LoveSpun Handmade Wedding Films » Destination & Southern California Wedding Videographer

Have the Best Wedding Film Ever

With the full swing of wedding season 2018 just around the corner we thought we would share our tips for getting the most out of having a professional wedding filmmaker at your wedding.

Every bride & groom wants to feel beautiful, happy, and most importantly, relaxed on their big day.  We want our clients to have the opportunity to do their part in making sure they can get the most out of their wedding film investment by following some pretty straightforward tips to ensure that we are able to capture the prettiest footage possible.

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So here is the LoveSpun rundown…

  • A Pretty Place to Get Ready When picking out a location to get ready for your wedding, look for a spot that is beautiful, free of clutter and if possible, one that has plenty of natural light.  Also request that your makeup artist and hair stylist set up in front of a natural light source instead of a bathroom with florescent lighting. {Trust me, natural light is way more flattering to your skin.}
  • Neat and Tidy Delegate bridal party members to help keep your getting ready room organized and clean. This will make you feel more calm as well as make a pleasing back drop for pictures & your wedding film.
  • When music is not your friend Most brides love to have their favorite tunes playing as they get ready for their big day. {I totally get that, I’m a huge music-junkie…BUT} When filming your getting ready footage, keep in mind that we cannot edit music out.  If we capture a special moment of audio that would be great for your film but an obnoxious song is in the background we may not be able to work it into the film.  At the very minimum, turn the music off when you’re putting on your dress for any exceptional reactions from your parents and friends.
  • Keep the Sanctity Remind your wedding party that chewing gum and talking to each other during the ceremony can detract from the attention of your guests and that it doesn’t look good on the film or in pictures.
  • Walk Slowly For the ceremony, the bridal party and especially the bride should remember to walk controlled and gradually down the aisle.  This is your time to shine, your guests want to have a good look at you, and it helps us, the filmmaker and your photographer, to capture the moment.
  • Schedule enough time for photos and filming Family photos and portraits can take a while so make sure you not only allow for this in your time-line, but also have enough time for romantic shots of just the two of you with your wedding filmmaker and photographer.  We suggest 15-20 minutes in addition to your formal photography session to get some beautiful eye candy for your wedding film.
  • Take your time to dance  Sometimes for whatever reason, couples choose to cut short their first dances, having the DJ fade out the music in the middle. From our standpoint we love to film the first dance from different, unique angles and look for tender moments. It’s hard to get all that in 90 seconds so why not just enjoy the moment and your time in the spotlight.
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  • Light it up  Reception lighting can sometimes make or break the look of your wedding film.  It’s a great idea to hire a professional lighting designer to add ambiance to a room but keep in mind that different colors of up-lighting can make skin tones look strange. Lighting that is too bright around the edges of the room can make the interior look dark. Even out up-lighting with spotlights on the dance floor and head table.  If a designated spot for toasts or speeches can be picked out ahead of time and then lit properly, it will make all the difference in the world.
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  • MEALS ~ Feed Us Please Unlike some of your wedding vendors who may work in the background and are not seen by your guests and can take snack or meal breaks throughout the day without distraction, your photographer and your wedding filmmaker are two types of vendors who are always in public view of their clients and or guests.  This means that we have to wait until a break in wedding activity to build up our protein levels.  The most ideal time for us to eat is at the beginning of dinner service.  Guests often don’t like being filmed or having their picture taken when they are eating so this is a perfect time for us to eat too.  Most of the time though, vendor meals are held until all the guests have been served and by then it is often time to film toasts or the next item on the timeline.
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    On more than one occasion we have not been able to eat at all due to this scheduling conflict, going 8-10 hours with no food.  Fatigue and frustration sets in at this point and as hard as we try, we will not be able to work as artistically or high quality as when we have been fed.  What can you do?  Let your planner and caterer know to have a meal ready for the photographer and videographer at the beginning of dinner service.  If this cannot be accommodated, a break of activity needs to be scheduled after guests are fed so that we can have long enough to hydrate and eat, at least 15-20 minutes.  Your footage will thank you for it!
  • Have guests unplug for your wedding This continues to be a biggie in 2018! It may not seem like a big deal that friends and family have iphones, ipads, or big DSLRs on hand to snap away till their hearts content during your wedding, but at what cost?
    Everyone wants to be the first to Facebook, tweet, and Instagram your wedding.  At one of our most recent weddings, so many guests stepped into the isle during the first kiss & recessional that our back camera angle was almost entirely blocked by guests holding their phones.  Our lovely couples invest in us to capture these special moments, yet it makes our jobs really challenging when guests don’t respect the job we’ve been hired to do.

This image shows how a stunning wedding can be tarnished by the look of guests backs and cameras.

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Photo credit Rebekah Hoyt Photography

So what can you do?  A simple announcement before the ceremony begins would definitely help or a cute sign at the wedding could also do the trick.  Don’t worry, there will be plenty of other opportunities for friends and family to get their snapshots BUT during this once-in-a-lifetime moment, going unplugged keeps the sanctity of the wedding and brings the focus back on you and this amazing commitment you are making to one another.

Here is an article with lots of different ways to tactfully ask your guests to put down their devices and enjoy the wedding.

Thanks for reading our tips for a great wedding film! We hope you have the best wedding ever!

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