Austin & Janessa



Dress from @thebridalstudioutah
Production assistance by @arinakrondeva
Photography by @meredithzimmerman_

Bride & Groom @janessa_gornichec & @austin_sil

Austin and Janessa got in touch with me last minute. Not because they were poor planners or another videographer dropped the ball or anything like that, no. They got in touch last minute because they were inspired to run away and get married, just the two of them, on an island in the Caribbean…at the last minute.

When she got in touch, from the first few minutes I knew I wanted them as clients. St. Croix is only a few hundred dollar plane ticket from Orlando and a few more hundred for a gorgeous airbnb all to myself? This sounds just like an adventure I want to have.

I had dreams of hiking with them on the mountain parks while picnicking and filming every moment of their lovely day, and I said as much. Janessa was 100% on board with it, so I bought my ticket and made my shoot plans for the weekend.

The hike with them fell through. Turns out the cruise ship they came in on wouldn’t let them disembark early. But since I flew in, it didn’t stop me from using a day and wandering around the island, capturing breathtaking views and footage to add to their film.

Not to mention the fact that their wedding day was still a wonderful, beautiful combination of laughter, tears, sun, salt, and Veuve Clicquot (I managed to find a store on the island that carried it, and bought a bottle for them to share as their first toast). This trip was a wonderful reminder that I love what I do.

I love scouting locations, I love traveling and showing my clients the spots I’ve discovered. I love wandering with my couples, forming a friendship with them and using my artist’s eye to get creative with their film. To get to say “hey, lets try something, bear with me, this is going to be so damn cool.” and hear “we trust you, do your thing.” in reply is the greatest thing for me.

This one was especially freeing. No timelines, no planned moments, no guided creativity.

Just art and love.

Exactly why I do what I do.