Sharing Your Wedding Videos

A wedding is such an important and enjoyable event in most people's lives that they want to relive the experience over and over again. This is where video is the perfect medium to record such an event. Camera prices have come down so much now that basically anyone can buy a video recorder. And the experience level required has come down quite a bit also. With some of the newer cameras you literally point and click and you're off and recording. But buying a camera and filming are only part of the equation. The other, and some say more demanding part, requires editing of the film so that it tells a great story.

Wedding videos are great because they allow you to share your wedding experience with friends and family who for some reason could not make be there in person. A bed-ridden aunt or a cousin who couldn't afford to take the trip to be at your wedding will appreciate being able to share in your joy through the magic of videos and DVDs. It also gives them a keepsake that they can refer to time and time again over the years.

Wedding videos can be done in many different styles. One of the most effective is the documentary style wedding video. This style video would start on the morning of the day of the wedding and follow each of the partners separately up until the time of the wedding. It would then capture the ceremony followed by the reception. It would also have interviews with relatives and close friends of the couple.

Documentary style wedding videos would also capture events surrounding the wedding day. Things such as the brides maids getting prepared, the staff preparing the rooms, the orchestra practicing and so on. A documentary style can be expensive and will require multiple cameras. But it gives anyone watching it a real feeling of being there.

If expense is an issue, however, and you still want to do this style of video, it can be done simply by leaving out certain parts of the day. For example, have it start when the wedding starts or leave out the reception. Or omit the interview. The viewer will still have a sense of what's going on.

Because it's already in sequence, the documentary style video requires very little editing. If multiple cameras were used, additional time will be required to combine the various footages.

Who should you select to shoot your wedding video? First of all, you don't want someone practicing on your wedding - so you don't want a novice. You want someone who has created at least a few videos and who has a portfolio. Because editing skills are as or more important than video skills, you don't want to just see short samples of their work. You want to see examples of a few of the completed videos that he or she has put together. As you watch their videos, rate them. Is the picture clear? Are the shot selections interesting? Is the editing good and are the transitions good. Does the video weave a story and does it hold your interest? A good videographer is a people person too. Does he get people to relax and open up on camera? Does the wedding video music match the video or does it pull you out of the scenes?

Now that we're in the age of the Internet, wedding videos can be shared across the country and across the world as easily as uploading a file. No need to wait until a DVD is created. As soon as the video is edited and captioned, it can be uploaded to the file server. Depending on the extent of the editing that has to be done, friends and families can enjoy and re-watch the wedding from the comfort of their home within hours after the wedding takes place. Having your wedding online will not significantly add to the cost of the videographer. If they provide this service, most videographers will include the cost of video file sharing and DVD creation in their job quote.

Before you begin your actual search for a videographers, go to youtube and search for vidoes made by videographers. You're not looking for a videographer. Rather you're looking for ideas. Looking through each wedding video montage you'll probably come across videos that give you ideas for your own wedding. Or you may see techniques that you'd like your own videographer can do.

If you are interested in wedding videos, you may also be interested in wedding cake toppers and wedding centerpieces. They both are a great way to ensure that your wedding is a special one.