Let’s watch our first dance … oh, that’s right, we can’t
Hiring a videographer is more important than you think
I was helping my parents clean out their house when I came across a box of old 8mm movie reels. Most of them were shot with the family movie camera when my sister and I were kids. One of them was larger and in a nice, plastic case, not a metal canister. I couldn’t remember seeing it before and was curious about what could be on it.
So, I dug out the movie projector (that’s what we had before cloud video, YouTube, DVD players and VCRs), blew the dust off and fired it up. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. The images were of my parents’ wedding in 1954, but they didn’t look like the homemade images of my youth, they looked better. I was speechless as I watched the silent images of their ceremony and reception.
There stood my parents, happy and youthful, sharing their wedding day with friends and relatives, many of whom were no longer with us. I saw their first dance. I saw my grandparents, who were probably my age now. I saw my great-grandparents, who were probably the age my parents are now.
I asked my mother about the film, and she said that they had hired a professional for the wedding. While that’s commonplace now, I’m sure it was very progressive in 1954.
Fast-forward and I’ll soon be approaching my own 40th anniversary. I would love to be able to watch the highlights from our wedding. I’d love to hear our vows, see our first dance and watch our friends and family getting down on the dance floor, but I can’t.
You see, when we were planning our wedding, B.I. (Before the Internet), no one asked us if we wanted video, so we never really had a chance to decide. We were the first of our friends to get married and we didn’t have anyone to ask. All my fiancé had for planning help was a national wedding magazine to look at for dresses. There were no wedding TV shows or local magazines.
If someone came to us on our 10th, 20th, 30th or 40th anniversary and said they had a video of our wedding, what do you think it would be worth to us? Priceless, right? When I see the amazing wedding movies that today’s couples are getting, it makes me wish, even more, that we had one of our wedding. If only we could share with our two sons those special memories. Now that we have a grandchild, and especially since my Mom has passed, I’d love to be able share those memories with him.
I’ve been in wedding media for over 25 years and one of a couple’s biggest regrets after their wedding is not having a video. Lucky for you, if you’re reading this, you still have the chance to capture your wedding memories for your children and grandchildren. If you already know you’re having professional video, great. If you’re on the fence, I hope my personal story will help you decide.
If you were thinking of not having professional video, do yourselves a favor and at least take a look at what’s being done by today’s video pros. It’s not about how many times it gets watched. It’s about what it means to the people who get to watch it, every time they do.
This original version of this is an article I wrote that was printed in Beautiful Bride Magazine www.BeautifulBrideMagazine.com
If you’d like a copy of the PDF, please email me