Kayla + Danny | Engagement Session | Colt State Park
We’re pretty late with this one, but better late than never right? Their wedding is next weekend so we thought why not share some photos from Kayla and Danny’s engagement session last Summer at Colt State Park in Bristol, Rhode Island!
Fun fact: this shoot was supposed to be a week prior, but the weather put a damper on that. Luckily we got amazing weather for this one and it was a great shoot!
Another fun fact: Mike Neilan met Kayla at the Apple Store in Providence about a year and half ago when she was working there. Mike N. and Mike McDonough were at the Apple store buying a new iPhone and Kayla was helping them out with their purchase. Through conversation Kayla mentioned she was engaged and would be getting married in 2021, and Mike mentioned that he does photo + video for weddings. They exchanged information and sure enough a few months later, Kayla reached out!
Kayla and Danny are both such kind people, so friendly, and we were so excited to shoot their engagement session never mind their wedding day!
We walked around Colt State, doing some photos along the water as well as on the bridge. We’ve actually shot several engagement sessions here so we’re very familiar with the park. We love the variety it has to offer; the water, the bridge, the path with trees on the other side of the park, and more.
We finished the shoot with some awesome sunset shots on the water! We had a blast on this shoot with them and we love how their photos came out.
On May 22, 2021 we’ll be at the Century House in Acushnet, MA shooting photo and video of their special day and we can’t wait!
If you’re looking to find photo or video for your wedding, or you’re interested in an engagement session, fill out a form on our contact page and we’ll get right back to you! :)
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
The Best Wedding Venues in Massachusetts
Wedding season!? Yikes! It’s right around the corner! With close to 40 weddings already booked this year, our team has been busy scouting locations to prep for our 2021 Big Days. This week, we hopped in Mike’s Equinox and headed north to scope out a few upcoming locations in Massachusetts. Each destination has its own appeal and charm, but our quick trip resurfaced memories of some of our favorite places to shoot. Here are our top three favorite venues in Massachusetts.
Lakeview Pavilion – Foxboro, MA
After arriving at our first stop: the newly renovated Lakeside venue, we’re treated to not one, but two grand ballrooms. Having been recently rebuilt nearly from the ground up, the team at Lakeview spared no expense when bringing their dream venue to life.
The expansive windows of the Lakeview & Lakeside ballrooms stretch from the ground 20’ up towards the vaulted ceiling, giving the guests a stunning, floor-to-ceiling view of the lake and surrounding woodlands. The dark, hardwoods artistically accent the brilliant white walls and uplighting in the ceiling. Both rooms center around a crescendo of crystals in a pair of jaw-dropping chandeliers.
We step outside to the serene scene of nothing but the quiet forest and lake as a beautiful gazebo sits elegantly at the water’s edge. A perfect place for a first look or even just a photo op, this quaint yet dazzling gazebo is the cherry on top for this perfect location!
Grand View – Mendon, MA
Situated on the scenic shores of Lake Nipmuc in Mendon, MA, Grand View boasts spectacular waterfront views with the privacy and elegance you’d only dream of on your wedding day. The 85-acre lake is dotted by maple and pine trees that reflect in the water creating the most charming New England setting. This single-event venue boasts multiple locations to celebrate on your wedding day.
With panoramic views of the lake, the cocktail room centers around a 35-foot oak table beneath oak shelves and decorative glassware, (and lots of liquor, too).
The lavish crystal chandeliers hang elegantly from the ceiling as you enter the contemporary Grand Ballroom. You can hear the echo as your soles tap across the beautiful hardwood dancefloor graced by the wall-to-wall views of stunning Lake Nipmuc. Oh and the 12-foot long (WOW!) fireplace really accents the room!
Stepping outside, there’s a couple choices for your outdoor ceremony. Walking down the steps from the ballroom, you’ll come across a beautiful stone patio much like one you’d see along the fine Italian shores of Lake Como. Aptly named Bella Vista, this stone patio hugs Lake Nipmuc’s shoreline where words can’t describe the beauty your guests will be subject to at the moment when you say your ‘I do’s’.
