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.
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
