3 Things You Can Do To Help Make Your Wedding Film Better
At Onphilm Productions, we pride ourselves on making amazing wedding films. I've been a wedding videographer for almost 10 years. Out of all of the amazing weddings I've filmed the common denominator to all of the most successful ones were these 3 things. So take note of these easy ways you can get a better product not only from your wedding videographer but from your wedding photographer, planner, florist, venue and entertainment, also.
1. Budget Extra Time
This may sound obvious but you'd be surprised how easy it to over-plan your day and try to fit in too much stuff. For some people it's too much travel. For others it's too many events. For most it's too many expectations. The simplest wedding days are best and allow us the time we need to settle into a creative groove and just capture the day. Time is the biggest stressor on a wedding, arguably behind family drama but just building in some extra time can go a long way to getting a better product when it's all over. So where can you budget extra time? The morning is a great place to start. Ensure you are leaving a true amount of time for hair and makeup. You can also consider having everything at one venue, including getting ready. I congratulate every one of my clients who choose to have a single location for all wedding events because they will undoubtedly get a great product out of their photo and video team. Having a first-look prior to the ceremony is a great way to make sure you have a fair amount of time for photo and video taking but if you choose to go the more traditional route and see each other down the aisle, then be sure to build in time after your ceremony for photos of not only the two of you together but for your family portraits, too. I can't say it more plainly and clearly, the more time you give your creative vendors the better you photos and video. If time is dictating the day, the battle will always be against the clock.
2. Just Let Go
You've done your research. You've spent hours trolling the internet and interviewing prospective vendors. you've interviewed them, planned with them and told them what you want. Now the wedding day is upon you and it's time to let them go do what you hired them to do. So many times, micromanaging and worrying about how the day is going becomes the thief of joy and brides wind up missing their own weddings because they are micro-managing or stressing about what the vendors are doing. Just let go, especially with your creative vendors. If you trusted them enough to hire them you can trust them enough to produce the same result you fell in love with on the wedding day. After all, by this point there's really nothing you can do and you will likely just end up hurting your own product. My best weddings are when brides are relaxed and take a "it's out of my hands now" attitude about the whole thing. This goes hand-in-hand with our next tip....
3. Be Present and With Each Other
It's so easy to get wrapped up in the day and how it's flowing and forget the real reason why you planned the wedding in the first place. To marry the love of your life. So, be with them. Cherish the moment. Stop to smell the roses (literally in some cases.) If you are focus on each other, the video and photos will reflect that and it will make your film and photos better. It's okay to share the day with others, of course but take time to focus on the core of what's happening. I ask every bride the morning of the wedding "are you ready to let go?" The ones who answer "yes" ted to feel the least amount of stress.
There are other things that can make your film better but aren't for everyone but I'll list them here anyway for reference:
Write your own custom, personalized vows
Prepare your speech givers for success.
Prepare gifts for one another and exchange them before you see each other or during the first look.
Check out some of these very personalized weddings that have a ton of heart.
