Using video to bring a couple back to the day of their wedding (the feeling, the thoughts, the words, the sounds) is the core of what every videographer does. You’ve heard the term ‘re-live the day” and that is ultimately our goal.
We create videos that are more than just a documentation of that wedding day, they are a media heirloom that couples want to watch. And with each tesimonial it is clear that we were achieving that.
Since our first wedding, we’ve always carried around a small notebook. In it we had jotted down words like “white roses with lavender and green accents,” “pale blue” “classical music selections/slow dancing,” “sophisticated,” “ocean,” “sea shells.” The list was all the things we had collectively observed: overt or understated themes, colors, and flower choices. Any useful detail that defines that couple is written in that notebook.
Later, while I was editing, my wife and partner, was busy working on a DVD cover, disc face and likely a menu screen, I would look over to see her working away on a design that reflected that list of details we had put together. She and I would collaborate on font usage and color and what was on the cover usually ended up being incorporated somehow into the video.
We’ve worked with some fantastic photographers who have been more than happy to provide us with photos they have taken: Fleming Portrait Design LLC, Olivier Kpognon Photography, Videler Photography among them. This also benefits the couple in that now their photos and their video have lovely cohesion!
From the moment that couple opens their box mailer and sees the DVD to the moment they hit “stop” on their remote it is a cohesive experience. Subtle as it may be, this effort is really important. We’ve never done anything BUT this, and that is one of the things that sets us apart. But doing is was never a conscious decision; it simply made perfect sense. Why use a template that either looks generic of is awash in color that were not part of that day, or imagery (like doves or cupids, or that overused “linked” wedding bands illustration ) that were not there? And I guarantee that any canned graphic images of a wedding cake looks nothing like the couples original pastry extravaganza. We just can’t . . . bring . . . ourselves . . . to use . . . clip . . . art!
it became apparent to me just how important it was to our efforts were to couples when we received a testimonial that summed up so well what we did, “…we just were so impressed that in the matter of one night you figured out who we were.”
Going beyond the video and paying attention to details that can later be incorporated into a final video is so important. Not just to that couple, but to any potential couple who comes to us and wants to walk away knowing that we do care a lot about what we do for them. It make the whole package very personal and very unique, and better yet, it makes that couple happy.
