Month: March 2019

It’s funny, when someone asked me about destination wedding videos, I used to think about Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, etc. But living and working in the Napa – Sonoma Valley Wine regions, I find that often means Napa or Sonoma for a lot of couples.

Often, a destination wedding consists of a core group of family and friends, maybe 40 – 60 people. Traveling somewhere for not only the wedding but for a sort of vacation. You have the opportunity to indulge in local attractions, customs, music, and sometimes the the location itself.

As I’ve done several “local” destination weddings, here are a few ideas for the Napa – Sonoma area.

⦁ The obvious, wine tasting.
⦁ Probably not so obvious, beer tasting. or maybe a distillery tour.
⦁ The not, not so obvious a culinary tour.
⦁ Maybe a leisurely Wine Train adventure thru the Napa Valley.
⦁ Possibly, golfing, kayaking and zip-lining.
⦁ And finally, why not go for it with a once in a lifetime event like Hot Air Ballooning over the vineyards at sunrise.

It really doesn’t matter what you’re in to, the point is that there are lots of really great options for you and your guests. Having us capture those experiences with your family and friends brings another dimension to your destination wedding video.

Bonus: When we have the opportunity to “hang out” for a few days, something interesting happens. I get to know more about you, your history, and your guests. We have the opportunity to capture some really fun footage, and sometimes come up with something very personal to you.

[vimeo id=”229956410″ maxwidth=”700″ align=”center”]

Example Destination Wedding Moment

During a Lake Tahoe destination wedding, I was sitting with the bride looking out over the lake and she asked, “What about a cake reveal?” Having never heard of such a thing, my response was “Tell me more”.

As it happens, the person baking their cake is a highly regarded baker, and she was surprising them with their cake. Since we had the run of the resort, we coordinated with the baker to arrive before rehearsal. I would meet up with them, and we’d set up the cake in a walk in cooler.

So, the groom brought two ties down to the rehearsal to use as blindfolds. Once they were blindfolded, they entered the cooler, arms and hands outstretched. As the blindfold – ties came off, their expressions when seeing their cake were priceless!

While this may not be something that you would do, a casual conversation may lead to something neither one of us thought about until that moment. This is sometimes how a magical moment that is uniquely you unveils itself!

Random Thought:

Remember, a destination wedding doesn’t always mean flying somewhere. Maybe it’s your favorite vacation spot an hour or two away. Maybe it’s where you spent your first vacation together. Once you leave the routine of daily life, you create a magical escape. In the future, when you travel back in time with your videos, it’s like vacationing on your sofa.

So, are you going somewhere special and/or exciting for your wedding? Let’s Chat!

Have an amazing wedding! – Ken

Why do couples have us create rehearsal dinner films?

So, why is creating a rehearsal dinner video important? Well, let’s start by looking at why rehearsal dinners even happen. Wedding historian Susan Waggoner writes, “Hundreds of years ago, attending a wedding could mean days of travel.” Hopefully all of your guests only have a flight or two, but even a full day of traveling is not exactly blissful. Waggoner continues, “The night before the event would find the tent, hut, castle, or manor house jammed to the rafters with friends, relatives, and emissaries, all of whom had to be fed.” I recently attended a wedding in Hawaii, and the night before we had 17 people crowded into a 5 bedroom beach house rented on Airbnb. While it was cozy, there was a lot of stretching out the next day.

Today, many couples do have a rehearsal dinner after the ceremony rehearsal. Dinners are typically attended by the wedding party, their dates and their immediate families. Also, for some couples planning a destination wedding, it also doubles as a welcome dinner. While the themes can range from a backyard catered BBQ to a Michelen Star restaurant formal dinner, at some point family and friends (parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, grandparents, and friends) will probably get up and share a story or just congratulate the couple. Now, many of these people will not be speaking during the reception, so this is their opportunity to share with you their congratulatory wishes.

With this more intimate setting, the stories often get a little more “authentic”. As these stories are being told, there may be someone with a smartphone trying to record, but the results are sometimes not all that great. Also, they may be hard to actually get from that person.

So, what happens when we capture your rehearsal dinner?

First the selfish part (I’m not kidding here). When filming a rehearsal dinner video, I get the opportunity to meet the important people are in your lives. This provides me with a little foreknowledge for your actual wedding day. So when I see something out of the corner of my eye, I have a better chance of capturing something magical for you.

Second, I’ll be there with 2-3 cameras set up to capture these amazing words when they happen. Not only with cameras, but professional off camera audio options.

Third, We even can bring our own professional PA with wireless mics to use. Plus, for the before and after, you can set up a playlist for background music.

[vimeo id=”226411679″ maxwidth=”700″ align=”center”]

So what’s the takeaway? Besides not actually filming your wedding, many couples regret not filming a rehearsal dinner. They really wish they had these special moments on film.

Want to know more?

Trend Alert: Since many of the weddings I film are at wineries or locations where there is often a curfew. I’ve noticed a growing trend to move the traditional speeches and toasts from the reception to the rehearsal dinner. The only speech or comments on the wedding day, are usually after the couples entrance, thanking everyone for coming.

Have an amazing wedding! – Ken