An Elopement Video is THE way to share your intimate wedding with all the people that won’t be there in-person.

If you’re eloping, read this and discover why you need a videographer for your elopement.

 

Why Do I need Videography?

Learn what video captures that sets it apart from photography.

 

 

The Scenery

Nothing captures the scene quite like videography. From the use of drones to capture aerial shots of the entire landscape from above to the close-up shots of flowers and light coming through the trees, video captures the whole vibe. When you marry in nature, you’ll want to remember the majesty of the mountains or the consistent flow of a creek, and it will all be captured in your video.

 

The Sound

Hearing your vows and the officiant’s voice takes your elopement from a memory to a moment that can be relived in a capsule-like digital movie. Our highlight films contain portions of audio and video of you and your partner’s handwritten vows or traditional vows to bring you back at any point.

We also include words of welcome, background story and wisdom from your wedding officiant that help tell the story of your relationship and elopement day. 

 

The Story

The goal of our films is to tell your love story and allow your friends, family, and even future children to feel included and get to “be there” in a sense for your day.

Our videographer weaves all of the day’s clips into a cohesive, creative, story-driven film that showcases your personality and love. With a mostly-instrumental music track underneath to serve as the background sound,  visuals and audio are woven in chronologically as they day unfolded, while also creatively adding in clips from your portrait session and other moments from the elopement to match your vows or officiant words that are included.

Check out this incredible love story from a recent elopement at Black Balsam.

 

 

 

How to Prepare for being on Video

 

1. Be Ready to MOVE

Movement looks best on video, so don’t be worried about posing perfectly! You will be captured naturally in the shots set up by your photographer and laughing, sharing a kiss, and just being together in between poses. Our videographer also directs you into a few simple movements like a little dance spin or a well-timed kiss. When you watch the film and get to truly feel the day and action, you’ll likely agree that you need a videographer to really bring the memories home!

 

2. Be Yourself

There’s no one else better to be than yourself and that couldn’t apply more than on your wedding day! And you can be you and trust that you will be shown in your highest light!

Just because cameras are rolling doesn’t mean every ounce of the footage is used. Our films are a cinematic highlight of all the best, most emotionally charged, funny, or sweet moments of the day. So no, we won’t be including random shots of you yawning or shooing a fly or anything else that just doesn’t add to the story of your day!

Our Videographer Jen says: “People always say they’re so nervous about being on video but I always go through footage thoroughly to pull out the best shots, making sure to choose the most flattering and vibrant content.”

 

3. Keep Your Vows Concise

If you are writing your own vows, we recommend keeping your vows under 2 minutes in length.

Keeping your vows short and sweet will allow personalization, without going overboard. When the vows are concise, each word holds greater impact and resonates deeply. Your vows are not meant to be a concrete summary of your relationship but the start of a promise that will grow with you.

Wedding cards are a great place to share a more lengthy monologue, while your ceremonial vows can be more of a collection of promises you’re vowing to adhere to within your marriage.

Check out these short examples of handwritten vows in the video below.

 

 

Our Elopement Videography Experience

The experience of working with a videographer may vary, but our videographers are super talented and such a delight!

They are skilled, personable, and tie all the elements of your day into a beautiful film you will want to rewatch over and over again.

Jen with Wildwood Media, sometimes accompanied by her husband Brian, are who you will likely meet on your elopement day!

The duo brings it all – drones, lavalier microphones, a gimball, etc – and if you don’t know what any of this means, it’s all the high-tech equipment to capture a cinematic film.

But just because it is high-tech does not mean it is obtrusive and paparazzi-like.

Our videographers are there in the background for much of your elopement, allowing the moments to unfold. Some packages include one videographer and some include two for extra hands and coverage.

The videographer will step in to get some specialty shots during the photography sessions, giving you expert, easy to follow guidance for these quick shots that will look like they took hours to direct!

Whether it’s a slow motion kiss or the toss of your dress or veil, the motion really helps capture the e-motion of your day and it doesn’t take long or much to capture this.

And when it comes to drones, the videographers only bring them out when the time is right! You won’t hear a drone buzzing above your ceremony or being there during the entire day. Drones are used selectively to capture aerial scenery shots and later get some shots of you dancing or dipping into a kiss. Again, the footage looks like it was taken for some epic movie trailer and instead it is for your stunning elopement film!

Here’s a film with some awesome drone clips in it!

 

 

The Editing Experience

 

Choosing Visuals

After the elopement day is done, our videographer sits down to edit your film and they get to go through all of the footage to find the moments that stand out, as well the footage which tells the story of the day and how it unfolded.

Often films begin with the officiant introducing the elopement ceremony and other times they begin with the couple reciting their handwritten vows. Essentially, the editor uses their storytelling experience and intuitive talent, along with their knowledge of the day and your personalities after meeting you to creatively construct your video in a way that represents you.

Every film is unique just like you are! So the fun part is waiting to see what they come up with.

Most couples are pretty shocked with how natural and comfortable they look on camera. Our goal is to always show you in your highest light and create a film that continually brings you to a space of love and connection each time you watch it.

 

Selecting Music

Our videos do not include mainstream, popular copyrighted music for a variety of reasons.

Why?

First, using popular, mainstream music can sometimes take away from the authenticity of the wedding film as it dates the film when a popular song from a certain era is the background music.

Second, with the licensed music we include in your film instead of copyrighted music, you can post and upload your video anywhere, including directly onto your Facebook, without worry that it will be flagged and blocked by the app for using popular, copyrighted music.

Third, copyrighted music is well, copyrighted, and copyright law exists for a reason. It protects the intellectual rights of the original recording artist of the music. If someone wanted to license popular copyrighted music like the songs you hear on the radio for use in a video, the process would involve astronomical amounts of money that aren’t even close to feasible for a wedding video. 

So what kind of music will be in your film?

Our videographers license all of our music via a membership library with a music licensing service provider. 

They work with music that they can purchase a license for. The music often has long instrumental breaks mixed with lyrics.  These instrumental breaks allow the wedding vows and audio from the officiant to be heard clearly without competing with lyrics in the background like you would hear in typical pop songs. 

The style of the music tends to be happy tracks that build to an epic chorus to celebrate – insert footage of the first kiss and champagne pop here! If there is a certain genre you like, you are more than welcome to send a note to Cassie our coordinator who will pass this along to our videographer. We like to match your style and the vibe of the location and day!

 

Check out all our elopement films on our Youtube Channel to get a sense of how this all works!

Film with Americana Country style music:

 

Film with light-hearted minimal guitar + optimistic crescendo:

 

We’d love to work with you on your elopement and create a comfortable space for you and your partner to be you. 

It’s a privilege of ours to create a cinematic video and stunning photos that will let the experience live on long past the day itself.  

Planning the entire elopement from securing locations to providing you with vendors from our talented, close-knit team is what we do!

Reach out today and let’s make your adventure elopement a reality!

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