Your Wedding Day - From the Perspective of Your Videographer...

I thought I would mix it up this week and do more of a story time! You - will be the bride (or have been the bride), so you know what that wedding day perspective looks like or close to it! I am going to let you in on observing a wedding day as a videographer, with some real stories that have actually happened!

Videographer in Casselberry, FL

Starting the Day with Wrong Turns...

Arriving to the wedding venue (or airbnb) where the girls are getting ready is usually the part of the day where the nerves pop up for me! Is this the right place? Where do I park? Where do I find the couple? I always plan to arrive over 30 minutes early so that I have time to sit in my car and relax before the craziness all begins! This extra time also allows for traffic (because we all know Orlando is THE worst!) or even a mistyped address!

One time I was driving to a venue out of town, and I was on a gravel road, the GPS said the venue was only a mile ahead, and then the gravel road ended in a field........ I had the option of straight off-roading it and hoping there would be a clearing before I got to the venue OR turning around and driving the several miles back to the main road and going around a different way. I did try off-roading for a bit, but then even my Tahoe was telling me this was not the right move LOL. So, I turned around and went the other way. Thankfully, I had left early enough where I still arrived on time - but that was crazy stressful!

However, most of the time it does not go like that - thank goodness! When I enter the building, I look for a venue manager, photographer, member of the wedding party, literally anyone to point me in the direction of where the couple is hiding away! Then, I check in with the bride so she knows I have arrived safely and let her know I will be setting up and starting soon. Often times, I get exterior venue shots at this time, and check out the lay of the land. I was filming the exterior of a church in a small town once (literally the whole town was one main street), and I thought I heard a lady yelling "help". I looked around the area and I couldn't see her. Eventually, I spotted her, an older lady on her doorstep across the street and indeed she was looking at me and yelling for help. I rushed over to see what the problem was. She had shut her door on her dress and was stuck because the door was locked and she was without the key! She asked if I could alert her husband to the situation, because he was in the running car in the driveway waiting for her, and could not hear her yells. I went over to the car and explained the situation to him. He laughed and said, "of course she's stuck." Then, he got out to go unlock the door.

Filming a wedding with one of my fav photographers - Rachel!

The Schedule & The Photographer...

Right away upon entering a bridal suite, it is easy to assess a few things - the vibe of the room (how crazy/fun/quiet is the day going to be based on the energy in the room), the schedule (are all the girls done with hair & makeup that should be done or is everyone just starting), and the photographer (if I haven't worked with them before, it is usually pretty easy to tell right off the bat if they will be down to work as a team or if they are bummed that a videographer showed up because now we have to share the angles!)

If the schedule is very behind upon arrival, I am already mentally adjusting the timeline in my head so that when we don't make it to family photos before ceremony, we have a good backup plan that won't set the day back too much. If the photographer and I hit it off, that is an instant relief (and now I have started the practice of reaching out to them in advance to give that an extra chance of happening because it is so vital!) That is also why it is great to hire your photographer & videographer from the same team - so they have worked together many times before and will do so seamlessly on your big day!

Another factor is if there is an event planner - usually this is a big plus - if they are great at their job! Unfortunately, sometimes it actually makes my job harder, if they make us hop through hoops to get information due to protocol. I once showed up to a wedding and the event planner refused to let me talk to the DJ, I had to talk to her, then she could turn around and talk to him. It was such a weird time LOL.

Whatever the case may be, my goal is always to have a smile on my face for you - and make sure I capture all of the getting ready moments as planned!

The Ceremony...

The prep for your ceremony is actually the most stressful part of the day usually for me, just because there is so much to be done! I will track down the groom and officiant to get them mic'd up, as well as find the DJ to tap into his ceremony speakers to capture the music & backup for your audio! Once the audio is taken care of, I set up my various tripod cameras and get them set for ceremony, as well as change my camera lens & battery, checking to make sure I have enough space on my SD card for ceremony. Then, I check in with the photographer to make sure that we are set to not get in each other's ways during ceremony and see if they have any requests for me to move at any point!

Once we are setup and rolling though, I truly enjoy the ceremonies - everyone's reaction to you walking down the aisle, and especially if there are personal vows! They tell me so much more about the couple, and it is fun to learn! The longest ceremony I have filmed was an hour and 45 minutes, while the shortest was just nine minutes!!

Time to take those family photos!

The Photo Time

This is actually one of the most chill parts of the day for the videographer - while it's usually one of the most stressful for the photographer because they are navigating family photos!

During this time, I am packing up my gear from ceremony, and dropping in here and again to capture some hugs from you & grandma, family member giggles, and so on. Not too much content is filmed during family photos - just because there is not much action! So it is a good time for me to pop over to social hour - if it's within walking distance - to grab some socializing and pouring of drinks there! I pop back into the photo section when it's down to just you and the wedding party - we get some fun cheers/tunnels/and other high energy shots!

Lastly, it is the photos and videos of the two of you, and that is where it is super fun for the photographer and I to play off of each other to get lots of fun moments of you two! Often times we are starting to hit golden hour and the sunlight is absolutely glowing behind the two of you!

The Reception

I setup my cameras and tripods, and get my audio hooked up to the DJ board to capture the grand entrance audio and speeches! A lot of times couples have a grand entrance, then into their spotlight dances, then speeches while they have everyone's attention!

After this, the goal is to find food ASAP so we are able to eat while you are eating so we don't miss any of your moments! My absolute favorite meals are the country home-cooked dinners - the BBQ pulled pork, baked beans, mac n' cheese, green beans, etc! One time I was at a venue and they did plated dinner and forgot about the vendor meals, so they brought them to us cold, and I got food poisoning from it the next day :( However, that is only time I have ever had a reaction to any dinner - usually they are all delicious, and one of my favorite parts of the job haha!

Next up is capturing your cake cutting, dance, and any other activities you have planned! A fun note is one hour of dance is usually the best amount of time for video - some people have us there for shorter, some for hours longer - and honestly the perfect middle ground is an hour! But...if you want me to stay to capture your sparkler exit - then I do have multiple hours of dance coverage to do first - it's all what's important to you!

Lastly, we've hit the end of the night! I will find you to say bye so you know I'm leaving, and then will pack up all my gear and head out! I will arrive home, start my copy and upload process, which will take place overnight. Then I absolutely crash. Goodnight!

I hope you enjoyed this lil' peek into the wedding day from my perspective! I hope you learned something too!

Until next time,

xoxo

Amy