The last location at Grand View that we scoped out was the Terraza. This beautiful terrace adorned with Doric columns sits parallel to the lake where guests will be blessed with unrivaled views of the sparking waters. Guests will be graced with the beautiful view of the lake to their left while they watch you tie the knot under a sophisticated pergola.
The Barn at Gibbet Hill – Groton, MA
Continuing north, our next stop was the rustic Barn at Gibbet Hill in Groton, MA. This gorgeous property houses a few different options for wedding settings. First and foremost, there’s the barn, of course! With a 220-person capacity, this immense barn and property is more than suited for any sized gathering. Once you step inside this immense post-and-beam, turn-of-the-century barn your eyes are immediately drawn to the sophisticated chandeliers suspended from the ceiling artfully accented by a backdrop of antique exposed beams. This charming, but immense barn is the heart of the property but there’s much more to gawk at here at Gibbet Hill!
The lawn at Gibbet Hill is a sight to behold. At the height of wedding season, this pristine greenery rolls on for acres, dotted by the black Angus cattle roaming the hills. The blue sky, fresh air, and serene setting build a prime setting for a relaxed and intimate ceremony.
Topping off our list of locations at Gibbet Hill is the Top of the Hill. An exclusive, outdoor tented venue is just a few minutes’ shuttle ride from the Barn. Located at the summit of Gibbet hill sits the ivy-covered ruins of a stone hunting lodge built by General Bancroft in 1906. This unique setting are sure to offer one-of-a-kind experiences and it’s an especially amazing place to shoot!
But wait there’s more!
There’s hundreds of spectacular venues across the state and we couldn’t stop at these three. With just enough gas in the tank for one more stop, our team headed west towards Harrington Farm!
Harrington Farm - Princeton, MA
Harrington Farm, an expansive New England farm located in Princeton, MA was our last stop on the trip. The venue has a host of marvelous settings - spread across their sixty-acre property – whose antique charm meets modern design through stunning renovations. The farm is home to a beautiful barn (honestly, is it even a farm if there’s no barn??), a charming farmhouse, sprawling meadows, and a peaceful Goshen stone ceremony garden.
Stepping inside the barn at Harrington Hill, we are immediately hypnotized by the intricate woodwork of the hammer-beam trusses holding the massive, lofted roof high above our heads. The engineering that must have gone into the architecture of this venue is astounding. What’s more, a massive fireplace warms the room as its brilliant bluestone chimney clammers its way up the back wall of the barn. This picturesque beauty is sure to be a tough setting to turn away from!
The sixty-acre property has a plethora of stunning scenes that make the property perfect for tying the knot. The farm – which is situated on Wachusett mountain – faces west; gracing its guests to remarkable sunsets that dance across the golden meadows, no matter the time of year. From the outdoor fireplace patio where guests can enjoy a nice drink, to the Goshen Stone Patio garden, and the spanning meadows, Harrington’s outdoor spaces are second-to-none.
With wedding season heating up these are four venues our team at Neilan Media is pleased to recommend! If you are still searching for photography or video for your wedding day, we would love to talk! Fill out a contact form to get in touch :)
Jen + Connor | Engagement Shoot | Green Hill Park
Jen + Connor are getting married on 10/10/2021 and we had the pleasure of shooting their engagement session this past Summer!
These two are super easy-going! Although they’re from the Worcester area, they were willing to travel just about anywhere for their engagement shoot, they just wanted a nice spot. We kept it local and went to Green Hill Park in Worcester, MA, which is kind of a gem in our opinion. It’s pretty well-known but it’s a real nice spot with a variety of settings.
We ventured around the park before sunset and got some great images! We talked about how they met, who made the first move, and what their favorite things to do are. It was a fun shoot!
