Why do we film weddings? Why should you have your wedding filmed?

This isn’t a sales pitch.  If you haven’t met us yet, we’re the furthest thing from sales people. I had some thoughts that I wanted to put ‘to pen’ (although no ink was used in the typing of this post).

I started to think about the question ‘Why should couples have their wedding filmed’ after Emily and I spent some time with family this past Christmas.  One of our extended family members (who we don’t see more than once a year) didn’t know about Sorlie Arts so we preceded to tell her a bit about what we do.  We told her about the cinematic style we use and how we extensively edit our footage to tell a story.  The end result being so much more than simply ‘Wedding Video’.  It’s a story.  A film about the events of your day.  You and your fiancee are the stars of your own movie.  We continued to explain to our Aunt about the way we choose to highlight certain parts of the day including the bride and groom getting ready – something that each of you will be able to share with each other when you first watch your finished film. How wedding videos of the past that are 4 hours of continuous shaky footage with terrible audio and the odd floating heart on the screen just don’t do any more.

She didn’t recognize the value initially in what we did.  She didn’t know why we considered this to be a viable option for couples. She asked “why would a couple want to see their wedding when it’s all in your memory?”

It was an honest and fair question and one that didn’t catch us of guard, but did however ask us to think about why we film weddings.

After stumbling through a few of the obvious answers, we started to consider some of the things  we love to capture.  Like the fact that there are tonnes of things that the couple miss on their wedding day. The details that you spent literally days planning and preparing. The looks you give each other can’t be duplicated from memory.  That first dance you had with your father.  He’s never held you like that before – and won’t again.  The look on the groom’s face as he sees his bride entering the room for the first time.  Not to mention the speeches that are often equal parts of humour and compassion.  That first dance with your official newest best friend.

We are huge advocates of quality wedding photography.  We have a handful of photographers we trust and recommend to couples. We don’t think that what we do replaces photography.  In fact, we love (most) photographers.  It’s important to us that we work together at an event  so that we both come away from your day feeling like we achieved the best results possible. A great photographer will tell their own version of the story of your day. Equally, we firmly believe that photography can’t fill in 100% of the memories of your wedding. The thing that photography can’t do is give you sound.  Hearing your vows on your anniversaries can be a major source of encouragement and can rekindle those fires as the years go on.

So, after some considerable thought about the topic, I still do feel great about the work we do and confidently say that if you weren’t sure about whether or not you should have your wedding filmed – think again about how well you remember the last few weddings you were at.  Do you remember those great lines from the Best Man’s speech?  Do you want to remember who caught your bouquet?

We would love to tell your story.  There are many fine wedding cinematography companies out there.  Many that we look up to.  We simply want to make sure you have your memories for life. If we can be a part of your wedding, it would be an honour.

Thanks for reading.