4.  Try Mints instead of Gum /Turn Off the TV/ Radio/ I-Pod

These are two ‘day-of’ tips, something that you might not think about that will have a huge impact on your wedding film and even on your photos. Chewing gum may help to relieve stress, but it doesn’t look attractive on film. It will also give your photographer a headache if you’re one of those who has hired a ‘photojournalist’. Trust me, those close-ups will look so much better if you use mints instead of gum. Have a dish of them on the table for the Bridal Party or hand them out as favors.

Having your favorite tunes blaring from your I-Pod might seem the ‘cool’ thing to do, but if you’ve hired a cinematographer you’ll be missing all those great interactions that can have a huge effect on your wedding film. Talking with your bridesmaids about the day ahead or explaining to someone how you found your dress is simply priceless on film.

Two very simple ideas you may not have thought about…you’ll thank me later

Hire the Photographer/ Cinematographer who Fit YOUR Style

Hiring the right photo and video companies for your event are important because their style will determine your ultimate product. I speak here of ‘style’ as distinct from quality, as a process that determines the type of product delivered rather than the artistic value.  Many of the common terms, like “photo-journalistic” and “cinematic” have been so overused and abused that they are useless. And so I will define terms so that they will have more meaning to you in your search for the perfect (for you) graphic professionals.

In Event Photography there are two broad categories: Portrait and Candid. A Portrait style photographer is ‘hands-on’. They are meticulous in arranging every detail of their composition. The end result can be stunning, but the pictures always look posed. The other end of the event photography spectrum is the Candid Photographer. Capturing a moment in time is more their line, and though they may do some general posing, they’re aiming for a more relaxed look in their photos.

In the Cinema world, the corresponding terms would be Documentary and Stylized. The Documentary Video is the linear, capture everything that happened all day style that’s been around in one form or another since the 1980’s. The Stylized video is more often non-linear, definitely shorter, and more artistic style that has come of age since 2005 or so.

It is very important that you view an entire finished product from your prospective photographer or cinematographer before you book them so that you understand what YOUR finished product is going to look like. Speaking personally as a “Stylized” film maker, I find it easier to work with a “Candid” photographer because they inherently give us more space to get the creative shots that we need to do our work.

DON’T OVER-PLAN

One of the major hazards of planning your own wedding is over-planning. It’s a big temptation to want to do it all. Take pictures/ film all over the area like the ones you’ve seen on all the photo/ video blogs; have your hair done on one side of town and your make-up on the other. First looks downtown and photoshoots in the woods. Just remember to plan for travel time and leave a little extra for the unkown snags like traffic jams and late bridal party members. An even better idea is plan for just THE most important things you want to do on your wedding day. A more casual timeline will give you more time to have fun and fewer problems to get frazzled over. Have ‘PLAN B’ ready in case the weather or time doesn’t cooperate. So everything doesn’t go EXACTLY as planned or you weren’t able to do EVERYTHING on your list. That doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun and make your wedding as fabulous as you always wanted!