Jen + Connor just love being together and seeing new places. They’re tying the knot next October at Grand View in Mendon, MA and we can’t wait to capture their wedding! Hope you enjoyed these photos, if you’re looking to do an engagement session, reach out! We’d love to meet you :)
Top 3 Wedding Venues in Rhode Island
There’s no shortage of amazing places to tie the knot here in Rhode Island! Between the ocean breeze, calm New England air, and scenic views, this state is primed to make choosing a wedding venue a difficult decision for any to-be newlyweds. Neilan Media has shot at over a hundred locations across southern New England, so we thought we’d share our top 3 favorite Rhode Island wedding venues. It was really hard to narrow down our list to just three! What do you think made our list? Let us know what YOUR favorite venues are in the comment section below!
Harbor Lights – Warwick, RI
Smack-dab in the middle of our tiny state we find the centralized city of Warwick. It’s an easy drive from any spot in the West Bay, and a quick jaunt over a few bridges for those far-flung East Bay and Massachusetts residents. Warwick is home to a plethora of great venues, but up there on our list is the popular location of Harbor Lights.
Harbor Lights isn’t just a great wedding venue. Its host to a marina, a 9-hole golf course, two restaurants, and a pool. It goes without saying that this may be one of the most distinctive venues for a multitude of events; not only weddings. But boy, when it comes to weddings, Harbor Lights does not disappoint. Here’s a video for a couple we were lucky to work with in the Summer of 2018.
Newport Naval Base Officers’ Club – Newport, RI
One of the most iconic seaside New England towns – Newport – is home to countless, stunning wedding venues. Heck! Everywhere you turn there’s another beautiful location. Between the beaches, the mansions, Cliffwalk, and downtown, Newport is crawling with captivating settings.
Nowhere are those scenes more sweetly soaked in than from the unparalleled views of the deck at the O’Club; the Officer’s Club on the Naval Station in Newport. Situated on the western edge of Aquidneck Island just north of the spectacular Newport Pell Bridge, the Newport Naval Station boasts amazing views of Narragansett Bay. With three rooms capable of holding 30-125 guests, plus the deck and yard that provide exceptional views, the O’Club can host almost any size wedding and is sure to highlight the true beauty of the bay accentuated by the immense 51-year old bridge.
Now there is a small caveat to this location; though its beautiful setting and glowing reviews can set you sailing toward your dream wedding, in order to get hitched here, you’ll need to be in the military, OR have a military sponsor to sign off for use of the venue.
Newport Beach House – Newport, RI
Wowing each guest who walks through those venue doors, the Newport Beach House boasts 180º views of the ocean and the wave-washed sands of the Rhode Island shoreline. With stunning coastline to the east, and the mansion-dotted cliffs to the west, Newport Beach House is centrally located in one of the most picturesque places in Rhode Island. We can’t say enough to highlight the natural and architectural beauty found at the Newport Beach House.
There you have it – our top three favorite venues in the Lil’ Rhody! Was your venue on our list? If we expanded the list, what other places would you suggest?
If you’re still searching for photo or video for your special day, we’d love to talk! Head to our contact page or leave a comment below!
Vicki + Adam | 06.29.19 | Roseland Park
Vicki + Adam had a beautiful wedding on June 29, 2019 at Roseland Park in Woodstock, CT. They turned up the heat for their wedding….literally. It was about 100 degrees that day but it didn’t stop these two! Their love was clear and the day was amazing. They had an intimate wedding with close friends and family and we were honored to capture their day. Vicki got ready at her parents house about a half hour from the venue. They got married at Roseland Park under some shade and the party happened over in the barn. It was such a cool venue and we hope you enjoy their video!
Venue: Roseland Park
Jackie & Mike | Small Ceremony In Boston
A little over a month ago I got a Facebook message from someone I met back in high school. She was getting married; having a small ceremony for their close family in Boston and she was looking for a photographer. It was not your typical 8 hour wedding day, but I was available and I happily agreed to do it. It took place at the Old City Hall in Boston, which is now Ruth Chris’ Steak House. The outside is awesome and makes for a great spot for photos.
