wedding ceremony

Wedding Memories

Don Special Events, Weddings , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What are your memories worth?

Today ended up being a pretty rainy day so since we didn’t get to do the Easter Egg hunt with the girls, we decided to make today a quite day at home.  So, I decided to take a rare day off and just spend some time surfing the web and catching up on some things.  I ended up on one of the wedding message boards that I like to go to and noticed that one statement kept popping up; “$500 seems like a lot of money for a wedding video.” “Is a video really worth the $800 they are asking for?”and then my favorite one: “I don’t understand why wedding videos are so expensive.”.  These are also questions I hear a lot from brides as I’m meeting with them to discuss wedding video.  Most times I give them the standard “your wedding day goes so fast, you won’t remember anything.” and “you will never see your self walk up the aisle in your wedding dress.” answers but I have always wanted to have a better response to those questions and statements.  This afternoon, my wife came up with the best answer and I want to share it with you, because it makes sense when you think about it. I’m going to refer to post on here about the average cost of a wedding with the information provided by TheKnot.com’s annual wedding report.

  Venue – $12,116

The venue is one of the first places a bride picks for her wedding day.  It is the key to the entire wedding day and sets the tone for the day.  However, the thing most brides don’t know is that half way through your reception, the venue staff is already getting ready for next weekend.  Never thought about that before, did you?  It’s true.  The venue has a wedding the next weekend and the following weekend and the weekend after that.  That’s not to say they don’t care about you, they do, but they also care about the bride next weekend.  Also, how many bride do you think go back to their wedding venue on their first anniversary?  That answer would be none.  $12,116 gone and you get nothing for it in return

Flowers – $1,894

Flowers are very important as well, who could picture a bride without a bouquet?  The flowers provide the beauty that focus on the bride and her day.  But, how long do they last?  Most times, they last about a week.  I know some brides dry the flowers and either press them in a scrapbook or create a shadow box with them.  I guess my thing is why spend $1,894 on something that’s going to die in a few days?  This is the reason I don’t get my wife roses on Valentines day.  She would kill me for spending all that money on something that’s going to die in a few days.  $1,894 gone and you nothing for it in return

Reception DJ – $988

Now, what would a reception be without some great music and an emcee to help move the events of the evening along?  A pretty boring night.  We have some great DJ’s in our area and I would suggest any one of them for your reception.  I, personally, prefer a DJ as apposed to a live band.  A live band has a set list they play, that’s it. If your guest don’t enjoy the band, they most likely won’t get up and dance.  However, a professional DJ can read your guest and make adjustments to keep your reception flowing and fun.  But at the end of the night, after you leave the DJ packs up and is planning for the next wedding next weekend.  $988 gone and you get nothing in return.

Memories

I could go on for the rest of this blog post talking all the different parts of your wedding and how they are nice at the time, but they give you nothing in return.  I mean after all, at the end of your day all you have, besides a husband, are memories.  Memories that fade over time.  It’s a fact, most people only retain less then 50% of an event the next day.  As time goes on, that percentage gets lower and lower.  There are only two ways to capture memories.  Photography and Videography.   For most brides, a photographer is the third or fourth thing they book and I suggest that you get a great photographer.  But, only a video will allow you to not only see your wedding day, you can hear it and watch it move as well.  A professional videographer will capture those moments you missed, moments like your vows, that first dance, spending time with your mother and the list just goes on and on.  So my answer to those brides who say that $800 is too much to spend on a wedding video, I will say this;  how much are your memories worth?  How much are the memories of your day worth to you?  Memories are priceless and a wedding video provides you with a lifetime of memories.

Wedding Report

Don Engagements, Special Events, Weddings , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Recently TheKnot.com came out with it’s yearly wedding report. This is based on a survey of brides done right after their ceremony asking them, among other things what they spent on each category for their wedding. I want to share a few fun facts from this report:

The average wedding: $28,427 (excluding the honeymoon)
Most expensive place to get married: Manhattan, $76,678
Least Expensive Place to Get Married: Alaska, $15,504
Average Marrying Age: Bride, 29; Groom, 31
Average Number of Guests: 139
Average Number of Bridesmaids: 4 to 5
Average Number of Groomsmen: 4 to 5
Most Popular Month to Get Engaged: December (16%)
Average Length of Engagement: 14 months
Most Popular Month to Get Married: June (17%)

I’m going to add some to this list based on the Knoxville area, most popular months are April, May, June, September & October. We have a much longer wedding season then most areas due to the climate and the beauty of our outdoor venues.
The average cost of a wedding in Knoxville is right at $26,500.

