WEDDING PACKAGES
We offer two different wedding video packages: Standard Video (the highlight video includes one background song, lasting 3-6 minutes) and Extended Video (the highlight video includes two songs, lasting 6-10 minutes). These highlight videos are the focus of what we offer as wedding videographers. In addition to these highlight videos, we also provide a list of optional add-ons that our clients may select as part of the wedding package.
We recently finished wedding video projects for two different couples: Ginny and Ryan Roberts and Daniel and Natalie Murdock.
Click here to watch Ginny and Ryan’s Standard Video.
Click here to watch Daniel and Natalie’s Extended Video (released today!)
Since both of these couples also ordered the optional full real-time ceremony video add-on, I thought I would take some time to discuss how it works, what all is involved, and why you may or may not want to include it in your video package.
FULL REAL-TIME CEREMONY VIDEOS
When couples order this add-on, the full ceremony video is delivered to them on the flash drive along with the highlight video and any other videos included in their package. Only the highlight videos are normally uploaded to YouTube and embedded on our website. I only uploaded Ginny and Ryan’s full ceremony video to use as an example of this add-on for potential clients to view.
HOW WE SHOOT FULL CEREMONY VIDEOS
If we have been hired to shoot a full real-time ceremony video, we spend some time before the ceremony begins to find an inconspicuous area to set up a third camera on a tripod that will continuously film during the entire ceremony. If we have an assistant with us, he or she will monitor this camera. We then set up our 1DX Mark II camera with the 70-200mm lens on our Manfrotto monopod and our 5D Mark IV with the 24-70mm lens on the Ronin-S gimbal stabilizer. One of us will take the 1DX and stand off to one side of the seating area towards the front to get shots of the wedding party during the processional, the groom’s face when he first sees his bride, and some of the bride coming down the aisle. The other one of us will usually have the 5D in the back of the venue to get shots of the wedding party beginning their walk down the aisle.
After the processional ends, we move to different spots around the outer edge of the ceremony area to get a variety of angles. We will leave our cameras running all the time unless we are walking to a new area in order to have angle options when editing the footage from the three cameras together.
We create all of our wedding videos on a 24 frames per second (23.976) timeline for an aesthetically-pleasing cinematic look. When we have only been hired to shoot a highlight video, we have some flexibility for changing to different frame rates (60 frames per second and 120 frames per second) for different shots that we can then playback in slow motion. However, when we are capturing footage to use both in the highlight video and a full ceremony video, we do not have that flexibility. This is the only drawback to adding a full ceremony video to the package. Chances are, the vast majority of viewers (hopefully including yourself) have never noticed whether or not there were any slow-motion shots during the actual ceremony, especially since I sprinkle in slow-motion shots of the couple throughout the ceremony part of the highlight videos, so this is not really a big issue.
SHOULD I ORDER A CEREMONY VIDEO?
The ceremony videos are intended for personal viewing. Not many people on social media want to watch a 30-minute video of your wedding ceremony, but being able to rewatch your ceremony with your spouse on your anniversary can be incredibly special. You get to hear the music that played throughout the ceremony. You get to hear every word the officiant spoke. You get to hear the bride’s father mispronounce the groom’s name. You get to see why everyone was laughing while the flower girls took five minutes to get down the aisle before you ever came into the room. Having a well-made highlight video is an incredible way to share the memories of your special day with those you love, to see the best parts of the entire wedding day (preparation, ceremony, and reception), and to enjoy those memories being put together in a creative and artistic way. But it may also be worth the extra investment to have a full ceremony video that will allow you to cherish every moment of the very first half-hour of your marriage.