Monday Meeting: Trivium Studio

Monday Meeting with James Christianson and Trey Tesoro of Trivium Studio. 

Trivium Studio gets it's name, Trivium, from the point where three paths cross. At Trivium Studio it is the intersection of the visions of James, Trey, and their clients. Trivium Studio is relatively new, although its photographers are not novices. James Christianson and Trey Tesoro both had their own photography "brands" before deciding about 18 months ago to merge and create Trivium Studio. James and Trey's style complement each other so well and they truly are a breath of fresh air in the wedding market.

AC: How did you get your start in photography? 
TS: I (James) took photography in high school, and really enjoyed it. I continued photography throughout the years sporadically and when I meant Trey we both loved photography and our passion grew into our business. We had our own independent brands but we always shot together; however, about 18 months ago Trey and I decided to merge our brands together as one.

AC: What's your favorite moment to capture at a wedding?
TS: There are too many to list. Trey really loves to capture when the groom first sees the bride, while I love capturing the first dance in addition to any one on one moments between the bride and groom. Especially the moment before the bride walks down the aisle- her anticipation! There really are too many to list!

AC: How would you classify your style?
TS: I'd have to say a fusion of all styles. We pride ourselves on capturing real moments as they are happening. Of course we'll take the traditional style pictures, but what we love and are known for is our ability to capture emotion in the moment in a timeless manner. 


AC: What advice do you have for a bride and groom looking for the right photographer?
TS: Choose someone that you truly have a connection with. You want to love their style but you want to feel comfortable with them through the process and on the big day. You have to remember to choose what you like, not what others around you like because they are your wedding pictures. Take engagement pictures with your photographer--that way if you don't like them or if you don't fit their style you aren't stuck with them on your wedding day. All you have after the wedding are the images, so make sure you are going to love them without settling.

Make sure you check out Trivium Studio featured on these well known wedding blogs and in the next issue of the Knot, DC/Maryland/Virginia Edition in stores this month! : Wedding Chicks, Inspired By This

Kristen and Jeff: Virginia Beach Engagement Session

Kristen and Jeff got married a few weeks back on the Eastern Shore and we saw a sneak peek of their wedding pictures and can't wait to share them in the coming weeks! However, we just had to post these gorgeous photos from their engagement shoot by Tracey Sanders. We wish them all the best, and let us know what you think!

The yellow scarf was definitely a great addition...
 

Real Wedding: Michelle and Josh, Virginia Beach

A few weeks ago we had the privilege of assisting in the wedding of Michelle and Josh.  We love when families are involved in all aspects of a wedding, and in this case Michelle was walked down the aisle by her son and the couple was married by Josh's father.  The wedding took place at The Lighthouse on the Cove in Virginia Beach and began with an outdoor ceremony.  RSVP Stationery created custom wedding day stationery and beautiful pink flowers were provided by Char's Floral Design.  DJ Taylor Haycox kept the guests on their feet until late in the evening and Andi Grant Photography was there to capture all of the great moments. A family friend of the bride created her delicious cake and everything went off without a hitch.

As always, we love to share our favorite moments from the wedding and planning process with you: I actually went to High School with Michelle, so it is always my favorite memory, when I can help old friends on one of the most important days of their lives and this wedding was no different. Michelle, it was an honor to help you throughout the process and I look forward to sharing in more of life's journey with you.

Let us know what you think!

 We love that Michelle, Josh and their son wore coordinating vans for the reception. Adorable. 

It was our first time with a "wine and love letter ceremony" during the wedding...and we loved it. This was super romantic and sweet. Here is the gist, the bride and groom write love letters to each other and seal them in a box during the ceremony along with a bottle of wine...then on a later wedding anniversary (maybe on your 20th anniversary) you open up the box and read the reasons that you fall in love all those years ago while enjoying a good bottle of wine. It's super sweet! 

