I spoke with a bride this week that is charging all of her expenses to a credit card that gives frequent-flier miles - I thought it was a neat idea to get a little extra “bonus” this way. I have an aunt that did this with my cousin’s college tuition, but I never thought about it in conjunction with wedding planning. Of course, I would only recommend doing this if you have the money to pay the bill when it comes in - I would discourage charging above your budget and starting your new married life in debt.
Hello again - I’m going to write a few tips over the next few days about selecting a videographer - hope to help all of you pick the right videographer for you!
If you’ve read a bridal magazine or a “plan your wedding” book or guide (I’m guessing this is most of you) you have probably encountered a list of questions to ask when you talk to a videographer (as well as questions for photographers, etc.) Thought I’d address some of them. (In writing below, “you” are the bride/groom/person planning wedding and “they” are the videographers you are interviewing, and “we” is me - Miriam at Omaha Wedding Video).
(Note - source of questions - Omaha World Herald Wedding Essentials and “The Knot” website)
The most important question, in my opinion, is what style of wedding video do you want (cinematic, documentary, etc.) and do they produce this type of wedding? If you have your heart set on a dreamy, elegant wedding movie, be sure that you’re not going to get MTV - and vice verca! We produce all types of wedding videos, and take our directions from you as far as style, music, etc.
Does the videographer belong to any national or local associations? Have they won any awards? We have not personally won any awards yet - but submit work for judging twice a year to the 2 international associations to which we belong. We do hope to win an award someday 
but we don’t just sit around “hoping” - we are actively pursuing this goal by attending workshops by some of the best videographers in the US - the ones that are winning the awards ! We push ourselves with every wedding we do to do the best work ever - every wedding is our best wedding - and someday that plaque will come home with us. We have started a local videographers assocition (our first meeting was in November) to help improve videography in Omaha, to educate videographers and brides about what is possible and how to attain it.
Have you done a wedding at my (church/hotel/venue) before? This question is a kicker, which is why I put it here. Most of the time, our answer to this question is “no”. There are a lot of churches in Omaha - and many venues other than churches !! But that is why I put this in here - do not be discouraged or concerned because we haven’t been there before. We’re professionals, and this is what we do - go where we haven’t been before and do what we do all the time. We talk to the minister/church coordinator/etc., establish where and what we are allowed to do in their church/venue, and that is what we do. If you like a videographer’s work, don’t be overly concerned about this point. The next airplane flight you take - the pilot may never have flown into Denver before, but he knows how to fly an airplane and all airports work basically the same way.
More FAQ coming soon!
What types of cameras, microphones, lights do they use? In our case, HD (High Definition) cameras, high quality wireless microphones (on the groom), and soft lighting that is dimmer-adjustable - no harsh spotlights. We will ask you about your lighting preferences, especially during special moments like your first dance and cake cutting.
What type of editing equipment do they use? At this point, in 2008, I would guess that 99% of videographers use “non-linear editing” systems - fancy words for we do it with software on a computer, in our case, Apple (Mac) computers using Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premier Pro, along with about 10 other software applications that I won’t bore you with here. Feel free to ask as many questions as you want to be sure you understand, but we all do just about the same thing, just with different software. (But if your videographer doesn’t know he is doing non-linear editing, you might want to ask a few more questions!)
OK - Here is a cool site -
www.weddingmapper.com
It allows you to create a map of the locations of your ceremony, reception, hotel, rehearsal dinner, and so forth. It allows your guests to see on the map where the locations are - and they have really cute little icons (ex. wedding cake for the reception location) and your guests can print driving directions from, for example, the hotel to the wedding, the wedding to the reception, etc.
Include the link in emails, or enclose it with other information you are sending guests. You can even embed it in your wedding website if you have one.
Each location can include notes to your guests such as: “Wedding begins at X time; park in the large lot to the west of the church”.
A bride’s mom gave me this website this past week to get directions to her daughter’s locations, and I just had to share it.
Have fun!
I want to address this tip to my brides, bridesmaids, and maids-of-honor (maid-of-honors?) -
To phrase this delicately - be aware of yourself as you adjust the front of your dresses - many ladies have the unconscious habit if hitching up and otherwise adjusting the fit of their dress throughout the day - remember, a lot of people are watching you!
Another tip - if you can walk in your dress without picking up your skirt, do so - it looks so much more elegant and graceful as you walk. Again, this is something we all do unconsciously, so practice a bit to see if you can. (Of course, if you can’t - then do hold it up! No tripping and falling in the aisle! )
Just a quick entry for tonight - picked up a great out-of-town guest tip -
Give each guest coming into town the name of an in-town “buddy” (willing family member or friend) that they can call if they are lost, or their travel plans go awry, or just for directions to a store or pharmacy. It will make your guests more comfortable with their trip and you won’t have to worry about them, knowing they are in good hands.
Read a great article on “The Knot” about things guests don’t like about some weddings - something to consider, so your friends can go home saying “that was the best wedding ever!”
#1 Guest gripe - Receiving Lines - a 200 person wedding can easily take an hour or more to get all the guests through the receiving line. “Today” ideas - at the reception, go table-to-table and greet guests - or - bride and groom release guests by row after the ceremony - it goes more quickly, and the people in the back get to stay seated while they wait.
Also making the list -
Awkward timing pauses between ceremony and reception - if there is an hour or 2 between the end of your ceremony and the beginning of your reception (too much time to do nothing, not enough time to do something), consider offering your guests suggestions of what to do during that time.
Some ideas I’ve seen -
- Wedding at a church? Perhaps provide cold drinks and munchies in the social hall or lounge - just a place to sit, visit, spend time with family and friends that they may not have seen for a while.
- Reception at a hotel? Consider asking the hotel for a hospitality suite or conference room - again, somewhere to visit and relax.
- Or, offer a map with a few spots of interest in your town - a museum, historical site, Barnes&Noble or Burger King could be just the thing.
Where to sit - 2 issues -
- Nowhere to sit during the cocktail hour - a.k.a. “I shouldn’t have worn these shoes!”
- Lack of table placecards (seating plan) - ending up with nowhere to sit, or having to split your famliy one person here, one person there. Worried about repercussions between who-sits-where? Be as considerate as possible, then dismiss your worries - it’s your wedding day, have confidence that the people that love you are cool with whatever wedding arrangements you have made.
The article also had some ideas that guests loved - Read the whole article -http://www.theknot.com/ch_article.html?Object=A20424144710
Tricia and Marc had a lovely ceremony this past Friday night at the Joclyn Castle in Omaha.
What a beautiful place to hold a ceremony and reception. They had a harp and trumpet duet during their ceremony, and Tricia’s longtime friend composed and sang an original song in their honor. The cake, from the Cake Gallery, was delicious - or should I say cakes? 6 cakes, each with a different (and yummy) flavor were served for a wonderful dessert. Their DJ, T-Roy, did a great job of MC-ing, getting guests out on the dance floor and overall creating a fun atmosphere for the reception.
Tricia and Marc had moved their wedding date from December to July at the end of May. She realized fairly quickly that that was a difficult thing to do - and that scheduling her wedding for a Friday night made venues, wedding professionals, etc. much more available than trying for a Saturday date. Sunday afternoon weddings are another nice option when short planning times crop up. (And, sometimes a bit of a discount will apply on off-dates as well - ask your professionals about that if you’re minding a budget).
Tricia had included her family in every aspect of the wedding - from her son “giving her away” along with her parents, to having siblings and relatives as the members of the wedding party and the other “supporting roles” for the day. This made for a very special and personal day for all of them.