Why a Wedding Film should tell a Story…
Paul & Chantal’s Story…
Paul & Chantal contacted me late November to see if I was available on New Years Eve to Film their wedding at The Villa in Wrea Green Lancashire. They had come to me via a recommendation from Heather Rigbye a great Photographer that I had had the privilege of working with on a wedding a few months earlier. As I had no weddings booked for the 31st of December I said yes. Where possible I always like to meet with the couple who’s weddings I film before the wedding day to get to know a little something about them and their story- I say ‘story’ because that is essentially what I am looking to create in the wedding film an element of story- how they met, fell in love and the proposal.
This is something I always look to build into my wedding films. The first ever wedding film that I shot in Manchester for Kris & Jenna had that story element in it very soon into the wedding film you see kris talking about how he met Jenna on a night out in Manchester at The Venue. Many wedding videographers do not include the story element in their films and this was something that I as a relatively new wedding videographer on my first wedding shoot in Manchester wanted to incorporate right from the beginning.
Get to know the couple…
I met up with Paul, Chantal and Paul’s Mum & Dad at the Villa a few weeks before their wedding and very quickly it became apparent that Paul & Chantal’s story was a particularly lovely one. Paul and Chantal took their time getting to know each other as friends first over many months and from that close friendship love blossomed. Listening to both Paul & Chantal talk about each other reminded me that a strong marriage is built on more than just physical attraction alone that there also has to be a deep bond of love respect and admiration for each other and that was certainly evident with Paul & Chantal.
I really do feel it’s a very privileged job that I have not just documenting their Big Day but helping tell their story. This I feel is my USP a story driven element to the wedding film. I achieve this firstly by getting to know the couple by listening to their story, I then get to know who in their lives are an important part of that story because they will need to feature in the wedding film too. For example, June, Chantal’s grand mother was very close to Chantal being almost like a mother figure to her and so it was important that there was an element of that very special relationship in the Wedding Film.
Talking with Paul it became apparent just how much his Mum and Dad meant to him and just how much he admired his dad who he referred to as a “a legend” in his speech. If those elements are missing from the wedding film then I think the film looses it’s heart and becomes just another wedding video. When I started my business Julian Voigt Wedding Films I wanted to create wedding films that were a little bit different than the typical wedding film that focuses more on the details and less on the couple in my mind the couple are the wedding film.
Getting to Know You.
Yes it does take more time to get to know the couple who’s wedding film you are going to create and yes in some circumstances it’s not always possible to meet in person, yet I believe that chatting to the couple on the phone or via a Skype call is at least one way that the videographer can get to know some of those yes personal details that help make a great story. To view the highlight trailer film of Paul & Chantal’s wedding click here: https://youtu.be/bukJzm1H7pk
To see more examples of my wedding films with a story driven element visit: https://julianvoigtweddingfilms.co.uk
Manchester Wedding Videography
Julian Voigt Wedding Films covers Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire and beyond. If you live in or around Manchester and are getting married soon then the absolute best way to document your day and remember it forever is with video.
Read: Why get Married in Manchester
