and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary in September and she amazes me every day with her multi tasking abilities. No joke, she can hold both girls and still find a free hand to do something else. She’s been there when the girls are sick and she’s been there when I needed her too. I truly am the luckiest man in the world.

Now the professional.

2009 has been a head spinning year. So many great things have happened and I’m truly blessed for everything. It was a year of new beginnings as I changed the studio name. I went from Glass Eye Video to Studio+Z Films. This change was something I had been working on for a long long time. It took me forever to find a name I loved and once I did, I found a great designer in Renee, owner of Ribbons of Red, to help me bring it all to life. It was important to me to not just add ‘Films’ to Glass Eye, I wanted a whole name change as I felt the studio had gone through more of a rebirth than a name change. Renee helped create not just a logo and awesome site, but also a brand. That was something I never had and I couldn’t be happier with it.

I hired the super talented Josh Emerson this year. He is an amazing asset to our Studio+Z Films team and we couldn’t have accomplished what we did this year without him! We really fine tuned our Same Day Edit that help make so many weddings unique this year.

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to educate others when I presented at WEVA, Wedding & Event Videographers Association International, the worlds largest wedding videographer organization and at MIVA, Michigan’s professional Videographers Association and I have a few more speaking engagements lined up for 2010. I really enjoy public speaking and to have the opportunity to help other studios grow and achieve their goals is so rewarding.

Also at WEVA, I was incredibly honored to be awarded a Creative Excellence Award, its the Oscar or Golden Globe of our industry and to bring the first International Award for wedding filmmaking to our hometown of Cincinnati is indescribable.

One of the best moments of 2009 came when I opened the mailbox and found my copy of EventDV Magazine where there was a four page spread about my studio and the concept film I created that helped make this year the best year for me professionally. Our studio was also featured on Style Me Pretty, Rock n Roll Bride and two issues of Cincinnati Wedding Magazine.

Lastly, I just found out I was voted Best Videographer in Cincinnati by the The Knot magazine 2009/2010. What a huge honor!

Yes 2009 may be over, but 2010 is right around the corner with so many new opportunities and I’m incredibly fortunate for them all. I have a few things I’ll be unveiling soon, but I’m most looking forward to filming some of the most incredible weddings I’ve filmed so far, including quite a few destination weddings. I’m truly a blessed man and I couldn’t ask for more.

It would be difficult to ask for a better day.  From the preparations at her uncle’s beautiful home to the reception at The Phoenix that evening, everything was under a stunning sky.   The weather was perfect, the leaves had just started to change, I swear Kristin and Mark have connections somewhere to get a day like that!  It was definitely a unique day too.  Kristin and Mark didn’t want to see each other before the ceremony, but were having their pre ceremony photos taken at the same time, in the same place, her uncle’s home.  They even wanted to ride to the ceremony together, but still didn’t want to see each other first.  I suggested they wear blindfolds and even sit next to each other in the limo bus.   They loved it and even added to it by bringing along some heart shaped glasses to wear on top of the blindfolds, just to be sure.   They had a blast with it all, and even though they sat next to each other on the bus, holding hands, they still never saw each other until she walked down the aisle!    The very talented Steve Lyons was there as well capturing each moment and was incredible to work with.  It was a perfect day for the start of their lives together.   I hope you enjoy their Coming Attraction Trailer!