Here is the break down of what brides spent in each category:

2012 Average Wedding Budget Breakdown

Category                           2012 National Average Spend         2011 National Average Spend
Overall Wedding            $28,427                                                 $27,021
Venue                               $12,905                                                 $12,116
Photographer                    $2,379                                                    $2,299
Wedding Planner              $1,847                                                     $1,753
Reception Band                 $3,084                                                    $3,122
Reception DJ                         $988                                                       $929
Florist/Decor                      $1,997                                                     $1,894
Videographer                      $1,619                                                      $1,486
Wedding Dress                   $1,211                                                        $1,121
Groom’s Tuxedo                   $230                                                          $215
Wedding Cake                       $560                                                          $535
Ceremony Site                     $1,711                                                        $1,599
Ceremony Musicians           $554                                                           $536
Invitations                             $453                                                           $440
Limousine                              $708                                                           $669
Favors                                     $289                                                           $285
Rehearsal Dinner                $1,135                                                        $1,078
Engagement Ring               $5,431                                                        $5,130
Catering (price per person)    $63                                                             $61
Figures based on respondents who hired a professional vendor for the service.

Now I highlighted two categories I want to bring to your attention, photography and videography.  The reason is very simple, every category on this is a one time cost item.  In other words, at the end of the night those items are gone or thrown away.  The only thing you have left at the end of the day are memories and the only way to capture those memories is with photography & videography.  What’s more important to you, the flowers that die the next day or the memories from your wedding day?

7 Minute Movie

Don Advertising, Films, Weddings , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My wife and daughter are really excited about the new “Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2″ moving coming out this weekend.  It’s all they have talked about for weeks.  I think they have seen the trailer online about a dozen times or more the past few weeks.  I, myself, am not a fan of the Twilight movies and will send them off for a “girls night out” fun that mothers and daughters love to share.  I’m sure most of you reading this blog are planning to see it as well.  Think about this as you are going to the movies this weekend.

You stand in line to get your tickets (if you haven’t purchased them online already) that cost you in the area of $9.00 each.  More if you see the IMAX version of a movie.  Then you have to have some popcorn, a cold drink and maybe even a little candy.  When all is said and done, you’ve spend close to $20 and you haven’t even seen the first frame of film yet.  As you sit down in the theater and wait for the movie to start you are so excited and just can’t wait for the movie to begin.  I mean, you’ve only waited almost a year or more for this final chapter of the Twilight Saga.  Then the lights dim and the music starts.  After what seems like 30 minutes of movie trailers and commercials, which I still don’t get, the feature presentation starts.

7 minutes later, it’s over.  That’s right, 7 minutes.  That’s the whole thing, the entire movie; 7 minutes.  You waited months, spend $20 to see a seven minute movie?   How mad would you be?  How upset do you think the others in the theater would be?  I know if I spend $20 or more for a movie, it better be more then 7 minutes long.  But, that’s what brides are paying for today and some of them may not even know it until it too late.

The latest, greatest thing for wedding films is called the short form video.  It’s about 7 to 8 minutes long and only gives you the best parts of your wedding day condensed down to fit into that time frame.  Most Catholic wedding ceremony’s  can be an hour or longer.  Hindu weddings are upwards of 3 hours long.  How do you fit a wedding day into 8 minutes?  My typical wedding day is in the area of 9 to 11 hours long.  I capture in the area of 7 to 9 hours of footage from the wedding day and that’s if I do nothing more then just the ceremony and reception only.  I can’t fathom the work that would be involved in just shrinking 9 hours of footage to just 8 minutes.

The craziest part of all this is the wedding videographer is charging you the same price for an 8 minute video that I charge for a full wedding film that can last on average 90 minutes or more. I don’t understand how they can do that.  I look at it this way, they are charging the same price for a 10th of the work.

