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Most engaged couples start planning their wedding around 12 - 18 months ahead - although some do decide to tie-the knot-quickly within 3-6 months. In either case, the ESSENTIALS are usually done first:
Find a suitable date (or a few dates if you have left things a bit late in the planning as your date might not be available for your preferred wedding suppliers/vendors)
Select a Celebrant/Minister/Registry Office Officiant - this is the legal bit no one can do without to actually get married legitimately.
You need at least 2 witnesses to make a wedding legal in Australia but generally couples will have already considered whom they will ask to be in their bridal party or have as witnesses.
There are no hard and fast rules about the order of selecting and booking your wedding suppliers/vendors, but generally couples will move on from here to booking a Venue of some kind - for the ceremony and the same or another venue for the reception - if they are having one.
Once you have safely locked in people’s availability for your wedding date you will now have someone to marry you legally, witnesses so it will be legal, and somewhere to get married!
The rest of the wedding details will unfold over time, and may even change altogether as you work out exactly how your big day will come together and reflect your individual style and budget.
Forth in line for priority, is generally your Photographer - this can be one of the hardest but most important decisions you will make - as they are being trusted to capture all the details and special moments of your day, in a style that suits you best, and in a way that your are most comfortable with - so you can re-live those cherished memories long after the sparkle of the day has vanished.
Wedding Budget scares often start to appear around this time and couples may find themselves starting a spread sheet and asking for quotations to compare prices - things begin to add up very quickly and your original wedding ideas (you got from Pinterest Boards, Wedding Expos and Wedding Facebook groups) of what you wanted to book may or may not change, depending on the numbers and your budget.
“Danger Alert” - like most services - you get what you pay for! Whilst I understand that there’s not an endless string of money (no one wants to spiral out of control of their budget) - scrimping on your Photographer is a bit of hidden trap. All the expense and effort you put into every other detail of your wedding can simply “vanish” at the end of the day - if you have made the decision to choose your Photographer based just on price. It’s their images that will be your lasting memories for your lifetime ahead - it really is an investment in your future so don’t cut back on this if you can help it.
Often once you start to move on to more detailed tasks and quotes, such as the dress, suits, invitations, catering, DJ, cake etc. - you could well find yourself thinking (probably as a bit of an after thought) - "Oh what about a videographer/film maker - do we need one?" They are usually not a high priority on the early planning list - but they probably should be!
Often there is hesitation around the additional cost (because we have already seen those numbers adding up so quickly), and it really is an individual choice. However, I can honestly tell you couples who choose one of our Combined Wedding and Videography Collections not only SAVE truckloads of money (compared to booking these services separately) but they never regret the decision and are totally over the moon with the results and value for money - telling us (with the benefit of hindsight) that it is one of the best investments they made for their wedding and they are so glad they did it.
If you are considering having a videographer/film-maker, and you have an eye on a specific person or Company, be aware that the popular ones tend to book out early, so you are taking a big gamble if you have left it late in your planning to book one or if you hold off on booking them to secure your date.
So why do our clients feel that having a Wedding Videographer alongside their Photographer was a great investment? Covid 19 has brought to the forefront that video can cross interstate and international borders when people can not. Many Australians have family overseas or interstate and often not all of our friends and family will be be able to make it in person to the actual wedding for a whole variety of reasons, not just Covid.
Knowing that they will not only have amazing photographs, but that the film highlights of their big day can be shared with their loved ones made it absolutely 100% worth it - the next best thing to them actually being there!
Technology allows us to be more in contact to our friends and family all over the world and with a wedding video you can upload it to Facebook, WeTransfer, Google Drive, YouTube or Drop Box and your friends and family will have instant access to all the special moments of your day. If you want to make something a bit more special you can have multiple copies made on a personalised USB (for very little extra cost) and send them to your loved ones where ever they are.
Your memories will last a lifetime and you will capture the action and emotion of the day as it happens. Videos can easily be saved on computers, USB’s, Hardrives etc so they can last the distance and be backed up indefinitely!
