Welcome Baby Berkeley and MINIMIST Family
In 2018, I was contacted by Caitlin to film her and her fiancé’s wedding. Afterward, they took their time to enjoy marriage before welcoming their first baby, Berkeley, into the world.
As Caitlin eloquently states in the film, “having your first child is an opportunity to be extra. Especially when it comes to the baby shower. So we were extra.” The event was split into two parts. The first was the daytime lunch, where Caitlin’s friends and family gathered to celebrate.
The second event, however, was a special dinner for Caitlin’s closest female friends. Here, the focus was on the unique and incredible qualities these women all possess. How appreciative Caitlin is for their involvement in her life, and how they should recognize and appreciate how incredible they are.
Hoping that Berkeley will recognize her own worth as she matures, Caitlin wanted to host this dinner to honor and recognize these important women in her life.
The purpose of this film is to simultaneously immortalize this day and speak to an older Berkeley. In Caitlin's interview, she talks about her history, how she and Matthew met, how they are preparing for their first child, and the things they want their daughter to know as she grows up.
While I won’t transcribe their full message to Berkeley here, I will say the main takeaway is, for her to know that she is loved and that her parents will always be in her corner.
My other takeaway from this event was a general message of female empowerment. Caitlin wanted to show her gratitude to the women in her life who showed up for her special dinner.
Utilizing her love language of gift-giving, she thought up a creative way to show her appreciation and provide a memento for the women who attended. She offered two gifts, the first was a handwritten note from Caitlin, that talks about the unique qualities she sees in each of her friends and family. Qualities that they may not see themselves.
The second gift was a Chanel mirror, to remind these women whenever they use the mirror to look at themselves as Caitlin sees them. Amazing qualities and all.
This film started out just as any other MINIMIST film, despite being a baby shower and not a wedding film. I started by sitting down with Caitlin to figure out what is the arch of the story? How is this film going to tell the story we want it to tell?
It took several meetings of Caitlin and I asking a ton of questions that went beyond the simple “we’re having a baby and what are we doing to prepare?”
Caitlin originally reached out to me to film this event because of a TikTok. She had a vision for a day and night version of a baby shower — and at the time there was a trend on the app of filming a ‘day’ look and ‘night’ look of an outfit or venue. Then you put the two clips together to match a song.
From this idea, a full film similar to a wedding film came into existence, and we could not be happier with the result. From a TikTok to a simple baby shower film, finally to a documentary that captures a greater conversation about what it means to be a woman, mother, and human today. I am beyond honored to have taken part in the creation of this film.
In a post-pandemic society, we will continue to have these questions about how we function, what it means to be in a relationship, and how to be x y or z. These questions will pass down to our children and their children and so on. This is why it is all the more important that we capture these conversations while we can.
Please watch the full film and help us welcome baby Berkeley to the world!