Midnight Magic Studios offers brides a full length film of their wedding day.  They get the entire day, from hair and make up to the grand getaway at the end of the night.  No shortcuts, no short form video, nothing but the entire day given to you, the bride.  You didn’t plan an 8 minute wedding day, why try to relive only 8 minutes of it?

Video or Film: What’s The Difference?

Don Films, Special Events, Weddings , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Video or Film: What’s The Difference?

I was asked a very good question by someone last night.  I was asked by a lady at the table next to us last night “What’s the difference between a wedding video and a wedding film?”.   I was having dinner last night with my wife and some friends and I guess the lady overheard me talking about a wedding film I’m working on.  Seems her daughter is getting married next year and she was thinking about getting a video done, but really wanted to know why I was calling it a film.  I know on my blog I have talked about wedding films and how important they are in capturing your magical day, but do you know the difference between a wedding film and a wedding video?

Let me explain it this way; I can give anyone a video camera and say “Go video that wedding over there.”.  I can even give a 4 year old a camera and tell them to push the button and video something.  The question is, would you want to watch that video?  Most of you would say “No”, unless the 4 year old was your child or somehow related.  Even then you would watch it maybe once and that would be it.  But, in the same way if I said to Steven Spielberg “Go shoot that wedding over there.” first off he would look at me like “Any you are…?”.  But for argument sake, lets say I could do that.  That would be something you would watch, a Steven Spielberg wedding film.  That’s the difference.

Anyone can hold a video camera, point it in the right direction and push the button.  You can even record HD video on your smart phones now.  But, there’s no work involved in that, no way to tell a story or to really capture the feelings and emotions of that day.  Think about all the “videos” your family has stored in a closet someplace.  There are birthday parties, vacations, special occasions on those tapes, some of your families most memorable moments.  But when was the last time you pulled that box down and watched one of those videos?  My guess would be “never” or “hardly ever”.

Now think about the DVD’s you have around your house.  I’m a movie lover so we have TONS of DVD’s in our house.  I have two huge bookcases just for those DVD’s.  But, look around at the ones you have and my guess is that one or more of those DVD’s has your favorite movie on it.  For me it’s the Star Wars Saga.  I bet you I have seen those movies a million times, but I will still put in one of those movies from time to time when we are just relaxing or with friends.  I have no doubt you do the same thing.  Those movies tell a story, are full of emotions, and special moments.  Those are films, works of art, someone’s labor of love.

That’s what a wedding film is, a work of art.  A film is something someone will spend hours and hours working on making sure every part of it is just right.  The lighting is perfect, the sound is good and the music is in the right place.  Do you think Uncle Bob is going to spend that much time on your wedding film?  Unless he is a professional editor, my answer would be “No”.   I create wedding films, a living history of your wedding day.  One of the most important days in your life, a milestone moment, the beginning of a new chapter in your life.   I, and my team, work very hard to make sure we get all those special moments that you will never see and all the moments you do see but will have a hard time remembering years from now. Did you know you will never see yourself walk up that aisle in the perfect wedding dress?  You will never see the look on his when he sees you for the first time in that dress.  And years from now, on that day you’re missing your dad the most, you will never get to see that dance you had with him.  I create a work of art that you will WANT to watch.  Something you will want to share with your family and friends.  Something you will put right beside your favorite movies.  In most cases, this work of art, my labor of love, will become your new favorite movie of all time.

Ask your self, as you’re planning the wedding of a lifetime, do you want a simple video that will never see the light of day or do you want a piece of art, something that will tell the story of your wedding day?  Something you will watch now and something you will share with your family in the years to come.  Picture your self watching your wedding film with your daughter as she gets ready for her wedding day.  It will happen sooner then you think.

Do You Really Need A Professional Videographer?

Don Advertising, Weddings No Comments , , , , , , , , , , ,

I hear that question all the time from brides; “Do I really need a professional videographer?  Can’t I just get a camcorder and have my friends shoot the wedding?”   Sure you could.  Nothing says you HAVE to have a professional.  It’s your wedding and you want it to be a memorable day, right?  What could be more memorable than this:

Now, ask yourself this; would this video make your wedding memorable? Do you think your friends with a camcorder could make a video like that? Do you really need a professional videographer at your wedding? I will leave that answer up to you.

