This couple built a wedding business through word of mouth
Ten years ago, Melissa was living with her now husband in San Francisco while he attended film
school. After getting engaged, they moved back home to Toronto and began planning their wedding. As they were looking for a videographer to document their big day, it became very clear that they weren’t going to find a company who reflected their style at their price point. “We noticed a gap in the market and launched Maple Tree Films to document the more candid, natural moments that happen during the wedding day”. They picked up their first client, a friend, and their Toronto client base snowballed through word of mouth.
Melissa and her husband Steve have a real talent for incorporating emotion into their videos,
using audio and behind the scenes footage to reflect real life moments – the grooms shaky voice during the vows, the couple sharing a candid moment and the bride reading a card from her love.
Moving their business
At the beginning of the pandemic Melissa was a new mom living in a one-bedroom condo in downtown Toronto. As the months went on, she and her family were craving space and started thinking about a move. “We always thought we would raise our family in the city, but it didn’t feel like the Toronto we knew anymore”. They decided to relocate to the country and chose Prince Edward County – an area they loved but had only been to once before. “We came out here in the fall of 2020 to look at a few properties, but none of them felt quite right. Just as we were about to call it a day and head to dinner, we stumbled upon our house and knew immediately it was the one. We made an offer two days later and made some big plans to renovate before moving in that winter.”
As they transitioned their lives, Maple Tree Films was always in the back of their minds. They
had put the business on hold for about a year and a half due to weddings cancellations, settling into parenthood and renovations.
What’s next?
Today Melissa and Steve are making plans to introduce Maple Tree Films to Prince Edward
County. “There are so many couples that come out here to get married. The wineries and
landscape are the perfect backdrop.”
They also have plans to expand into helping local small businesses with photography and videography and want to introduce a collection of prints. “We often go exploring and take photos for our own collection, and we would love to share those with others.”
About Melissa
Melissa and her husband Steve run Maple Tree Films, a wedding videography business that they plan to expand to reflect their new lifestyle in Prince Edward County. Today she documents PEC through the lens of her Instagram account @houseandcounty.
This blog post is part of a Dewberry Face series that highlights local small businesses.