When the idea of a Videographer filming our wedding came up, I’ll admit that I was not all in. I felt it was redundant when you have a photographer, that it might negatively affect the atmosphere of the ceremony, and that no one would ever want to watch the resulting product anyway (that’s probably just me being a guy though). In the end, I’m glad I was convinced otherwise, and here’s why…
[vimeo 18921787 nolink]
Since we chose a great professional team from AOV Productions, in Philadelphia, PA, all of my fears were debunked. We had two cameramen who were fantastic and remained unobtrusive throughout the entire day. Even during the ceremony, they were able to get great positions without being in the photographer’s shots, obstructing the view of our guests, or in our face. They used natural light, so it never felt like the paparazzi on a red carpet, and were silently present in the background. To be honest, if I didn’t talk to them right before the ceremony when they put the tiny microphone on me, I would have had no idea they were there.
The videographers were able to record just about every detail of the day including the enitre ceremony with great audio, the speeches, and tons of dancing. I can’t think of anyone who managed to avoid the camera’s aim, which is great for us (maybe bad for them if they are shy). But no one seemed to mind, in fact, plenty of the dancers found it fun being in front of the camera, especially after a few drinks.
The final product was impressive, and not just because of the A/V quality of the DVDs and Blu-Rays. Like I said, they were able to capture everything with two cameras running constantly, and they were incredibly creative with different shots, angles, points of view, and visual effects. In post-production they were able to create montages with your choice of songs overlayed, which is great if you just want to get a taste of the event, without watching the whole thing. They also included small segments of our friends and family speaking to the camera spliced in. Your uncle’s camcorder can’t touch this stuff.
The length of the video is substantial, more than a couple hours long, which is great for two reasons. One, pretty much everyone ends up on the video at some point, which you’ll want when looking back years down the road. Two, for the guests who couldn’t come because they were sick, too far away, or whatever emergency, they can watch the entire thing like they were there. My wife has done this on numerous occasions already with people she knows. For this reason, the video also makes a nice gift to those involved in the wedding process.
All in all, it’s a once in a lifetime event and opportunity to capture the memory of a special day. And when all is said and done, and you don’t remember any of it, you can relive it all from the comfort of your couch.