A Wedding or a Funfair?

[Danny O'Neill]

Now, if you want to see a funfair wedding here is a literal one. Will be making it public soon but for now you get a sneak look.

Private video on Vimeo

Password: preston4616

[Noa Put]

Did I see that right they hired a marry go round and a ferris wheel for their wedding or was there a fair nearby the venue?

[Roger Gunkel]

HI Danny,

Now that's what I call a Funfair wedding:-)

For a number of years I have filmed showman's weddings, but they have never wanted their funfairs included, although I would love to. You are quite right of course, the repetitive and boring weddings pay the bills, so I object to doing them, just grit my teeth and give them what they want. Some weddings are still fun though.

Roger

[Danny O'Neill]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Did I see that right they hired a marry go round and a ferris wheel for their wedding or was there a fair nearby the venue?

The merry go round was already there. 120 years old and forms part of the venue. I think the ferris wheel and the sideshow games were all brought in.

[Craig McKenna]

Originally Posted by Peter Rush

I just got married in Fort Lauderdale, Florida 8 weeks ago - cost $130 for the licence and ceremony at city hall, $200 for a tog for an hour (really nice guy but who mainly did sports and pets) and a wedding meal at The Cheescake Factory - just the two of us! Nice and simple :)

Good job not everyone is like me or we'd all be out of business!

Pete

Congratulations, Pete! Hope you had a great day!

Originally Posted by Noa Put

My second wedding 14 years ago was even more cheaper, The legal part in the townhall, no ceremony but just a meal with my parents, our children and their partners in the afternoon at a hotels restaurant, I fell asleep around 17:00 probably because we didn't hire a DJ :) I think only weddingvideographers get married like that or in my case back then anyone who gets married a second time.

Sleeping at 5pm... oh dear! Haha!

Originally Posted by Danny O'Neill

But because the day is such a huge production now it means we can charge more. The value of a guy who turns up to film a ceremony and speech is little. But when they have these lavish affairs it means more work for us and thus more money.

Dont knock it Roger. I know they all go for the same stuff and copy speeches from the internet but it pays the bills :)

Amen. I had a recent booking due to the bride's parents telling them that they had spent too much money not to have a recording of their day on film. The couple were reluctant, as I think they'd pushed their budget to the limits, but then they were so happy once they had booked, knowing that all of their wedding would be captured on film.

If weddings weren't such a big deal nowadays, neither would videography. We wouldn't be pushing the boundaries as much with interesting films, and we would have a lot less material for the edit as a whole, though I realise that technological advancements are the real reason for our spurt in popularity and ability to deliver a better product.

I honestly think that if you hate weddings so much, you should consider lending your skills to other areas of videography. I am sure that they would pay just as well.

Personally, I find weddings to be really exciting, and I still see the things mentioned in this thread. The care that goes into these weddings, the love of family members and the happiness that is present... sure, there are extras, but for the most part, I think brides want these things themselves... less so, feeling pressurised into doing so themselves... though I know that from a personal point of view, I wouldn't want all the extras. I'd put that money into hiring an amazing photographer and videographer, have a nice meal, a good DJ or band and call it a day with a decent venue.

Having attended some pretty lavish weddings as a guest, I would feel a bit worried myself of other people's opinions... but for the most part, I think they would expect the wedding that I give to them.

Being lavish is for camera accessories, not for weddings themselves! Haha

[Roger Gunkel]

Originally Posted by Roger Gunkel

You are quite right of course, the repetitive and boring weddings pay the bills, so I object to doing them, just grit my teeth and give them what they want. Some weddings are still fun though.

Roger

Hi Craig,

Just quoted my own post here, because I seem to no longer have the facility to edit my posts after posting. I intended to put 'So I DON'T object to doing them', but I missed out the all important 'don't' which completely changes the context. Just couldn't amend it afterwards :-(

I certainly don't hate weddings and some I really enjoy, it's just the total sameness of many weddings that I find frustrating when I do several close together. It's not the people or the venues or the filming, just the endless identical props and gimmicks to be fashionable.

Roger