3 Reasons Why Every Bride and Groom Should Exchange Letters

Whether you’re doing a first look on your wedding day or waiting until you walk down the aisle, there is something so special about exchanging letters the morning before your ceremony. Let me tell you about three great reasons why it is such a wonderful idea to do a letter exchange with your future spouse!

1. It calms your nerves!

There is no doubt that you will have A LOT of emotions on wedding day. Excited, nervous, thrilled, anxious, and giddy are all NORMAL things to feel on the biggest day of your life! Reading a letter from your best friend really helps lessen the nerves, calms you down, and makes you so much more excited to see them in just the few short hours following that letter reading.

2. It makes for great video! If you have chosen to get a wedding film done, the letter reading really drives an amazing film. There is true and passionate emotion that comes from reading a love letter. It is wonderful to watch your wedding film back and hear exactly how that letter reading made you feel.

Check out this film!

3. An intimate moment before the chaos When doing your letter reading, it is always a nice idea to take a moment to read this letter alone, without everyone around you watching. It gives you a moment in the day to take a deep breath and get a gentle reminder of the reason you are there….to marry your best friend!

Letter exchanges are a beautiful thing. There is so much love and emotion packed into those words on a card. (Or old receipt, or menu from take-out, we don’t have to be fancy up here with an actual card) If you’ve been contemplating doing a letter exchange on the day of your wedding, we are ALL for it! You will thank us later!

We know planning a wedding can become overwhelming. We try and help our couples think of all the little details so we can tell their love stories perfectly. If you're interested in finding out more about our wedding film packages and learning more about how we can capture and preserve your beautiful love story for a lifetime, please fill out our contact form below and we'll be in touch soon!

All Wedding Videographers Are Not Created Equally

The reality is not all Wedding Videographers are equal–in talent, style or as you may be finding out budget.  But when you find the right one you just know it.  After filming weddings for 5 years now and producing projects for some of television networks biggest programs I’ve learned a thing or two and boy has the journey been awesome! Below I talk a little about why it’s so important to not skimp on booking a wedding videographer for your big day!

The business of wedding filmmakers has blown up in the last couple years… Why you might ask? Because your average Joe walks into Best Buy. Buys a Canon Rebel with a kit lens and says, “I’m a wedding filmmaker”. This hurts… It truly does. Not necessarily us, but it hurts the overall outcome of the brides expectations. It’s almost every month we have couples emailing us asking to re-edit their wedding video or “Hey, can you make this less shaky, more in focus or enhance the Audio.”. Rarely ever is the footage salvageable. Are you looking for a “home video” like your parents filmed on Christmas morning or are you wanting a love story that presents its self beautifully with all the emotions to go along with it.

Choosing your wedding videographer is one of the most important decisions you will make during the planning process.  Your wedding day will pass in an emotional whirlwind, and the content captured that day will be precious reminders of the loved ones who shared it with you.

Professional wedding videographers are not cheap.  It will be one of the largest expenditures in your wedding budget, but it is also one of the only enduring purchase you will make.  Keep these things in mind when choosing your wedding filmmaker:

1. Your wedding is not an experiment.  This is not the time to allow your cousin, best friend or newbie to develop their budding videography business or to choose a part-time videographer.  Select a seasoned professional who is a full-time videographer  The role of second shooter is good training for someone looking to build experience or a portfolio. Not some one to put your trust in as a sole shooter.

2. Ask to see a complete wedding from beginning to end. Don’t rely only on the favorites Instagram teasers presented by a videographer (Trust me on this one).  You want to see how the videographer captures the day from beginning to end and how they tell your story. Do they shoot from different angles… wide, tight, aerial (drone footage. Are they even licensed to fly a drone? Yes, you have to be licensed to fly a drone at a wedding. It’s a requirement by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). Maybe they are Licensed, but does it cost extra?

3. Beach videography is not church videography. filming a beach wedding is a unique challenge due to lighting and weather conditions.  If a videographer seems fantastic but they primarily only film church weddings or indoor venues, you should consider a videographer who has extensive experience with beach weddings.  Again, you don’t want your wedding to be the test case.

Finally, you should ask if your videographer what their turnaround time for delivery is? You don’t want to wait 6 months to get your highlight back!  Do they offer and copyright releases, drone footage, music licensing, ceremony films, full dance edits?  Just remember, don’t skimp on the budget for videography.  Your memories are too important – there are other areas where you can cut costs in order to afford quality professional . You don’t get a do over of your special day.

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Checkout what this recent bride had to say about her experience

If you’re planning a wedding for the 2021 wedding season we still have a few select dates available and would love to chat with you about being apart of your big day! Checkout Blue Ridge Film Productions for more info!

Teaser Film - Should you get one?

Aloha and welcome to Fall 2020!

The leaves are starting to finally change here in Western North Carolina and the chill crisp air is calling for campfires, snores, hot apple cider and loads of beautiful wedding content!

Blogging is probably the hardest thing in the world for me to do. When you start your own business, no one tells you about all the extra stuff you end up doing. Accounting, website maintenance, social media campaigns, taxes, and blogging. We try to keep you up to date with important info about making the most of your wedding “wedding videographer related”. Today’s topic… Should you get a wedding teaser….

Que Answer below!

Should you get a wedding teaser film to share with family and friends after the wedding? Well heck yes you should! Essentially a teaser film is a shortened version of the most popular film the Highlight. The Highlight covers the whole day and combines all the best elements into an exciting 4-8 minute film. A Highlight film is the film you see on every videographers website and is the main film they provide. A Teaser film is usually 1 minute long to fit into the Instagram time slot. Personally I go with a slightly different feel when I’m editing teaser films. I want to show as much excitement as possible while “teasing” the audience, showing some of the best parts of the day. It should show enough to get everyone excited but not too much so I can save some surprises for the Highlight. The best part about teaser films, they get delivered within a week of the wedding! I usually head home from a wedding, backup all my footage (this takes about 2 hours) and then start editing the teaser. I put the finishing touches on the film the next day and send it off to my couples. Now they have an exciting film to share, within 48 - 72 hours!

How cool is that!

Here is a recent Teaser Film provided by Blue Ridge Film Productions to check out!