Wedding Ceremony

Don Weddings No Comments , , , , , , ,

One  question I get is “What are all these choices?”  I do have a lot of choices that brides can make for their wedding video.  I have done this from the very beginning of Midnight Magic Studios because when I asked newly weds what they thought about their wedding video, one of the most common answers was “I’d like to have more choices.” or “I wish I didn’t have to choose one package with items that I don’t want to get the ones I do want”.  I felt it was time to give brides a choice and I came up with the menu that many of you have seen.  But, just what are all those choices?  What are “Memorable Interviews” and how will it look in my video? BridePod?  Bride Cam?  And the list goes on.  So, starting tonight, I going to make some simple blog post and describe each of the items on my menu.

Let’s start at the beginning. The Wedding Ceremony.  For many the Wedding Ceremony starts when the music starts and the bride walks down the aisle.  I don’t look at it that way.  For me, the Wedding Ceremony starts that morning. All the pre-ceremony prep is just as important as the vows are.  There are so many things that are going on all around you and most of the time, you would never see them.  The bride will focused on her hair & make up.  Getting herself ready. Making sure her bridesmaids have what they need. Then there is getting into the dress. The venue getting decorated for your wedding day.  The hustle of everyone doing their tasks to make your day as special and memorable as possible.  And that’s all from the brides point of view.

I’m going to be a guy for a minute and give you gals a look into how we look at weddings.  In our minds, we can put the whole things together in about 30 minutes to an hour. To us, there is not much to it.  I was that way when I got married 19 years ago.  Now that I work in the wedding business, I can tell every guy who reads this; there is a lot that goes into a wedding.  Ladies, we don’t know colors (except for the primary colors).  And our favorite phrase is “It’s what ever you want, honey.”  Most guys can get ready for their wedding day in about 30 minutes, but it is a fun 30 minutes.  A lot of guys will play golf or a quick game of basketball.  I had one groom that went rock climbing before his wedding.  He was pretty beat up before his wedding, but the bride non the wiser.  Some guys practice a special song they are going to preform at the reception.  And then, there are those guys who just set and play video games until the last possible moment.

Part of the Wedding Ceremony is also all the pre ceremony photos that are taken.  These photos are so important because it is some of the best moments you have with your best friends. You have family that gather and for some, it could be the last time they are able to be around. Some couples see each other before the ceremony and that can be an amazing moment.  Some brides like to do this, others want to stick with tradition and not see each other until she walks down the aisle.

Looking back over that list and there are a lot of things that are going on.  The amazing thing in all of this is we haven’t gotten to the actual Wedding Ceremony yet!  There is a lot of activity going on long before we ever get to the ceremony. Activity that you will never get to see or know about.

The actual ceremony is captured as it happens with non stop coverage.  I have a very strict rule when it comes to Wedding Ceremonies, once we start recording we don’t stop tape for ANY reason.  We capture the Wedding Ceremony from the very first note until you walk back up the aisle as husband and wife.  I want to give you your wedding ceremony as it happened. That means any thing that happens during the ceremony, we be captured on video.  We use multiple cameras so that we can provide you with your Wedding Ceremony from as many angles as possible. We also use digital wireless microphones that are placed on both the minster or priest and on the groom.  This allows us to capture every word of your vows to each other.  We also capture the audio in such a way as to make you feel like your standing there all over again.  The microphones I use only go to my camera, they are not broadcast in the venue.  This will give you a piece of mind knowing that the things you say to each other, will stay just between the two of you.  The other cameras have quality shotgun microphones on them to get ambient sound during your ceremony.  I combine the two to give you that feeling, again, that your right there all over again.

This give you a brief overview of the Wedding Ceremony part of your video.  There is a lot here, because there is a lot going on.  Since I don’t have time limits on any of my videos, we start your wedding day when you want to start. We can start where ever you want to start, at your home, hair salon, make up room, at the church, any where you want us to be.

That covers the Wedding Ceremony.  I hope you can tell that we put a lot of work into your video as we try really hard to capture all those special and once in a lifetime moments.

Next, we are going to talk about the reception coverage.