Imagine the joy on the faces of your future children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren, when they can see the special moments happening before their eyes from your wonderful wedding day. They will be able to experience the moving emotions of the day, see the expressions on faces, hear the voices and natural ambient sounds of the day, and witness the interactions as if they had been had actually been present. Wow!
Sometimes, a family member will offer to video for you - whilst obviously this is totally up to you, I can tell you that a Professional Wedding Videographer does a lot more than just hit that record button. It’s not just the technical aspects of accurately documenting what is going on (photojournalism) it’s also the creative approach they take to capturing the magical narrative of the day. They are highly trained and talented, often with state of the art equipment (such as the latest low light video cameras, special lighting, gimbles or drones). They spend hours dedicated to perfecting editing - it’s also the creative approach they take to capturing the magical narrative of the day it’s also the creative approach they take to capturing the magical narrative of the day. They spend hours dedicated to perfecting editing - carefully crafting a tale of your love story. They capture, edit, add music and montage the highlight moments of your day in a cascading symphony of sound and motion, to evoke the exact feelings that you were experiencing in that very moment, enabling you to re-live your wedding day over and over for the rest of your lives.
The Videographer needs to work closely with the Wedding Photographer and in our case being husband and wife, this means your coverage will be stress free - just the serene, gentle, smoothness of us working in synchronicity (not getting in each other’s way and ensuring we have captured everything from every possible angle, often “second shooting” for each other). At West Coast Weddings our “Fusion Videos” inclusive of both stills and video are at the artistic cutting edge in Europe and the USA. We need great patience and empathy and even after being on our feet all day for 8-10 hours we still smile and are on the hunt for those critical moments that just can’t be missed. Don't let our ages fool you - we go above and beyond for our clients because we are committed to providing exceptional professional service.
At West Coast Weddings we genuinely treat our Brides and Grooms as family, and give you only the very best we would want for our own loved ones on their special day. When your wedding day is getting a little hectic or hairy (and they all do at some point to varying degrees), trust that we have your back and we will calmly go that extra mile to support you and save the day if needed. We genuinely care!
So what does a Wedding Videographer usually cost? - Australian studies put it between $2500 and upwards of $10,000. Cost varies depending on the skill, experience, equipment, number of shooters filming and the production value. West Coast Weddings prices currently (8.1.2021) range for video ONLY from $2500 - $5000 depending on the collection you want. Choosing one of our Combined Collections with your photography will save you between $2000 - $3000 at our present pricing (pricing may be subject to change without notice).
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Just like your Photographer, your Videographer needs to understand your unique style and personality and the look you are wanting. That’s why at West Coast Weddings we include a complimentary (obligation free) design consultation in person with you and you spouse-to-be, so we can get to know each other and ensure you are comfortable with us and we also ask you to share images you love - so we can create a bespoke mood board for you (Pinterest is really great for this).
This Design Consultation takes at least an hour (or longer if needed we never rush you out the door) and ensures that we not only get to know you both as people, but also share in your love story and your wedding journey. Using a totally customisable checklist - we will cover all the details and little things you need us to know about and capture for your big day (including a detailed shot list and important people), and maybe some things you haven’t even thought about yet. You also get to ask us anything you want to know more about.
In terms of videography it might be things like:
Turn around time for the film(s) to be ready - will there be a sneak peak or social media version?
How will “reviews” and “approvals” of the final film(s) work?
Copyright Issues around music choice for the film(s)
What’s included in our Collections to choose from
What about travel and multiple locations?
How will the final film(s) be provided
Will there be any slow motion or special effects included?
Will natural or artificial lighting be used?
We also include a complimentary engagement shoot for most of our Collections, and this is great to help break-the-ice for us working together - so on your big day, there are no surprises and everyone is totally comfortable with each other. So you can just relax knowing your memories are in safe, creative, caring hands!
As an AIPP Accredited Professional Photographer and CASA Certified Drone Pilot and Film Maker, we use standard professional contracts and model releases with terms and conditions to protect both parties and are fully insured.