We took some right out front of the steps as you see above, and we took some in this smaller area off to the side as well. It was pretty cold out as it was February 23rd, but Jackie and Mike were troopers.
Jackie & Mike braved the cold for almost an hour, props to them honestly.
Funny story about this photo right above here; I didn’t think I was going to like it when I took it. The light coming from outside was obviously daylight and the light inside was very yellow, but I ended up really liking it in black and white. Anyway, once we did the family photos and their portraits outside, we went inside for a few more family photos and for the ceremony.
That’s all! Hope you enjoyed this set and this article, let me know what you thought.
If you or someone you know is searching for a wedding photographer or videographer, have them reach out, I’d be happy to talk.
Email mywedding@mikeneilan.com to inquire and check out other videos on the site!
Thank you.
Wedding Videos: What Happens After The Wedding
A wedding video can be 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 8 minutes, 10, 20, 60, 120. You might get 1 videographer, you might get 2. Some companies even offer 3 videographers. You might need 6 hours of coverage, you might want 8, maybe 10? Some couples even just want 4 hours. You get the point; a wedding video can really vary depending where you go.
One thing you might not completely think of is just how much time is spent after the wedding to make your video. Whether it’s a short 5 minute video or a long 60 minute video, there’s a lot of work that happens behind the scenes to make your video come out the way it is. Here are a few samples.
I’ll spoil this article and tell you how many hours it takes now. Nah, maybe not. Keep reading.
So after the wedding is over, the first thing I do when I get home is take the memory cards and back up all the footage to a hard drive at my desk. All the videos, the audio, everything. Depending on how long the wedding day was and how much we shot, this takes about an hour. That night I might even back it up to a 2nd hard drive so I have it in two places. If I do that, it’s another half hour. Other times I’ll back it up again the next day instead of that night. Point is, I want to make sure all the media is safe and on my hard drives so I can clear my memory cards and have it stored properly. Now it’s ready to edit.
The next thing I do is sort through all the video. Every clip we shot gets looked at, every single one. We are usually at a wedding about 8-9 hours. Now, we aren’t recording every second of the day but we are shooting a lot, and we have multiple cameras, so there is a lot to go through. I go through all of it and pull out the best pieces of every clip. Some clips have nothing I see that I want to use, some have 3 or 4 good parts, it all varies. This process takes about 10-12 hours. Now I have gone through all the clips, found the best pieces and I know what I like. The next part is putting the ceremony and reception together.
We usually shoot the ceremony with 3 cameras, sometimes 4. We also have audio from wireless mics. This needs to get synchronized so we can easily switch between camera angles when we want, and see the ceremony all put together with each camera angle. Depending on how long the ceremony was and how many cameras we used, this takes an hour or two. Then there’s the reception. Now we don’t record the entire reception but we have the introductions, the formal dances, and the toasts that need to be synced up. Similar process to the ceremony so this takes another hour or two to organize that and get it put together. Now we’re at about 12-16 hours.
Now the footage is sorted through, ceremony and reception are organized. Time to find music! No joke, sometimes this takes me 30 seconds, sometimes it takes me 2 hours. I might find the song that sounds right the second I start looking, and I’ve also had times where I played through songs for almost 2 hours and didn’t find the right one. It’s one of the most important pieces.
Next up, edit the video! Now it’s time to take that music, and put some video over it. What I’ll do is listen through the vows and the toasts for the best pieces and I pull those aside so I know what I want to use. That takes about and hour or two. Then I start putting clips over the music, and I mostly go in order of the day. I’ll put in some clips of the bride getting ready, her bridesmaids, getting hair done, makeup, etc. Then I go through and put in pieces of the toasts and vows that match and make the most sense to me. I might show the actual footage from the ceremony or the reception of them speaking or I may keep it on them getting ready. Then I do the same thing for the groom. The way I edited my videos is basically two halves; I show the bride and groom getting ready, go into their first look if they have one, then to their ceremony, and that’s the first half. If you’ve never seen my videos, it might seem like the video is over at the end of the ceremony. But it’s just a short 2 second pause and then I go into the 2nd half of the video.