Stefanie and Andrew: Engagement Session

I wanted to get these fun and light hearted pictures from Stefanie and Andrew's engagement session with Dave Abel posted! They look so happy and excited, and with good reason- their wedding is coming up quickly! With their personalities shining through these gorgeous pictures we can't wait to see how Dave Abel captures their wedding day at the Norfolk Golf and Yacht Club.

Thank you Dave for these incredible pictures of Stefanie and Andrew! 

Media: Virginia Beach Engagement Session featured on bridal blog

Let me first start off by saying that my husband and his partners are amazingly talented at what they do...and I am truly inspired and impressed by Trivium Studio each and every time I work with them. The comments and feedback that they receive from local and national vendors/clients/media/blogs,etc. always inspire me and make me proud of their hard work and dedication. With that said...These pictures will not let you down!

A few months back we had the opportunity to create a fun engagement session for our clients Tori and Ryan. I had the idea for this session quite some time ago, but I had to find the perfect couple that was willing and able to let us kind of take over their session and trust in our design vision. Tori and Ryan were absolutely perfect and I think Tori fell in love with the idea as much as I had. Tori is a bit of a DIY bride and the idea of crafting for her really helped spark my imagination. The theme we picked was "you are every minute of my ever day..." it's a sign that I've had on my design studio desk for quite some time now and I thought it would be a fun one to design a shoot around. The first thing that popped into my head was vintage watches/clocks and hour glasses etc...so that is the first thing we incorporated. To play on the "time theme" we also created custom flags that integrated the important dates in their relationship...while I couldn't include every "moment" into the shoot, I picked the most pertinent details to their engagement story.  I really love how this shoot turned out...and I am more than honored to say that the very well known wedding blog Wedding Chicks thought this engagement session was the perfect fit for their website. You can see the post here or check out some more images below that you might not have seen on the original post.

I really want to thank Lawson Hall for letting us use their incredible venue as the background of our shoot. If you don't know what Lawson Hall is, and you are looking for the perfect wedding venue for your big day please take the time to check it out. It's 320 years of history and heritage in Virginia Beach that is fabulous! We love it...and know you will too!


Let us know what you think!

 The shot below reminds me of Gone with the Wind for some reason. 

  My team and I even made these custom cupcake holders for our Shockley Sweet Shoppes cupcakes.  

 OH yeah, and these adorable custom flags. 

Ashley and John: Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center Wedding

For the last few months the ACE Team has had the extreme honor of working with John and Ashley on their "Stateside Wedding" at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in Norfolk. Their first marriage ceremony was in Mexico in March surrounded by about 35 of their closest friends and family...and then just last week they surprised their guests who thought they were just attending a celebration reception in honor of their wedding in Mexico with a vow renewal ceremony.  We really enjoyed planning with Ashley, she has a great vision and the wedding turned out beautiful and unique to their love story. 

We had the pleasure of working with some great vendors for this beautiful event! Daevid Reed worked with us closely on all of the personal details, flower and lounge design. Blue Steel Lighting Design hit a home run with their lighting design and also creation of draping you see on the fun lounge. Cuisine and Company did a phenomenal job on their "themed stations". Patti Cakes, Inc. designed a fabulous cake that not only looked amazing but also tasted amazing. (do you notice the fish swimming around as the 3rd tier?). Virginia Ice Art created Ashley and Johns jumping dolphin ice luge that was 6 feet (yes 6) tall. The Boardwalk Photobooth Company was a HIT for the evening. Their booth was packed all night! We had the pleasure of working with Kat Whitworth for the first time and we loved the sneak peak of the images she took...we look forward to sharing some of those soon. And finally...our friend Jeremy Mitchell of Jeremy Mitchell Cinema shot this fun trailer for us... We hope you loved it as much as we do! 

We'll share more details of John and Ashley's big day along with their wedding images in the coming days...

But for now, a sneak peak video! 

John and Ashley from jeremy mitchell on Vimeo.