I am one of those people who will watch a wedding video and get teary, and we’re talking people I don’t even know! That is what happened when I sat down to watch some of the wedding highlight videos from Love Madly. The way they put your wedding highlights together is magical. It tells the entire story of the wedding day in only a few minutes! I don’t think there are too many people out there who will sit down to watch the entire footage of their wedding day, but videos like this make it so great to have a cinematographer there. You know that you can get a full recap of your wedding day, without having to watch every second of the day as it happened. They take the important and special moments of the day, and tie it all together. I had the opportunity to chat with Brian and Wanda to find out a little more about their business and this is what they had to say.
Our style is very story-based and I think that is what sets us apart. As much as we love getting those creative “wow” shots using our crane, steadicam and slider, it’s more important to us that we capture the actual wedding ‘story’ and even more importantly, the story of each unique couple. Split second decisions, such as which lens to use, which angle to shoot from, are things we know really enhance our storytelling. We don’t just show up and shoot, every shot is intentional, every wedding story is different. We don’t stage things, we just capture them in the best possible way so that when we deliver the finished product the couple and their family truly get to re-live such an amazing day. We also use a lot of thougt in choosing the right music for the soundtrack whether it’s for a feature film, same day edit or highlights. We know how important music is to our couples.
These terms are definitely interchangeable by many people but I think that artistic component of cinematography and the true storytelling aspect of what we do makes us filmmakers and not just videographers. We hear a lot of couples say that their sister or friend hired a videographer who just set up a tripod and let the camera run. As is the case with many professions, there are stereotypes of what a videographer is or does. Likewise, there are stereotypes about cinematographers as well. We definitely feel that what we do is cinematography and that what we create is a film for our couples, not just another wedding video.
It’s important to hire a company with experience. Weddings are a live event where you don’t get a second chance to capture any of the events or details. You need to feel confident that whomever you choose to capture the biggest day in your lives is going to show up with all of the essentials. We are just starting our 4th wedding season and this means that we arrive with back up equipment, we are always ready to capture the unexpected and as much as we feel comfortable now in what we do we still feel excited the night before and are absolutely passionate about wedding stories.
We limit the number of weddings we capture each year because for us it’s about getting to know each and every one of our couples. It’s no secret that many of our past couples are still friends of ours today and that’s because we form a connection and a friendship with them. We see them at least 3 or more times leading up to the wedding day. We want to know all about them as individuals and as a couple. We are invested in their story. We ask things such as who is coming to their wedding, how did you choose your wedding party, are you including any special details and if yes, why? We usually meet them at least once for lunch or dinner at a restaurant so we can see them in a social setting and notice the connection between them. This helps us on the wedding day because we already know what to expect and how to best capture them
Wedding cinematography is definitely an investment. When couples are creating their wedding budget filled with the detailed priorities of the day we think they should always keep in mind that long after the day passes, when the flowers are withered and the cake is eaten and the dress is boxed up that the only way they will be able to remember the speeches, their vows and the story of their day is through their wedding film. All too often we hear from couples who are guests at weddings that they really wished they had booked a wedding videographer or cinematographer to capture their big day and are disappointed that they didn’t.
Watch some of their work below.
|
