Sail and Summit was our videographer for our November 2023 wedding. When doing research for a videographer, my husband and I were impressed by the quality of the work as well as the fair prices. At our virtual meeting, CJ was incredibly kind and sweet. My husband and I both felt really confident about our decision to book him. When we met on my wedding day, I immediately felt comfortable with him. You don’t realize it until it’s happening, but having people follow you around with cameras on the most special day of your life is pretty intimate! CJ made me feel totally at ease. He worked incredibly well with my photographers too. I really like I had the dream team!
When we got our video, we were blown away. As we were watching with tears streaming down our faces, my husband said, “this looks like a movie!”. He’s right, it’s truly stunning. I highly recommend Sail and Summit - CJ radiates kindness and is incredibly talented! Thanks, CJ!

We loved working with CJ! He was very responsive, warm, and professional, and we knew we had the right videographer after our initial video call. In addition, he was also very communicative via email and promptly sent us things like vendor insurance, which reduced our wedding planning stress. When it came to our wedding day, he and the second shooter were timely and captured the vision of what we wanted for our wedding video. Our wedding video turned out wonderfully and really captured the emotions and feelings of our day; it was timeless and made us and our loved ones cry. We got so many compliments about the video itself and how great CJ and the second shooter were at our wedding. We are so grateful we chose to have CJ as our videographer and would 100% recommend working with him!

Adding a videographer was a last minute decision for us, but we are ever so grateful that we found CJ!!! When searching for videographers, CJ's videos stood out not only for their beautifully smooth style but we especially loved how genuine the videos felt - always giving the viewer a peak into who the coupe truly are, letting their personalities shine through an otherwise fairly choreographed day. On our wedding day, CJ was an incredibly kind and helpful presence. CJ did his job professionally, but also with a kindness that make you feel like he was just a friend, excited to capture your special day - and he ALWAYS offered a helping hand (when he saw the father of the bride unpacking appetizers, or the photographer needed help setting up). He always put in the effort to make us feel special yet letting us be ourselves. After the wedding, CJ was very responsive - quickly sending us a teaser within 1 week of our wedding, and the highlight video followed, all within 5 weeks of our wedding day!

All in all, we can't thank CJ enough and would gladly recommend him to anyone !!!

TLDR: CJ is a very talented, well-seasoned videographer who doesn't just get the job done, he gets it done RIGHT - from the planning to directing, filming, and editing. What sets him apart from all the videographers (and believe me, I did my research - I interviewed plenty of videographers and watched way too many wedding highlights lol) is that he is thoughtful - SO INCREDIBLY THOUGHTFUL. I mean, ALL THE DETAILS - it makes my heart melt everytime I rewatch this video knowing he had put so much effort. Everytime I watch my video, I literally have this big smile from cheek to cheek. If I didn't believe in CJ's work, trust me - I wouldn't have spent the last two hours writing up this very detailed review!

*****

PLANNING: Wedding planning is stressful, am I right? But I love that CJ scheduled our meetings in advance. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal but speaking from experience, it's the little things that fall through the cracks so this was just one of many examples of how much I appreciated CJ taking the small, preventative steps to help with smooth execution. Throughout the planning process, we would communicate about my vision and expectations for the wedding highlight. I researched other couples' wedding videos on YouTube at the same venue and showed him examples of what I liked and didn't like. I hate vendors that just nod their head and agree. CJ was not like that at all, he asked solid questions so that he could better understand our vision in order to successfully follow through. He listened attentively to our priorities and the final product is proof.

Before I continue with my review, it is important to note that in our planning meetings, I let CJ know that I wasn't the super romantic type of bride. I wanted our video to capture the "fun moments" and I forewarned him that my wedding decor game was not that strong nor creative (mainly because we allocated a big part of our budget towards fun activities i.e. wedding games, chinese door games, giant yard games, etc). Knowing this, CJ was prepared and accommodating with switching gears to make sure he focused more on capturing all the genuine moments of smiles and laughter.