The 2nd half of the video is the reception; so I show some footage of decorations, the cake, the venue, then the introductions of the wedding party, and then the bride and groom getting introduced. Then some clips of them dancing, then their parent dances, the cake cutting, and then the video is finished off with a 2-3 minute montage of people dancing and having a blast at the reception. This whole part takes about 10 hours. Now the video is edited from start to finish.
Last but not least, similar to the icing on a cake, I do the color correction. Throughout the day of the wedding we are changing settings from indoor to outdoor, changing lighting settings, etc. So the footage might look off in color, or be dark in some areas, too light in other shots, things like that. Color correction is where that all gets fixed. We brighten up things that are too dark, tone down areas that are too bright, and fix colors that are just not set right. For a 5-10 minute highlight video, this takes about 1.5 hours. For a 20-40 minute video it takes close to 2-3 hours. Now the video is done! About 25-28 hours later, the video is ready to send to the couple.
(If I’m doing a longer video in addition to the highlight, it’s another 6-8 hours of editing. This is the time of adding more ceremony footage, removing certain parts and adding more in other areas, adding more to the reception.)
It’s quite the process. When I first started doing wedding videos, it actually took me 35-40 hours to edit the video. That’s a whole work week for most people, pretty crazy. But after many times of doing it, figuring out better ways to do things, getting more efficient, I got to where I am now.
I hope you enjoyed this article. This is a craft we as wedding videographers take our time to perfect and we really put our heart into it. At least speaking for myself, it’s something we do because we love it. Getting the reaction emails of “OMG this is amazing I cried! Thank you so much!” or “Thank you so much Mike, we are truly grateful we had you capture our day this is more than we could ask for” is something that really means a lot to me. It makes it all worth it and it truly brings me joy. I actually did a screen recording and voice over of me editing a wedding video once, if you would like to see it, go here. If you have any questions for me or if you are looking for a wedding videographer, reach out to me at mike@mikeneilan.com and check out my work on my wedding video section.
Thank you for reading.
What's On My Home Screen?
Hey friends. I thought this might be a cool post, hopefully you do too. I’m going to show you what my home screen on my phone looks like and go through some of the most important apps I use. Hopefully this could help show you some apps that might help you!
So first off, here’s my home screen.
So I have an iPhone X 64GB in Space Gray and it’s great, it does everything I need and I’m a big fan of it. I wish the battery life was just a little better but I do use my phone a lot so I can’t complain.
Most of these apps you probably all recognize; LinkedIn, Facebook, instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, Google Maps, Waze, Uber.
SOCIAL MEDIA
I keep most/all of my social media on my home page because I use them a lot. I run a company, Focus Forward Media with a partner and we do video production, photography, and social media for companies. So I am managing our Instagram, our Twitter, our Facebook, as well as my own and some of our clients.
LinkedIn I keep up front because I’m trying to be more active there, I think of it as the Facebook of Business. It can be an effective way to interact with people you might want to do business with or see business news/headlines, connect with new people, etc.
Dropbox I keep up front because it’s how I get social media content to my phone. If I create a graphic I put it into Dropbox from my Mac and then take it from the Dropbox app on my phone. It’s where I put my photos too. Super helpful.
Nuzzel - Nuzzel is a news app I really like. It can log in to your Twitter or FB and it pulls headlines from top news sites, headlines from big accounts you follow and links to articles you might be interested in. From Nuzzel you can then share the article right to your Twitter or Facebook without leaving the app. It’s a great source in finding news so I’m a big fan of it.
