Real Weddings: Rachel & John from Ian Lozada on Vimeo.

The big story of 2011 in our shop started a week before Rachel and John's wedding last year. By now, if you're in Kentucky, you've probably seen an image or two from their wedding in some of our advertising. Well, a week before their wedding, I had one of my camera bodies die on literally the last shot of a wedding. The camera went off to Canon for service, and I rented an extra body from Murphy's Camera in Lexington for Rachel and John's ceremony.  Well, the body I rented, it had HD video capability, so I figured, why not shoot a little test footage while I'm shooting the wedding in my normal fashion?

I have a secret weapon here. My brother Tim, who you might have seen in the music photos from Buster's last year, his primary work is film editing-- he's worked on things like the Ben Stiller movie Keeping the Faith, the first season of Dog The Bounty Hunter, the front half of the PBS series Carrier and he does a lot of work on internet video for people like Unicef and Pepsi. Despite my inability to keep the camera stable, he made something pretty decent out of the above.

Flash forward a little. Since Tim put this together for me, he's acquired a broadcast quality HD camera that's approved for use by the BBC, significantly better than using a DSLR camera like mine, and the microphone equipment to make the audio sound as good as the camera makes the visual look.

So Tim and I have been talking a lot about weddings as a result. Like me, he values a non-intrusive documentary style, and we think that short, concise films of about 15-25 minutes say more about the look and feel of your wedding than a long, drawn out video that shows every single moment of ceremony and reception. Let's face it, that gets tedious on multiple viewings-- just try and get your husband to sit through the whole thing on your second anniversary.

If you haven't guessed by now, Tim and I are going to be forming a second business, Lozada Visuals, which is going to be doing HD wedding films (also vintage style Super 8 films) and film/stills fusion pieces. For the present, that's going to be specific to the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut metro area . If you're interested in hearing more about that, give us a call at 888.577.6355. We'd love to explore the possibilities with you.

Took this one just a little bit after Valentine's Day on a day that got up to 55 degrees, which can only mean one thing: spring is almost here. To be precise, it's only 11 days away. And the first wedding of the season is only 9 days away, at Talon Winery!

While we're busy having cameras and lenses cleaned, I noticed in my website traffic stats that a few people have been looking at some of my old open dates posts, so I thought I'd tell you what dates are currently not available for 2011.

Here's what's currently booked this year:

March 18, 19, 26, 27
April 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, 29, 30
May 1, 7, 13, 14, 15
June 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 24, 25, 26
September 16, 17

In addition, I expect July 23rd to possibly come off the board this week.

Don't forget that we'll be appearing at The Art of Entertaining March 31st at The Signature Club in Lexington, Kentucky. I'm also looking for a good bridal event to do on Long Island this spring, more to come on that soon.

We haven't forgotten that big announcement yet-- some paperwork to file today on that, and we're busy building the new website that goes with it still. Keep watching this space!

Here's the valentine card Caroline's handing out in kindergarten today...

Hope this is a year for all of you to celebrate someone who you love, no matter how big or small. Also, congratulations to all of you who are getting engaged today!

Take a look at some of the wedding things we're looking at today after the jump...

Anthropologie's new (and long awaited) B H L D N wedding line asks, "What Type of Bride Are You?" Take their survey here. The line includes wedding dresses ($600-4000), shoes, jewelry, hair accessories and more. (Available online only)

I recently had the pleasure of hearing noted wedding planner Tara Guerard speak at The WOW Event in Lexington.  She's giving away a copy of her book Weddings By Tara Guerard on her blog today.  Click here to enter.

My brother Timothy and I have been talking lately about teaming up on some things to incorporate his filmmaking into the business here, and we've been looking at a lot of Super 8 wedding films, Photo/video fusion wedding films, HD documentary style wedding films and other things that break the mold of traditional wedding videography as we search for inspiration.  Right now, we're loving this engagement shoot film by New Jersey-based Fiore Films that I saw on Style Me Pretty.

One of the things I'm excited about doing this week is one of the Sunday Soirees that Shelia Bayes and Jacki Allen are putting on. It's a free bridal seminar in an intimate setting, over at Shelia Bayes Fine Jewelers in The Shops at Lexington Center. Bridal and Formal will be presenting some of the latest in bridal gowns, I'll be talking about photography, and Jacki Allen will be explaining everything you didn't know about wedding planners but didn't know who to ask.

It's the first in a series of monthly events, and it's taking place from 1-4PM Sunday, April 18th, and you should RSVP at 859.368.9132, ext. 12. Details of the additional dates can be found on page 78 of the new issue of Kentucky Bride Magazine.

Limited Edition Bridal Gown from White House Black Market ($498)

I've been seeing a lot lately about bridal gowns being available from retailers who aren't traditional bridal outlets like White House Black Market (fittings available in select boutiques), J Crew (website/catalog only), with Urban Outfitters' Anthropologie line and The Limited joining the fray soon.

J Crew Chiffon & Organza Dune Gown ($895)

The prices on these range anywhere from $295 to $2500.  The first obvious question is, do you like some of the dresses available on these sites?  And the follow up, of course, is, would you consider a dress from retailers like this, and if so, what would your expectations be?  Would you want to see the dresses in the stores at these prices or is online only OK, how much support would you expect from the stores, would you expect to have to take it somewhere else for alterations?

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

I added a tumblelog recently as a way of aggregating my posts between the blog and Twitter. Just experimenting with it for now, but we'll see where it goes. Check it out at loveunscripted.tumblr.com!

I've actually been on twitter for awhile for my personal, sports related interests, but I finally opened an account for the wedding world: http://www.twitter.com/LoveUnscripted

Hope to see you there!

Our good friends over at Jacki Allen's Kentucky Bride are asking for help with a survey they've got going to help guide them content-wise, and they're offering a free year of Jazzercise to one lucky bride. Click here for details.

Some scenes from Neema and Arjun's three-day Indian wedding in Lexington... those who followed my previous blog may recognize them from their New York engagement session.

...There's so much to show you from 3 days worth of shooting that I can't even pretend that a single blog posting will cover it-- I recommend you check out the 300+ image extended slide show.

Cover of the July 2009 Kentucky Bride Magazine, shot by Ian Lozada

One of my highlights this summer was getting to shoot the cover of the current issue of Kentucky Bride Magazine.  Be sure to follow the link to see the magazine online, including my 9 page spread of bridal fashions and stories on two of my recent weddings.  The magazine is available at Barnes and Noble, Joseph Beth Booksellers and Borders, or you can get a copy from me if you schedule an appointment to talk about your upcoming wedding!