Welcome to The Wedding Vendor Guide

Yesterday, while coming up the stairs from the basement I spotted a white container labeled “Our Wedding.” I pulled it out from the shelf and opened it to reveal 2 DVDs. Curiosity pulled me to pop them into the player and I sat for about an hour and a half reliving a wedding I had attended.

It struck me at how much of a difference the quality of your video can affect how you look back on the day. My parent’s video that I had dug up a couple of years ago had been shot by my uncle with one hand held camera and lots of, “Is this on?”s. The shots on the screen in front of me were of a professional. They had different angles, mics set up and really captured the mood of both the quiet and laughing moments.

Similarly, I discovered the beauty in the wedding photographs. They were bound in a magnificent album, with different sized photos and a great mix of candids, still-life’s and posed ones. The colours seemed to leap off of the album and you could tell that the shots were both artistic and taken by a pro.

And then, an epiphany came to me as suddenly as the lightning flashes the stormy sky; your videographer and photographer are just as important as you are at your wedding. Weird thing to say considering you are the one about to be wed, but let me take a moment to explain.

You have the ability to re-live your wedding over and over again. You can achieve this goal with a quality photographer and videographer. They capture the moments that you might not necessarily see on the day of. They are the ones that get tangible proof of things that you forget had happened.

With the perfect photographer, you can refresh yourself on how chocolate-y your cake really was. You can actually see the swish of your dress as you dance.

With the impeccable videographer, your ceremony and reception can happen all over again in your living room. The hilarious speech that left you rolling on the ground can bring you tears a second time. And a third time. And a fourth.

But how to achieve this? It’s certainly been stressed that this is of utmost importance and you probably don’t want to screw it up. Here’s some things you can do to help guarantee some outstanding memory keepers:

For the photographer:

Look online to find some examples - Not only will you might be able to find people online that are perfect for you but if you don’t, you’ll at least be able to find examples that come close to what you want. Bring these samples to your interviews/appointments with the photographer.

• When you have an interview with them, consider having them show you how they would take their pictures. Don’t just look at their portfolio, it might not be proof enough of their talent. Ask them to take 2 minutes to help act with you how they would take pictures. Maybe even just talk to your partner and have them take pictures of you and see what moments they capture and how they do it.

Make sure that everything you discuss is written down on paper and that you and the photographer both take a copy. Then, you eliminate the risk of telling them that you had agreed to one free DVD and they deny it because there is no proof.

Pick out what kind of lenses you want them to use. Different lenses will give you different quality photos and you want to make sure that the colours you have chosen stand out. There’s nothing worse than faded colours on a picture when they were stunningly vibrant the day of.

Always ask them to make double the amount of pictures that you want. You’ll get variety and be able to choose from 5 different shots of the same thing depending on the lighting and angle. Even the slightest change can make the biggest difference in photography remember.

Make sure that there is always a photographer taking shots. They can eat at different times so not one moment is missed. There is never an insignificant moment, you will want to remember and capture everything.

For the videographer:

Before the wedding, make sure you tell the videographer what things you really want them to get. Everything else will be like icing on the cake. Make sure that they understand that for example, you cutting the cake is important. Some videographers may have worked with other customers that did not put stress on that particular moment, but everybody’s different.

Make sure that there is more than one camera. You’ll want different angles to make things like the ceremony not one, long, continuous shot.

Get a mix of people looking at the camera and not. Have the videographer ask a few people if they would like to say anything but make sure that the majority of the film they are just in the background filming.

Tell them to not be afraid to go up and get some footage. You don’t want the filming to be done from in the corner or it’ll look like something done by a cowering person in the corner.

Tell them that the footage should include everybody. BUT, and I mean this in the least-selfish way possible, it is your wedding and you should be in the main view of the camera. You want them to capture the hysterical toasts but you also want your reaction to the things that they said. There’s no real rule to what the ratio should be, but a good videographer will know to edit the film to your reaction when something funny has just been said instead of keeping the view on the toast-giver grinning sheepishly.

Preserving the memories of your wedding will pay off. After watching the video, the couple I was with seemed to become nostalgic and were happier remembering the fun that had happened that day. Your photographer and videographer are your memory keepers. And trust me, this is one memory you really don’t want to fade.

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