The email app I’m using at the moment is ‘Email - Edison Mail’ I’m very picky with my email app. I use to use the Gmail App, and then switched to the iOS mail app. I liked the gmail app but it got to be too much for me and I wanted something simpler; hence going to the iOS mail app. It was very clean, very basic, and sort of text based in my opinion, which I liked. But after a while, especially after iOS 12, there came to be bugs with the notifications. For example, I would get a notification 10 minutes after I got an email even though that account was set to ‘push’ notifications. Another thing that annoyed me was I would get a notification for an email, I would swipe to open that email, but the email app would open in another account inbox. Then I’d have to navigate to that inbox for that email. So I did some research and found the Edison Email App. It’s actually very similar in look to the iOS mail app; it’s very clean and simple. It’s a bit more organized, faster, and the notifications work great. If you’re looking for a new email app I would recommend it! It can organize your emails into travel, packages (for deliveries), bills and receipts, subscriptions, entertainment, and security. It’s pretty sweet.
LIGHTROOM
Sometimes I’ll do a quick edit of a photo on my phone and the Lightroom mobile app is awesome. It has all the tools you need to edit on the go and more. If you’re a photographer and like to edit while traveling, it’s a great app and if you have an Adobe subscription, you can get it very easy.
FOURSQUARE
Foursquare is a cool app that can help you find places to eat and things to do in your area. I keep it to occasionally look for a new restaurant or bar, or to write reviews myself. If you like to review places, it’s a cool app because it can keep track of where you’re going and will prompt you to review places you’ve been. With every review you get points, levels, etc. it’s cool, check it out.
GPS
My GPS choice varies. I use to use Waze almost all the time, but often times now when I open it there’s bugs or it takes forever to load, or it says it can’t find the place I’m looking for/there’s no connection when I have no problem with service. So I’ve been using Google Maps more lately. I still use Waze sometimes but not as often. What’s your GPS of choice? I have almost never used Apple Maps because I hear it’s terrible but if any of you use it or love it, let me know, would love to hear your thoughts.
MOBILE BROWSER
Lastly, my mobile browser choice is Google Chrome as opposed to Safari. I’m curious to hear your thoughts, leave a comment here or shoot me an email on why you use one or the other (mike@mikeneilan.com). I don’t have anything against Safari actually, i just prefer Chrome and have been using it on desktop forever so naturally I use it on my phone. Any benefits to Safari over Chrome? Or vice versa? Let me know.
What’s on your home screen? Did this post help you find some new apps or make you think about your apps? Let me know. If you have any questions for me, my email is mike@mikeneilan.com
If you or someone you know is looking for a portrait photographer or is looking for wedding video/photo, send them my way, I’d be happy to talk with them.
Thanks for reading, have a great day.
Mike.
Two Thousand Eighteen.
Well, I must say, 2018 was an incredible year. I started a new business with a partner called Focus Forward Media, where we focus on video production and advertising for businesses, I moved into Providence, and I shot a lot more weddings than I did in 2017. I also did a lot more photography for weddings than previous years and I really enjoyed that. I shot many weddings with Wendy Hewes out of Rhode Island and I got to really expand my portfolio and continue shooting more than I had in the past, which was awesome. Side note; if you are looking for a wedding photographer and I don’t seem to be your fit, check out Wendy’s work at WendyHewes.com, my company designed her website and we did some social media for her as well.
In 2018 I shot at various venues in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Maine. It was awesome getting to see new locations and experiment with places I’ve never been before, and of course with new faces!
To wrap this up, I want to share this video I put together. This is a highlight of all the wedding videos I did in 2018, I hope you enjoy it!
If you did, pass it on and leave a comment. Feedback is always appreciated.
If you or someone you know is getting married, or in need of a new headshot or portraits for their brand/social media, please feel free to reach out at mike@mikeneilan.com and view more of my work here on my website.
Thank you.