Take the camera out of the bag, put the lens on, turn camera on and record. Seems pretty simple, right?
Alright, I'm leaving out a ton of steps. If you're not a videographer, there may be some things you don't know about preparation before filming, what is done during the wedding and after the celebrations. Join me as I go through our process to create the video(s) of one of the best days of your life.
Before the Wedding
Getting to know our couples!
We think it's super important to speak with our couples when they are deciding on videographers. We provide a Packages PDF to get the conversation started and give you an idea of where we are with pricing and delivery. Talking through our packages on the phone is great not only for the sake of clarity, but also to get to know you and your partner.
Friending your photographer
Typically, clients come to us after they have hired their photographer so we'll ask who you've hired during our initial phone call. We try to connect with the photographer(s) we'll work with on your wedding day to build that relationship before the wedding to ensure an awesome day!
Scoping out the venue
If we have never shot at your venue, we like to get an idea of the space before the wedding day. We'll search on social and google to see images of the space and, in some cases, we will go to the venue before the wedding to scope it out.
Gear
We use Canon 6R cameras and a variety of Canon lenses, Sennheiser lapel microphones for crisp audio, Manfrotto tri-pods to keep the footage smooth, Benro mono-pods for flexible filming, and Adobe Premiere Pro for editing.
The Wedding Day
Packing up our gear
Cameras, tripods, multi-tool, check. SD cards, backup SD cards, batteries, check; lenses, lens cloths, fun crystal thing; check! Water & snacks, check and check.
Divide and Conquer
Depending on where you and your partner are getting ready, we start the day off together at one location and then split up to have coverage of both wedding parties getting ready.
Mimosas, Makeup, and Straitening Ties
Let's say you booked our "Wedding Day" package. That means we arrive as you're getting ready and capture all the moments of you with your wedding party and family members.
*Cue bottles popping and splashes of OJ into personalized champagne glasses and listening to a perfected playlist*
We'll capture footage of makeup being perfected and hair being stylized. We'll also create some staged moments of you getting dressed in your wedding attire surrounded by your wedding party and other loved ones.
Gifts and Letters
We love to capture couples opening gifts or reading letters from each other. Audio plays a HUGE role in film making so we love to incorporate pieces of letters from the couple.
Something we've learned: When we film religious ceremonies, the audio we capture is mainly the priest/pastor/other religious figure title. We'd recommend to have something written so we can capture your own voices to incorporate into the film.
Before the ceremony
Once we get to the ceremony location, we like to get some nice b-roll footage of the whole space and the little details.
We'll also mic up the officiant (or whoever is best suited for the mic) so we can capture quality audio of the ceremony.
The Ceremony
Time to set up our tripods and *mark our territory*. Just kidding, we're super flexible on where we stand during the ceremony. Ideally, we'd set up 3 tripods so we can get all the angles. Matt usually mans a mono-pod, stands closer to the action and moves around to get awesome shots while I man one of the tripods. We remain aware of where the photographer(s) are and make sure we aren't in each other's way.
Now's the time for the ceremony to begin, you know the gist - parents, wedding party, maybe a ring bearer or flower children - we of course love to get the reaction of the couple as they see one another.
Getting the timeline of the ceremony events prior to the wedding is very helpful so we can plan strategic cuts during the ceremony if needed or know when we need to move to a new position.
Every package includes a ceremony video. It will be mostly uncut but edited for the best angle. Here is an example of an uncut ceremony video.
After Ceremony Staged Photos (& Video)
You're finally MARRIED!! Congratulations. Before you get to party and dance, it's time for the photos with your family, wedding party, and your spouse. We tag along with your photographer's direction for the photos.
We'll capture the staged photos with all your loved ones, and we would love to have ten minutes to direct video content with you and your spouse.
Reception
Introductions
We'll capture two angles of the introductions of your wedding party. Typically it goes right into the first dance so we like to be set up in a location where it's easy for us to transition to filming the first dance.
First Dance(s)
I like to say that we have a combination of cinematic and documentary style. Matt and I will capture the dances in 24 fps and 60 fps (frames per second). That just means that we are able to keep this footage in normal speed or slow it down for a more cinematic look.
Speeches
Just like during the ceremony, we try to mic up the speakers or record from the DJ's sound board to get quality audio. We'll set up two angles so we can get not only the footage of the speaker but of you and your spouses' reaction to the speech.
Every package includes a Dances & Speeches video. It will include the first dance and parent dances (if relevant) mostly uncut and edited for the best angle, and the speeches combined mostly uncut and edited for the best angle. Here is an example of a the Dances and Speeches Video.
Dinner
We take a break while you eat so we can eat too! After we eat, we resume filming. That might mean capturing some extra b-roll we didn't have a chance to get earlier or filming you and your spouse speaking with guests. But not in a creepy way.
Cake Cutting
One of my favorite aspects of the wedding is the cake cutting. Are you planning to shove the cake in each other's faces? Or will you sweetly feed each other?
Time to dance
We'll get on the dance floor with you and film you having the best time of your life with your friends and family. This footage is typically included in your Wedding Day Movie.
Send-Off
Do you plan to do a send-off? Like fireworks or sparklers? We'll be sure to include those in the Wedding Day Movie.
Editing Time
Uploading and Organizing Footage
This is a critical and time-consuming step. We will likely have five or more hours of footage per camera. The footage is uploaded to our hard drive and organized before Matt and I review everything while taking notes and marking our favorite clips.
Editing the video
We usually like to start with building the Ceremony video, then the Dances and Speeches video. This helps us prepare for the Wedding Day Movie as we can pull from the Ceremony and First Dance & Speeches videos.
If there are specific moments that you definitely want to be included in your Wedding Day Movie, let us know! That may be a first look with your Dad, putting on your grandmother's earrings, or dancing with your grandfather. If you let us know beforehand what moments are extra special to you, we're able to be more proactive when those moments are about to happen.
Choosing the Music We use Artlist.io, a website that provides royalty free music. This means you can post your video on social media without fear of receiving a copyright strike.
We invest as much time as is needed to find songs that match the vibe of your wedding. When you choose us as your videographers, you're trusting our creative process, but if you have a certain genre of music or even a particular track from Artlist that you want to use, we will accommodate.
Exporting and Sharing Your Video
Raw Footage
This is an extra service that you can add on to any package. We will deliver a hard drive of the raw footage from the day, organized and labeled. Not everything will be included in the videos - so this is a way to see moments that didn't make the Wedding Day Movie or other videos.
We'll export the films and share them via Google Drive to your email for instant access. Then we'll post on our social media for easy sharing (make sure to follow us!). We are always so grateful for those who tag us in their posts! We love seeing people's responses and it's so helpful to get our name out to others who may be interested.