To finish up my series on why one should invest in a wedding video, I actually break my own rule on weddings.
See, my number one rule for weddings in general is
It’s your wedding. Do what you want.
For real, this is your one day. Now, you do need to agree on things as a couple, but aside from that, your wedding day is one of the few times in your life where I really feel like you should have your say. Make it your day, all about you. If you want to elope on a beach with no one else looking at you, do it. If you want to have your dog walk you down the aisle, go for it. If you still love the idea of something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, get traditional, even if your best friends think it’s silly.
Now, this doesn’t mean you go all bridezilla/groomzilla, or ignore the fact that everyone has to plan a wedding inside their own budget, or ignore the wishes of the person you are actually marrying (because it’s their day too), but within reason, you should have your day.
However, there are a lot of people who are really emotionally invested in you. They are invested in your partner, and they are invested in your marriage. They love you, and they care about you. Some of these people aren’t going to be able to come to your wedding. We no longer live in a society where your family and all the friends you grew up with live in the same little town. We’re spread out all around the world, but travel is still expensive, and inconvenient to impossible when you’re dealing with things like pregnancy, illness, and just life in general. Once again, there’s the inconvenient reality of a budget. Most of us can’t afford to invite every person we want to the wedding; but we still want to share our joy with them.
Most of these people aren’t going to see your face the moment you put on that dress or tighten up that tie. I’m not even exaggerating when I say that you will never look better. Even if your hair turns out to be a disaster, or the rain or humidity mess up your makeup, or something doesn’t fit right, or you didn’t want to bother with that and just get married in jeans….something happens inside a person when they realize it’s “go time”. There’s this radiant, beautiful energy. I’m not kidding, watch our films, see if you can spot that moment.
A wedding film is a great way to share this day with your friends and family; those that attend the wedding, and those that can’t. Invest in a wedding film for yourself (first and foremost); but also, invest in a wedding film to share with your family and friends.
The caveat to this is that no one wants to watch 2 hours worth of your wedding. For years, we were not interested in filming weddings, because there is nothing interesting about watching people line up to get their picture taken. Let’s be honest, if you were IN the wedding, you were bored during portraits, even if you had the absolute BEST photographer entertaining you between snaps and poses. There’s nothing interesting about 5 whole minutes of manicure, or even watching your sister make her way down the really long aisle. We’re also not huge fans of awkward interview or drunken accolades.
Then, we discovered wedding highlight films. A cinematic film, captured and edited to tell your story. THAT is something we are interested in.
We want your wedding film to be more than just a video or a slideshow of pretty moments from the day. We want your film to tell your story so well that your best friend will love it, your mom will love it, and the people you meet a year after your wedding will watch it and feel like they have known you since you got engaged.
Lastly, there’s the teeny little person that may one day want that glimpse into their past: kids! I know, don’t be startled; you’re just getting around to planning a wedding and someone is talking about kids. It sounds crazy now, but as 94% of married couples choose to have children, it’s probably going to happen to you. But as someone who HAS kids, I can tell you that they love nothing more than to see what you were like before they ever existed. One day, you might want to show that to them.
If you’re in the 6% of married people who don’t have kids, that’s cool too. You’re still going to have relationships with other people out in the world, and one day, you’re going to be *ahem* older, and some of them will be younger, and they’re going to look up to you and stuff. So you might want to have something to show them. Or you might want to have something to watch while bonding with your cats. Or your turtle. Or your pet tarantula. But you’re going to want to share it with someone.
So invest in something worth sharing, be it with your friends, your kids, or your pet tarantula. Invest in a wedding film with wvmotionworks.
(This is the final post in a 3 part series. Be sure to check out Reason #1 and Reason #2)