In this nuptial notes #3, I would like to introduce you to 10th Letter Media! If you were around during any of the wedding planning, you know how much I love them! OK, to set the stage…we met 10th Letter Media (Addy and Julian) in Hawaii, in 2010, when we went to Hawaii for Mike and Angie’s wedding. They did a same day edit for Mike and Angie and I fell in love. I couldn’t stop watching their video and when I came home, I couldn’t stop showing it to people. Their work is so unique and amazing, and what I didn’t know then, is how awesome they are as individuals. In true Leah fashion, I became obsessed. I started following their blog and watching every video that was posted. I didn’t even know these couples, yet I couldn’t stop watching!
Seven months later, Sherwin and I were engaged and the first vendor I contacted was 10th Letter Media. I knew that it would be a long shot – they were in Hawaii and our wedding was in California. I wasn’t sure how much it was going to cost us, but I had to ask. I sent off my email and prayed. The next day I receive this response from Addy (excerpt below)…
“We would love to cover your event as well! Julian who is my husband and our main videographer is a California native (Orange county too!) so we are somewhat familiar with the area. We do charge a travel fee for weddings out of Hawaii though. I can give you a better estimate once we return to Honolulu on Monday, but to give you a general idea, our travel costs usually cover flight, hotel, transportation, and other minor incidentals.”
My first reaction – Julian’s from California! There was something in me that felt that we had a connection since he used to be a local. :) As I read on, I started to wonder how much the rest was going to cost, so I waited in anticipation to hear back from Addy with the details…
Addy follows up a few days later and although the travel costs weren’t crazy, it put us out of our budget. My heart sank. This is horrible of me, but I couldn’t even write Addy back at the moment. I needed time to figure out a plan, to come up with a solution. I had to see where we could cut back so that I could justify the increase. I had to talk to Sherwin (who loved them as much as I did) and to my parents. I was determined to somehow, someway, make it work. We prayed.
Two weeks passed. The first week, we tried to work with our budget. Once we realized there was no way to cut back in other areas in order to offset the spend for 10th Letter, we came to the bitter realization that we just wouldn’t be able to have them. The second week, Sherwin and I must have visited 50 websites, watched numerous videos, and were disappointed after every video. Finally, after the two weeks passed, I wrote Addy. I explained our situation and asked her if Julian could recommend us anyone out here in CA.
Then, God answered our prayers. Addy responded…
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were coming!!!!!!!!! We wrote our first wedding check out to 10th LM and the rest is history. Through the process, Julian, Addy and their beautiful daughter Izzy, have become like family. Addy and I keep in touch, I am an avid follower of her blog and I still follow the 10th LM blog. I am always in awe of their videos, but above all, I have become a fan of the Gilliam family. Their talent and work is definitely something to be admired, but I have come to care for them as friends.
And finally…here it is! Our highlight reel…I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Thank you Addy, Julian (and Jon!)!! XOXO
Leah,
ReplyDeleteI had no idea of the lead-up to your booking. I am BEYOND happy that it worked out. You and Sherwin are amazing, and we MUST get together soon friend!
Lots of aloha,
the Gilliams :)
Love the design of your blog.
ReplyDelete10th letter media was absolutely fantastic.
-S2