Wedding Story Films by Velvetine Studios

The following is a true story but please try to imagine the moment: A bride filled with nervous excitement walks out of her bedroom with her bridesmaids. Waiting at the bottom of the stairs is her proud and emotional father, tears welling in his eyes as he braces himself for that first glimpse of his daughter. An award winning photographer – noted and acclaimed for capturing real moments – not only realises the importance of this event but he also decides to capture the moment through a reflection off the hallway mirror; such a creative shot has awards written all over it! The entire house takes a breath and then….

“OK, everyone hold it right there!” orders the videographer. “Now, when your daughter comes down the stairs I want you to give her a big hug. Tell her how beautiful she looks, give her a nice kiss, and then smile for the camera.”

A truthful moment between a father and daughter has turned into a fabricated event to satisfy a videographer’s stereotypical projection of how a wedding day should play out… in other words, the cheesy movie version that he plays about in his own head.

When the frustrated photographer told me this story last week I felt embarrassed for my industry and I have a huge amount of sympathy toward the couple and their photographer.

I am not writing this post to condemn wedding videographers (or photographers for that matter) for posing couples and have them perform for the camera; I fully understand that some couples find it fun and enjoy acting out routines for their wedding video.  My main goal here is to highlight the need for some care in choosing your vendors/suppliers.  And the bride in our story – who was a camera shy girl and hired an unobtrusive photographer – made the mistake of assuming that her wedding videographer was going to work in the same manner.

It goes without saying you must weigh up the quality of your suppliers work/service against price but it is also hugely important to know that their personalities and ideals fit comfortably with your wedding day.  There is little point in paying a lot of money for a documentary photographer who thrives on real moments if you are also going to hire a videographer who is more interested in having you perform for camera all day long and annoy the hell out of you.

If I’m being honest, I think it is ridiculous, more often than not, for videographers to direct weddings but that is just my personal opinion as a “documentary” event filmmaker.  I never pose, orchestrate, or fabricate events because I’m more interested in my couples’ real stories. It also worries me that a large percentage of the public believe that cringe-worthy acting for the camera is the norm for wedding video and this causes them to shy away from having their day filmed.

I hope that bride & grooms-to-be find this post helpful and makes them aware of the importance on choosing vendors and suppliers who are going to complement the wedding day.  I also hope it makes clear that Velvetine Studios practice a no interference style of filming that appeals to couples who have no desire or aspirations to act and simply want to enjoy their wedding day with their guests.