Mike has been inviting us to come see his office and since he works out of his house, his home for some time now. Mike is like the hardest working guy I know. He is booked solid all year long! In the winter months when we are sitting around twiddling our thumbs, Mike is still shooting and editing- where are all these brides coming from? Apparently they cannot get enough of Mike! I have always been so impressed by what a popular guy he is- and how he never seems to get burnt out. He's always friendly, always positive and always enthusiastic about shooting weddings. Where does this enthusiasm come from? Is it something in the water in Cumberland? Maybe I should have asked him for a glass while we were there.
Anyway, because her works so hard... Mike's house/office is really beautiful and big (you could fit my house and Trish's house inside it I think). And, seriously if President Obama wanted to visit for the weekend the secret service could take the weekend off because the big gate you have to go through to get into the neighborhood could definitely keep out the terrorists... But not the Snap! Girls!!!! Ha Ha- watch out Mike because here we come!
The first thing I notice is Mike's editing station... How do you drive this thing?
The second thing I notice is the lack of clutter. Mike's office is REALLY neat- I mean immaculate. Suddenly I feel embarrassed about my desk..
Here's Mike in action... he's demonstrating his all new "Glide Cam". Explain this to us lay mans terms Mike...
"The glide cam makes everyone and everything super glamorous and smooth- there's no herky jerky. It looks seamless, just like the movies."
In addition to the Glide Cam, last year Mike went all High Def. He's the only guy in the state producing Blu Ray DVD's for his clients. I wasn't sure why that was a big deal because I am technology-challenged... but Mike tells me that Blu Ray is 4 times the quality of a regular DVD. Wow! He showed us some examples and it was very impressive.
"It's better than your eyes!" Mike told us.
Here's Trish relaxing on Mike's sofa. Nice- I am working hard gathering info for this snap and chat while she just relaxes. What is the meaning of this?! I guess she figures she's already done her part because Mike says she really helped him out when he was first getting started by giving him some good advice about pricing. Trish is pretty good at giving advice I must admit.
So, I mentioned before that Mike is Mr. Popularity... what is going on here? How does he explain this?
"I get great brides, the girls that hire me are usually trendy and fashionable and technically savvy. I'm not cheap, but I'm not super expensive either. I pack a lot of value into my packages. You also get two high def cameras for the whole day and Blu Ray- I don't charge extra for that. I want everyone to have the best. If you hire me, you always get ME! I also bring an assistant. I have several assistants and they are women. They are about the same age as most of my brides. They are really enthusiastic and the my brides always really like them. it brings a nice balance for the team.
I'm easy to work with, I have a great repore with the other vendors. I don't try to redirect, I always go with the flow."
True that Mike!
Mike's been shooting weddings for over 14 years and figures that means roughly about 700 events!!
"The proof is in the pudding" as they say.... what a weird saying- but looks like a lot of the brides think that Mike is the best...
The awesomely talented florist Semia certainly does... I found this thank you note while snooping around Mike's desk when he left the room. (just kidding). Isn't this a great testimonial?
Here's Mike demonstrating some of his jazzy effects. Clearly Trish is impressed, she even got up off the couch for closer inspection. Mike has a "Filters Package" that you can add to your video if you'd like some fun effects on your wedding video too.
Mike is also really proud of his brand new website... it's fun and interactive to check it out click here.
We've known Mike all these years, but I never knew how he got into the wedding industry...
"My dad bought a video camera when I was 14 years old - from Lechemere! After he bought it he told me to read the directions and figure it out! I started videotaping everything for the family. When I was 22 or 23 my dad came home and said he saw this ad in the paper for videography classes at the local channel 8 cable station. I thought, 'oh boy here we go!' I'm thinking it's going to be a joke. It sort of was, there was this old fellow teaching all the other old guys how to turn their camera on...but he did give us an assignment.
I took video at my grandparents 60th anniversary party. I did my best to cut it and produce it with two VCR's in my bedroom. There was an old guy sitting next to me in class and he told me he thought it was fantastic. He gave me his nephews name, he owned a video production company. I went to see him to find out if he needed any help. He didn't need any help but he did let me tag along! He was shooting with two cameras on giant tripods with wheels and with televisions! It was the school of hard knocks, but he taught me all about composition and I did it all for free!
In 1994 I got married and I wanted a high end video of my wedding. I got to know the woman shooting the video for me and she asked if I would second shoot for her. I did that for four years. I booked 146 weddings in one year for her! She started to feel a little burned out, like she was all done. She also resisted the switch from VHS to digital. I ended up buying most of the contracts from her and starting my own business!"
Great story Mike!
Side note: We worked with Mike this weekend at the super fun wedding of Karalyn and Erik.
They'll be quite a few photos of Mike in action coming this way later this week on the blog. I also took a little video myself- thought it might be fun to turn the tables on Mike. This however backfired horribly on me. The band at the wedding forced me to sing the chorus from "Living on a Prayer" (yes of course I know the words- who doesn't?) with them and Mike was front and center for the whole horrible off key spectacle. I fully expect that he will EDIT that from the video he gives to Karalyn... right Mike?! How embarrassing.
You can reach Mike through is website: