Bride-to-be Blogger Stephanie: Prioritizing a Videographer


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After securing the perfect band, the next items on my list of early wedding priorities were photographer and videographer. The photographer search proved very challenging. Unlike the venue quest, it wasn’t that I couldn’t find what matched my vision. The problem was that I found two photographers that I loved and was heartbroken to make a decision between the two of them. But more on that later. For today’s post, I’ll focus on finding my perfect videographer.

I feel as though video is often a very underrated, forgotten medium in the wedding realm of late. I know many couples who have opted out of a videographer for their weddings, seeing it as unnecessary and something of the past.

I was a journalism major in college, and I took a course called Visual Storytelling, which incorporated photography, but largely focused on video. While brilliant photography can certainly be extremely effective in capturing important, meaningful moments—freezing them in time—video adds two other integral dimensions: audio and motion.

Just after I got engaged, my aunt had me over for dinner to celebrate. After the meal, she timidly suggested that maybe we could watch her wedding video, to which I excitedly replied, “Of course.”

A hour or so later, I had watched my great grandparents, who passed away when I was very young, proudly strolling down the aisle, looking radiant and healthy. I had watched my aunt, stunning in her wedding gown, meet my uncle at the altar and say their vows. I had listened to their friends and family, including my mom sporting an ‘80s hair-do and my mustache-wearing dad, share their amusing words of advice and best wishes. I had watched them dance their first dance.

I wasn’t at the wedding. I hadn’t yet been born. But after watching the video, I felt like I had been there. And while I could see many of the beautiful moments from the night in their wedding album, watching my beaming great grandparents walking down the aisle as if they’re still with us, and listening to the heartfelt speeches of the best man and maid of honor, are simply not something photos can capture.

And so the quest began for the videographer capable of capturing the moments the lens of camera can’t. And surprisingly, unlike some of my other arduous searches, this was a quick, easy decision.

I had received multiple recommendations on CinemaCake, so I set up an appointment. Instead of meeting at their downtown office, we met at their house – which certainly created a more friendly, comfortable environment. I got great, down-to-earth vibe from owners Dave and Sheryl right off the bat.

For the next hour or so, they showed me samples of their work, which varied from a 20-minute edit of an entire wedding, a “Same-Day Edit” shown during a reception, a two-to-three minute “Coming Soon” trailer delivered only a few days after the wedding, and a pre-wedding “Love Story.” And I was an emotional wreck at the end of that hour! I had cried, laughed, and my cheeks hurt from the huge, incessant grin spread across my face. And in my opinion, anything that elicits an emotional response like that—be it a photo or video—is exceptional work. They’ve succeeded in connecting you to the story.

I had done a lot of videographer research online before the meeting, and CinemaCake’s attention/dedication to audio is what I would say really sets them apart. As I said earlier, motion is one of the distinguishing, great features of video, but audio is also completely crucial. A lot of other videography companies capture the motion of the day/evening and put it to a soundtrack. But CinemaCake utilizes the audio of the day to tell the story, weaving in pieces of the father’s toast, the bridesmaids’ banter while getting ready, the mother’s reaction to seeing her daughter for the first time, the bride and groom’s vows, friends of the couple talking about how they first met. And they combine this with incredible moving visuals, and with multiple cameramen, they’re able to capture not just the bride and groom but the guests.

It was by far my favorite wedding appointment. Pure fun and joy. And they were exactly what I was looking for. I did find the pricing to be rather disconcerting, but then again, all pricing within the wedding world has been shocking and disconcerting to me. But when really thinking through what my priorities are, video is way up there. So I pulled it together, and signed the contract. And when browsing through their website today, crying and smiling all over again, I couldn’t be happier with the decision.

Did you have/will you be having a videographer at your wedding? For those that did, were you happy with how your video turned out? How was it different from your photos?

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