EXECUTION & EDITING - The song and scene selection can be a make it or break moment. I love that CJ’s choice of songs is incredibly thoughtful and every beat of the song compliments each scene. Here are just some of my favorite examples (aka PROOF of my raving review):
(1) During a part of my husband's speech, “we are here today to reach the next milestone, our marriage” shows me walking down an open corridor towards my husband. As the first slow love song comes to an end, CJ shows a scene of Jei and I walking fading into the black background and the second song, an upbeat “ready to party” type song slowly phases in. (2) As the song builds up, the clip starts off with a variety of scenes of our guests having a great time - playing games, getting drinks, taking pictures, warm embraces, and old friends catching up. (3) The song’s beats start to escalate and it smoothly transitions into a badass scene of the groom and groomsmen walking down a corridor with their game face on then phases into a similar but affectionate scene of bridal and bridesmaids. (4) The song continues to escalate and to match the beats, CJ shows playful moments from Chinese door games. (5) The song’s volume softens as my Brother in Law’s speech enters, I love that as his speech ends with “welcome to the family”, CJ compliments this with a scene of my Mother in Law hugging me. (6) As the song’s volume gradually increases and reaches its max hype, CJ shows the wedding party’s grand entrance with the biggest smiles and expressions of laughter on display.

MY FAVORITE PARTS: Honestly, I love the video from beginning to end, it was not just romantic/lovey-dovey, it was SOOO entertaining and fun to watch. If I had to choose my top two favorite parts, they would be:
#1 When CJ incorporated and fused our first dance from two different locations (at Pasadena City Hall and the actual wedding reception) and with two different dresses. It sounds complex and weird but it was actually so beautifully crafted you must see it yourself!! (5:20) I’m telling you, CJ does his homework!!
#2 During our grand entrance, our best man and maid of honor used a money gun and as we (bride and groom) made our way to the dance floor, CJ used a reverse feature to make the money look like it was flying UP instead of falling down!! *mind blown* SO CREATIVE!!!

PRICING - I interviewed (5) different videographers before selecting Sail and Summit. Among them, CJ was very reasonably priced. To be clear, he was not the least expensive but he was certainly the most valuable. In negotiating with other vendors, some can be very tricky with hidden add-ons and misc costs but I love that CJ laid out options - he was straight-forward, no BS.

If you are searching for a videographer for your wedding, check out his work - let them speak for itself! You will find that CJ is not only an expert but genuinely passionate about his work.

We chose Christian to shoot our big day because we really liked the style and vibe of his work and it turned out to be one of the best decisions we made! He's very professional but also so fun and easy to get along with and having him with us all day felt like having a friend around. We loved the way he incorporated the audio from our letters to each other and our pastor's message into the video as those both mean so much to us! And the small moments he captured throughout the day are so fun to look back on. He is truly a master of his craft!

Sail and Summit really is as good as it gets. We found CJ through a friend with high recommendations and he did not disappoint. I wish I could just post my wedding video here and let that speak for itself, but alas. Feel free to go through his website and see for yourselves how talented this guy is. I think I cried the first 18 times I watched our video. While the videography speaks for itself, I'll speak for the videographer behind the scenes. CJ was a breeze to work with. On the day of my wedding, I was filled with emotions on emotions on emotions. Believe it or not, CJ's calm and gentle direction helped soothe my nerves in the midst of all the pre wedding hustle and bustle. He knew when to step in to direct and when to step back and shoot the candids. Seriously, trust your creatives because they know what they are doing. I'm glad I trusted Sail and Summit for the biggest day of my life yet and I'd gladly do so again.

CJ and his team are absolutely AMAZING! From the pre-wedding discussions to the final product, every step of the process was seamless, and they were so accommodating since we were planning the wedding from out-of-state. The video itself brings me back to the wedding day every time I watch it, and it lets me relive the magic with every push of the "Play" button. Don't think twice when choosing this team, these guys were the best decision I made with our wedding!
P.S. This is the only photo I have from CJ because he is great at hiding from the photographers!

A total must hire team. Not only are they incredibly talented but they are PROfessional. As a photographer they were a dream to work beside. I wish they could be at all of my weddings. Oh and fun! They are super fun! Guys. They are a no-Brainer! Invest in this crew, and you’ll not regret one minute! 🙌🏻👏🏻👏🏻