They say that the number of people getting married in church has fallen over the last decade and that the COE is actively trying to encourage people to get married in church rather than at a civil ceremony. If my experience last Saturday is anything to go by, it is small wonder that people are not getting married in church.
The church was St. Mary’s Parish Church in Old Town, Eastbourne. This is a lovely church; one that makes an ideal setting for a wedding. However, the attitude of the vicar is less welcoming. The couple, Liz and David, were charged an additional £100 because they wanted their wedding filmed. Now you would think that as that the couple had paid a considerable sum for the privilege of having their wedding filmed that the vicar would at least be a little helpful. Nope.
I was told that I could stand in a choir stall to film throughout the ceremony. Fair enough. As the bride entered the church I moved to the edge of the stall and leaned out to get a shot of her coming down the aisle. (Otherwise my view was blocked by the pulpit). The vicar hurried down the aisle, came up to me with a black look on his face and hissed “get back in the stall”. I explained that I just wanted a shot of the bride coming down the aisle. His response was “get back in the stall were you where you were told to go – NOW”
To add injury to insult he blocked the groom from shot throughout the ceremony. Now I know how I would feel if I had paid £100 and didn’t even get a shot of my wife entering the church.
When will some of these vicars come into the 20th century and realize that couples want a record of their wedding without paying ‘rip off’ fees.
Just had an email from a prospective client about our wedding video services.
“We love your style of videos so we would ideally like to use your services, but we are just working out what budget we have left”
We receive many emails in a similar veinin which people obviously love what we do and appreciate that our wedding videos are a bit special, but unfortunately the wedding video is very often the last in the queue for a share of the wedding budget!
This has to be contrasted with what so many people say AFTER the wedding when they tell us of all the money spent on the wedding, their video was the thing that they are most glad about having. They explain that so much happened on the day and it is already becoming a fading memory.
After the day is all over the wedding video is probably the most important reminder of the day, allowing the couple and their families to relive the day over and over again. Unlike the photos, the wedding video captures the sounds, the laughter and sometimes the tears. After all, if a picture paints a thousand words, a wedding film must be more like a book!
Given, that after the wedding most people are so glad they had their day filmed, why is the wedding video so low on the budget list and so often the last thing to be arranged and booked. I would love you comments on this one
Day three of the edit for Don and Della’s wedding video. With over 10 hours of footage (from 2 cameras) to be edited down to an hour or less it really is a mammoth editing job. It was such a packed day with morning preparations, church ceremony, a fantastic reception venue (Walled Garden at Cowdray), a Sri-Lankan Blessing plus the normal meal, speeches and evening entertainment. Now about half way through the edit with separate DVDs already encoded for the whole ceremony, blessing and speeches. With about 30 minutes already laid down it is starting to look really good – although with another wedding this weekend it won’t be finished until next week.
The Opening Sequence from Helen and Gareth’s Wedding Video
Thought you might like a sneak preview of our latest wedding video featuring the opening sequence from Helen and Gareth’s wedding video. This was filmed a couple of weeks ago at Our Lady of Storrington Church and The Fitzlerio Barn near Pullborough in Sussex.
Helen and Gareth went for our short-form, cinematic editing format – a more highly stylised version of the traditional wedding video. Although shorter, it actually takes longer to edit than a traditional wedding video and uses a range of high-quality filters, effects and colour grading to create a ‘filmic’ feel. The video has come out very well and I have to say that I personally like the format.