Wedding Videographer and Planning Guide

Planning for your wedding with a photographer is similar to planning with a videographer – especially for our photographer-videographer team! We get to know you, your vendor squad, and your venue well before the day you say, “I do.” We value you! 

• Please fill out the questionnaires we send you – your contact information and your vendor’s information are important to the success of your wedding day
• We help you finalize the timeline and ask that you share the schedule with all your vendors 
• Our videographer-photographer team researches your beautiful venue (or high-five each other over a venue we’ve already been to!)
• We coordinate what photos we’ll be taking and seamlessly sync that with our videography schedule (perks of working as a husband-wife team!)

The Getting Ready Process with your Videographer

Similar to the planning of your wedding, the getting ready process is naturally linked to both our videography and photography team and routine. We love focusing on the light in your getting ready room. Natural light is the secret sauce to our gorgeous photos and crisp footage. Your skin glows, your fine details pop, and we can play with all the layers of taking a good photo and amazing video. Please follow these guidelines for the ultimate getting ready video footage:

• Suggest to your hairstylist and makeup team to set up in front of a window – the more natural light the better!
• Put your dress on in a room with large windows with diffused light (we love soft white curtains for privacy)
• Set a fancy chair next to a window (not a folding chair!) for glowing getting ready footage of you putting on earrings or shoes (also great for thoughtful, pre-ceremony portraits!)
• Clear tables and windowsills of clutter, cups, hair ties, and extra makeup items

We suggest those tips for perfect getting ready footage, and we highly recommend setting aside special details so we can take pictures and video of important items right away.

• Wedding invitation
• Save the dates
• Rings
• Special jewelry
• Shoes
• Tie (or fun bowtie!)
• Garter
• Gown or a bridesmaid dress
• Florals (flowers make any footage all the more beautiful)
• Custom ring boxes
• Monogramed items
• Ribbons
• Wax seals
• Special keepsakes
• Any written vows or notes

Wedding Videography Guide to Audio

Once you and your wedding party are ready, we’ll take you and your fiancé out separately to read vows and letters for an audio recording. We will scope a quiet place to take footage of you and to prep you for the ceremony. During your ceremony, usually one partner (whoever is wearing the suit) and the officiant will have tiny microphones hidden so we can record your entire wedding ceremony as well.

• Be as on time as possible
• If you make a mistake, that’s okay! Keep reading!
• Ready slowly
• Don’t hold back any emotions – be genuine! 
• Be ready for us to place a small, hidden microphone onto your suit or shirt before the ceremony
• Return the microphone at your earliest convenience – we’ll also come find you so no need to worry!

Couples Session and First Look Videographer Guide

We always suggest the first look! For photography and videography purposes (and for your experiences!), it is an incredibly intimate and emotional moment we love to capture. 

• As private as you want
• Does not take away from the magic of seeing each other during your ceremony
• Let us know if the first look is just with your fiancé or with a father or other family member or wedding party
• Possibly one of the only times during your special day to be alone together
• Is a mini couples session in itself!
• Helps the day flow smoothly, and you can go straight from ceremony to cocktail hour with guests instead of a couples session after you say, “I do”
• You can still opt for a mini couples session right after the ceremony
• Let us know if you’d also like to do a sunset couples session – golden hour is fun no matter how many clouds cover up the skyline!
• Quick ten to fifteen minutes of your time
• FUN FACT: We did a first look for our own wedding and loved having a private moment just us (and our wedding photographer and videographer) before we got caught up in the frenzy of the day… and, Trevor still teared up seeing Sara come down the aisle!

Wedding Videography Guide to Family Photos

We are a photographer-videographer team, so while our photographer is taking family photos, the videographer has the freedom to take footage of other details and set up for the reception. We personally love family photos taken before the ceremony so our videographer can record video of the ceremony and reception without guests wandering around just yet. This also gives you the opportunity to enjoy your guests after the ceremony instead of hustling over for family portraits. More time with friends and family allows you to enjoy your day with ease – and we get more footage that way!

Videography and the Wedding Ceremony

Finally the wedding ceremony! One of our favorite parts of our day, we have the honor to capture on film the moment you seal your union with vows and a kiss. Local weddings and weddings in the States give our photographer-videographer team the opportunity to travel with all our equipment! We can bring two or three cameras, our microphone equipment, and all our cords. Destination weddings to places like Jamaica, we usually bring one or two cameras, and if you’re getting married in Mexico, we’re only able to bring a single camera for videography purposes. 

• Let us know at least month ahead of time if you plan on doing readings or having soloists and vocalists at your ceremony (we have a questionnaire for that!)
• Any last minute additions to your ceremony may not be recorded for audio – we need to know weeks in advance so we can plan and have audio equipment in place ahead of time!
• Any unique parts of your ceremony should be communicated to us so we can capture high-quality audio and visual
• We are a team that will capture both photos and video footage of your ceremony

The Reception Videography Guide

Now you’re married! We love taking video of all the festivities as your guests dance the night away. If you hire us for the entire day, you’ll receive not only a highlight video option, but you can opt for a full ceremony/reception film capturing the entire party so you don’t miss a thing!

• As always, if the reception has any windows, place the head table by as much natural light as possible
• Give us the contact information for your entertainment team
• Once we contact your DJ, we can make sure our cords match their input/output to obtain audio throughout your reception
• For destination weddings, we can’t bring a whole box of cords and cables – we must obtain your DJ contact information a month ahead of time so we are on the same page
• Enjoy the party! – so we can take footage of you genuinely and sincerely celebrating your night

Your Grand Exit with the Videographer

Lastly, towards the end of your night, we will capture sunset footage and couples portraits, but also your exit from the venue. Your big farewell can be as dazzling or as low-key as you like! No matter what you plan for your sendoff, we will capture excellent video and photos to the end of your epic wedding day. 

• Bubbles
• Flower petals
• Streamers 
• Sparklers 
• Glitter
• Glow sticks
• Confetti 

If you hire us for your special wedding celebration, we have the unique ability to capture photos and videos. The footage will seamlessly complement your style and personality, because we prepare and operate together to produce it. As a husband and wife power-team, we work really well together and communicate throughout your big day to cover every small or large detail. We can even do some shots twice: one for photo and one for video purposes. No matter what, we will capture everything during your special wedding day. 

Looking for more engagement or wedding planning tips? We’ve got your back!  Click here to read more of our blogs that will help you. If you’re just starting your wedding planning journey, we have curated a series of 7 emails sent right to your inbox. No spam or anything, just lots of useful tips and wedding advice. You can sign up for those emails here.

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And, if you’re ready to find your destination wedding photographer, contact us! We offer photo and video services, no travel fees, and custom collections for every single one of our couples. We can help make your dream wedding day come true.