Hi Guys

I was wondering who here does more than just the "big day" on video? Does anyone make a complete wedding love story for couples starting with a pre wedding couple shoot with documentary style shooting and live audio about how the couple met and proposed. Maybe also candid interviews with their friends and what they thought about the relationship. Of course the wedding prep, ceremony and reception BUT what about post wedding thoughts by the couple with flashbacks to the actual wedding parts, the arrival, the ceremony, the first dance and then their plans for the future? Done very much in an A&E Reality TV style as is popular nowdays ..even TV programs like Modern Family use the cut-to- thoughts throughout their series and it makes the whole thing a lot more interesting

I have always figured that the wedding day (which goes past in a blur for the bride) is such a small part of their story and it seems a shame that most wedding videos are just the day and no more. It would be so much better to watch "Our Wedding Story" instead of just "Our Wedding Day"

Chris

hi Chris
I've done two well, one and attempted a second that we eventually abandoned. The first was a wedding engagement still shoot I was doing and then I filmed it as well, it was the same location that they would eventually have their location photo shoot at too, so it worked in pretty well into the overall production. The advantage of course is obvious, you can rehearse have several takes etc.

The second one just didn't work they were very uncomfortable and self conscious on camera, I guess it's different if you have actors etc.
I think a lot of people here become very reserved when it comes to displays of affection etc. shame really.

the only other thing to consider is - time and money, how to price this and would people be prepared to outlay the amounts that might be needed to cover such a production?

Chris,
some years ago there was a TV show called "A Wedding Story". The TLC network ran it and a production house named Pie Town Productions did the show. It was actually pretty good. Perhaps you could Google Pie Town and see if they have any of the shows up on their site so you could get an idea of how they did it the show. Keep in mind the program only ran in a 30 minute slot. Might be worth looking into just for some ideas. I think some people would really like this type of production.


NEWS FLASH.......I just looked at Pie Town and the show isn't listed anymore (it's been a few years since they ran it) BUT search You Tube for A wedding story and look for the vids marked Pie Town or at least some indication they were part of a TV show. I found some. Like I said, just to give you some ideas.

I used to do them "love stories" way back then but I do not even mention it to them now as I prefer to simplify my wedding shoots. I just give them a good coverage of their wedding day at a very attractive price, I do little editing as possible, this way I enjoy 3 off from the computer per week. I know many who are chained to the desk doing just half the weddings I do.

We've done a little, but not much. So far, just a Save the Date video. I usually do family stories (parents and/or grandparents telling stories about how they met, et al). Later this summer, we will be doing self-introduction video for a couple to then use at the reception.

I've always wanted to do some post interviews (I picture the interview scenes from "When Harry Met Sally"). Maybe done after showing them their wedding video, so you could also capture any reviews/testimonials on video.

Thanks Guys and thanks for the effort Don

This has honestly been in the back of my mind from my VHS days where I wanted to do something different but very few people seem to offer the whole "experience" ...a few people offer a "Love Story" pre wedding shoot but that's about it and most I have seen are really just expanded cinematic shoots on the beach with not an awful amount of solid documentary content

I really like the way this guy in Florida has done it as he has covered the couple from meeting and proposal right thru to post wedding reflections.

Wedding Documentary = 'Wedumentary' - YouTube

Apart from liking the style, from a business point of view, it's quite effective as you only get "X" available Saturdays during the wedding season and if you can sell each bride a higher priced package you are of course working more hours but also making more money in the limited window that wedding give you.

Chris

I've tried this in the past but found it is more of a hassle and the "love story" footage comes out looking very cheesy and canned. Here are some of my experiences:

1. Pricing for a love story rarely makes sense. A "love story" means you have to film another day in addition to the wedding. Weddings are already very laborious and underpaid for the amount of time we spend on them. Adding another days worth of shooting means you should be charging your day rate plus editing of the additional footage, otherwise you're only short changing yourself. Based on that previous video, imagine how many days that guy was filming. What if you get offered another video job on those other days?

2. Finding a time to shoot the love story footage. Most couples have a hectic schedule as it is. This becomes a problem when you have multiple clients requesting these types of shoots during an already busy wedding season. I've had clients push the love story filming date around endlessly.

3. Most couples are not actors. Sure some naturally give good responses but you could be spending a ton of time filming unusable footage that they expect to see in the final video. What if they're not happy with how they look in the love story? Do you handle revisions their revisions?

These are just my personal experiences and I'm sure others have found a niche in their market but for me, it just doesn't make sense from a business-labor standpoint. This market is difficult enough as it is :)

We do "loves stories" maybe 2 to 3 every year for the last 5 years...we 've even incorporated one into a Same Day Edit. its a nice break from just filming the actual wedding and you can really be creative with it..not to mention you get compensated nicely.

Check it out: this is the couple's actual story...some translation required:)

Carl + Ween || Our Story || Same Day Edit on Vimeo

Thanks Edward and Kren

What I want to create is a niche market so I need something unique and different. I am so tired of being beaten to death by weekend warriors or videographers who are offering brides prices that makes me want to rather sit at home with a six pack of cold ones and watch football instead of take cut throat jobs.

Obviously one would cost out at normal rates so yes, it would cost more and I don't really care if other videographers call it cheesy ..If the bride likes it, that's all that matters and I do think that the cut price guys are not looking for extra work... they know they are shooting for less than they are worth already so don't want to take on longer shoots. If I can give brides something that is not called a wedding DVD/video/film then I can price it to what I'm worth not what the competition is charging.

Nice shoot Kren BTW!!

Chris

I have done a save the date once, was fun to do but there is no market here that would be willing to pay for the time you spend on it, I found it quite time consuming to do, especially the preparation as we needed a storyboard and a shotlist for the day of the shoot. That one SDE I did was offered for free on my website as I first wanted to see how it would work out, it was I think about 3 months on my website and couples could apply and I would eventually choose one that got the free shoot and offered the others a discount if they still wanted one. Only 3 couples applied and the ones that did not get chosen never let anything know.

So for me it was a fun experience but a waste of time, I mean even the free offer only drew 3 couples so that says a lot. That's why I decided just to focus on weddings, much less hassle.

We also have many weekend warriors here working for bottom prizes, but I don't have to compete with them as most of their work looks amateurish at best, brides that hire these people are looking for bottomprizes first and care less about quality, they would never consider me because I"m too expensive for them anyway.