W. Cardone Productions Blog

In most cases you do not want to look directly into the video camera lens. One exception is if you are speaking to the video audience. Another exception is when the two of you walk down the aisle away from the altar in your triumphal exit. If we have a camera at the end of the isle it will look most favorable if you can look into it. Still another exception is if you are waving into the camera. The general idea is that your viewing audience perceives themselves as a fly on the wall being able to watch events without being noticed. When you look into the camera you disturb this perception and draw attention away from the viewing experience.

All too often couples getting married are caught up on the details of all the preparations for the wedding day. It is all too easy lose sight of the reason for the day or at least have many peripheral issues cloud your mind.

If the minister does not tell you to, hold each other’s hands anyway when you start. In this way you can speak to each other without speaking during the vows. It will also cause a discontinuity in your own minds forcing you into the reality that the rubber is beginning to hit the road.

Concentrate on speaking slowly pronouncing each word. When the minister speaks each phrase that you are to repeat, allow for a brief hesitation as you hold the other’s hands and look directly into his or her eyes. As you speak each phrase communicate with your hands emotion. The hand communication will not be visible on the video but it will influence your voice and your entire demeanor.

One side benefit of hold each other’s hands during the vows is that it forces you to be close for an audio advantage. We never mike the bride but always mike the groom. When you hold hands it guarantees that the bride is close enough to the groom’s mike that her vows will be captured with stunning clarity.

Tell your groom, “No monkey business” while waiting at the altar for your entry. There is no reason for conversation unless the officiant or minister initiates it. If his best man initiates conversation he must be told to shut up. It is all too common for a groom to be distracted and miss the larger part of his bride’s entry. Just imagine yourself walking down the isle and your groom doesn’t even see you until you are half way down the isle. You both may lose an experience of a lifetime. Besides that, it looks childish to people in the pews.

One thing that renders our video footage unusable every time is gum chewing. The viewer’s eyes are drawn to the flapping jaw simply because of the movement. Because the gum chewing has no applicability to the movie’s theme or subject matter it throws in a major disconnect in the viewing experience.

Explicitly tell the members of your bridal party that your wedding is to be a “gum chewing free zone.” Then give each a breath mint package or something similar on the day of the wedding to remind them of this requirement.