The Ultimate Wedding Videography Guide
When a couple trusts us to capture their wedding there is a deep responsibility that we carry to tell their unique story and capture their beautiful wedding. For us, we do not take this lightly. We both want to create the best possible wedding film because we are creating a way for our clients to relive their wedding day. The wedding films we create will be cherished for generations. We hope you love our wedding videography guide.
~ Madison
Because of this, we developed the ultimate wedding videography guide. With over 12 years with combined experience in the wedding industry, We wanted to share the best practices couples can take on their wedding day to get the ultimate wedding film.
The Ultimate Wedding Videography Guide
In this wedding videography guide, we will cover everything from the best place to get ready for your wedding to how to have perfect audio in your wedding film. By no means are any of these suggestions required, every single wedding is unique. But, we do believe if you follow these steps to the best of your ability your wedding film and photographs will be amazing!
Wedding Planning Stages
First, we wanted to share a little bit of background into our pre-wedding process and ways couples can create a seamless process for their vendor team. We love taking care of our clients, and we believe when you book Morgan Film Co. you are booking a team that truly values you. Wedding planning is stressful. We have been there and understand the exact same feelings, and frankly, it is overwhelming at times.
So, to make the process easier on you on your wedding vendor team this is what we suggest.
- About one month out from your wedding day the details will all be coming together. Either you or your wedding planner creates a master list of every single wedding vendor from the caterer and cake baker to the florist and photographer. Once you have this list, email it to all of your vendors. Your wedding vendor team will communicate ahead of your wedding, and it will allow your vendors to have a master list after the wedding!
- Share the timeline you create with your vendors as well! We also encourage couples to talk with your photographer, videographers, and planner to come up with a timeline that is suitable for everyone! This creates a stress-free wedding day for everyone!
- Relax and don’t be afraid to talk with your vendor team if you have any questions. We are here for you, and more than willing to answer any questions you have!
The Getting Ready Process
Second, we wanted to dive into the getting ready process. A lot of times the getting ready process starts hours before the photographers and videographers arrive at the location. We suggest getting ready in front of the windows if there are some available. Natural light is always the best for photographers and videographers. If necessary we can bring light into any space, but your skin always looks best with natural light.
Normally your hair and makeup team will do their best to find a place with natural light, but it can never hurt to suggest it! If you are getting ready at a hotel talk with them about your concerns, some hotels have better window options than others!
The natural light is also beautiful when you put on your dress and details! Speaking of details, the second thing we suggest is to have a box with all of your wedding day details in it. This can include:
- Invitations and Save the Dates
- Rings
- Shoes
- Garter
- Special Jewelry
When we arrive this allows the photographer and videographers to quickly and easily find the details and get the shots of them without having to hunt down all the little pieces. You can even give the box to your maid or matron of honor so she can have them ready when we arrive.
Letter Reading or Vow Audio
If you are planning on writing letters to each other on the wedding day or saying private vows to each other this is a magical and special moment that we love to document. For our own wedding, we wanted traditional vows for the wedding ceremony, but we wrote custom vows to share right before our first look. There are so many creative and special ways to incorporate this into your wedding. Just ask us!
We have a few tips to share to make these moments look and sound absolutely amazing.
- First, when reading your letter or vows, we will take you to a quiet place to relax. Wedding days can be hectic and you will want to be calm and not bothered.
- Read slowly, as if you are talking to your fiancé(e).
- If you mess up, it’s ok just keep going.
- Don’t hold back any emotions, after all, it is a very special and emotional day. We love keeping everything genuine and real!
Couples Sessions and First Look
We always will suggest to our couples the first look. About 75% of our couples choose to do a first look, so by no means is it required, but we do believe it makes the wedding day flow smoother. There are a few reasons we suggest a first look, but the main reason is it takes away some of the anxiety and stress of the day.
You have the opportunity to see your best friend and have a private moment together before the day gets very hectic and crazy. Enjoy this moment and take a moment to yourselves. We like to capture the first look and then give our couples a few minutes alone to just take in the time with each other.
Second, it allows us to do a couple’s session before the wedding, and a small sunset session after the ceremony. (We LOVE sunset sessions and highly recommend working this into your timeline.) For sunset sessions, we usually quickly pull the couple away from the reception to get a few more shots. These quick sessions are usually only 15 minutes and you will be so happy you did this!
Family Photographs
As wedding videographers, we do not typically capture family photographs. We leave this time to the photographer to capture your family portraits. However, by doing these prior to the wedding ceremony, it gives us time to set up for the ceremony itself. To make the process easy on your photographers, we suggest working with them on a list of family photos prior to the wedding day!
The Wedding Ceremony
The wedding ceremony is one of our favorite parts of the wedding day. It is the moment you each get to commit your lives to the other. We capture every single ceremony using three cameras, and we usually place a microphone on the officiant and the groom. This allows us to get high-quality audio of the officiant and of the bride and groom.
If you plan on having readings, a soloist or vocalist, or anything unique in the ceremony let us know, so we can be sure to take steps to make sure this is recorded for you. There is nothing worse than a surprise reading, and there is nothing we can do once the ceremony has started.
The Reception
Let’s get the party started! You are married! Relax, and dance the night away with your friends and family. There is nothing special we suggest here. Enjoy the party, and you might even catch us on the dance floor too.
The Exit
Whether you have a sparkler exit, bubbles, flower petals, streamers, or another creative way to send you off, we suggest you stop in the middle for a kiss or the classic dip and kiss. This is a perfect photo opportunity and moment with all of your guests celebrating you as husband and wife! After all, you are married and off to spend the rest of your life with your best friend!
Follow any or all of these steps in our wedding videography guide and your videography and photography will be amazing! Just remember, your wedding vendor team is here for you and happy to answer any and all questions you have! Our goal is to make your day the happiest and as stress-free as possible!
