Presented here is an example of a precious memory that only video could capture in all its glory. As you view the video note that this is anything but your father’s home movies. Your professional videographer knows the angles, the lighting, and the sound mixing to do in the edit room to capture memories that stun the sole.

Capturing Wedding Memories of a Lifetime from W. Cardone Productions on Vimeo.

Some aspects of your wedding day can ONLY be captured by video.

Consider the toasts at your reception. Best men and maids of honor typically craft their toasts and sometimes come up with words that are awesome to preserve for all time. These messages are rarely preserved in any form whatsoever and are usually lost with fading memories and fading magnetic tape of home movies. Imagine hearing those endearing messages many years after the wedding reception. But not only hearing them, hearing them with a quality unavailable with home movies. The clang of dishes as wait staff moves around can only be heard as distant sounds against the vibrant maid of honor’s voice.

 A pro videographer will wire up the groom and perhaps the officiant with wireless UHF diversity microphones that typically even pick up whispers at the altar. Imagine being able to listen to yourselves ten or more years down the road speaking your vows. Hearing your own voices speaking your vows renews the commitment of that day reviving emotions that may have dulled with time.

One very powerful set of memories lost with time from your wedding are those pertaining to the day itself. 

1. Things that went wrong that day.
2. What surprising things happened that day.
3. What looked like it was going wrong but worked out in the end.
4. What was the groom thinking as he saw his bride in her wedding dress for the first time.
5. What was the bride thinking as she walked down the isle with her father. 

At W. Cardone Productions we have developed an incredibly powerful technique to preserve these and other memories from a wedding day.

One or two weeks after the wedding we have the couple come to our studio to answer a series of prepared questions pertaining to their wedding day. We record their responses complete with all the laughter as they explain what happened that day. We then place the audio of these responses in appropriate places of their wedding DVD as a “director’s cut” option that the viewer can interactively select from the DVD’s menu. By default those responses will not be heard. When enabled, however, the responses will be heard as the original video lowers slightly.

Please ask to see a sample of how this works. Only then can you fully appreciate how powerful a memory preservation technique this is.

Try to contact recent brides and get their opinions. Whether they got pro video services or not, consider each opinion. Consider especially opinions from those who received video services. To find brides consider joining web forums and solicit opinions of past brides. Ask your friends and relatives for names and contact information of past brides.

Most recent brides will overflow with answers if you ask them about their wedding and services they contracted for. Here are some questions to ask recent brides:

·        If you had to pick between your still photos and video, which would you say is more important to you? 

·        What was your original reasoning for having pro-videography?

·        How did you find your videographer? 

·        If you had it to do again, what would you do different with your videography arrangements? 

·        Were there any particular aspects of wedding videography you had in mind when shopping? 

·        If shopping again:

o       Where would you look for pro videographers?

o       What would you look for?

o       What questions would you ask?

·        What differences did you observe between those you interviewed?

·        What “Lessons-Learned” did you come away with after your wedding concerning videography? 

·        Do you know of any other recent brides who might like to answer these same questions?