Frequently Asked Questions

Ever wondered about booking a videographer for your wedding but not sure whether to go ahead? Below are some Frequently Asked Questions and our answers.

Q. Our budget is already stretched to breaking point and we don’t think we can afford a videographer. Most of them are very expensive. How much do you charge?

A. Yes, there are a wide variety of videographers out there covering the full spectrum of costs. We charge from the ground up rather than the max down and our prices begin at £515 for our Silver Package. In contrast to other videographers who might ask for the full balance before your wedding day, we help you spread the cost by asking for a 20% deposit to secure the date with the remainder spread out over three more payments before and after your big day, like this: 30% before wedding, 30% after wedding, final 20% once your DVDs are ready.

Q. We are a little shy and/or so are our guests. We’d rather not have another stranger there with a big VHS camera into people’s faces making them self conscious.

A. A lot has changed since the videoing of weddings of yesteryear. And I personally am quite pleased with my ability to get awesome footage while staying relatively discreet. At the preliminary meeting I always check to find out how much of a presence you’d like me to have and to get an idea about you and your guests’ feelings while being in front of a camera. I can blend right into the background if you like, and even offered to pose as long lost uncle from Australia at a wedding in order to bring the visibility factor right down. At the end of the day if we give you a video where everyone looks stressed and annoyed this reflects badly on us, so what I like to do is get as many candid shots as possible, by zooming in on people at the opposite side of the room. That way everyone looks natural and relaxed. Also, cameras have changed a lot. Some of my cameras are tiny Go Pros, that stick onto windows or attach to light fittings and you probably won’t even notice them! I get many comments from clients saying they hardly even saw me. Have a look at our five star reviews and see for yourself :) 

Q. It’s going to be a small venue with lots of people, and the last thing we want is a bunch of cables everywhere. Heath and safety?

A. Yes, we take health and safety extremely seriously. We are fully insured (certificate available on request) and use batteries for our cameras and lights almost all the time. We may charge them up at an out of the way wall socket, but everything would be tucked away safely and out of sight if possible.

Q. What if there’s friction between the photographer and videographer?

A. As with everyone in the wedding industry I’m sure we all want you to have the best day possible, and I think most people realise the optimum way of doing that is to work together in a friendly manner as a team. I’ve worked with and learned from great photographers over the years. I usually let them do their directing and get their shots and follow them around just recording everything quietly. It’s acceptable to have the photographer in the video, but not the other way round :)

Q. What happens if there is a second wave of Covid-19 and we have to postpone our wedding to another date. Isn’t this just another wedding supplier we’d have to juggle and perhaps even lose our deposit?

A. If you book us and wish to change the date to one that we have available in the future due to Covid-19 related problems, we’d be very happy to accommodate at no extra charge. Please ask us for our available dates before re-booking your wedding. If, however, we are unavailable for your new date, we will refund 75% of your deposit.

Q. I saw a wedding video once and the guests had to leave a message and they were uncomfortable and embarrassed. We don’t want video messages.

A. That’s fine. What I usually do is just ask people in passing if they’d like to leave a message and if they say no, just smile and say, “thanks anyway.” Or I ask the DJ to mention it. But if you’d rather not have video messages I’d be more than happy to remove this from your package as this saves me going outside my comfort zone :)

Q. Do we have to provide a meal for the videographer as well as the photographer?

A. Not at all. Some people have it in their contracts but I’m as happy to have soup and a sandwich at the bar as in my car :)

Q. Oh god, not another meeting!

A. One phone call or Zoom chat sometime before your big day – 40 minuntes tops – that’s all I ask :) But if you’re too busy and trust me to do the best job I can, we can even forego the meeting and I’ll go over everything with the venue or wedding planner on the day.

Q. Can we see the video to suggest edits before it’s all finalised?

A. Sure. Once you’re all paid up I can send you links to preview your wedding chapters online and even share with friends. Let me know if you’d like to alter anything and I’d be happy to oblige.

Q. Do we get the full film as well as a highlights version?

A. Yes, that’s right. We edit together a full film of your wedding day lasting between 50 and 90 minutes, and we also cut together a short music video of all the best clips from your day. This will be in high definition and uploaded to be shared online with friends and family as you like. This is actually one of my favourite parts of the wedding video process.

Q. Can we hear the vows and the speeches or is it music all the way through?

A. Some of the chapters will be music only, for example, arrival of the guests, the photos, the first dance etc., but the ceremony and the speeches will of course have audio from the three microphones I’ll have dotted about the place. For the ceremony I usually clip a lapel mic on the groom – an internal mp3 recorder which fits snugly in an inside pocket, and this will pick up both your vows nice and clearly. For the speeches I place three mics down on the table in front of the speakers. 

So that's it! I hope that's answered a few questions you may have. If you'd like an more information about us filming your wedding in Scotland, please contact Chris by phone or text on 07899 718775 or email me at info@whiteorchidweddingfilms.com . You can also message our Facebook page :)

Coronavirus & Weddings

The effects of the coronavirus on weddings, as with almost all other industries, has been pretty much catastrophic, I'm sure you'll agree.

From 23rd March onwards large gatherings of people have been banned and weddings have been postponed to future dates. This must be very stressful and in some cases expensive and frustrating for brides, grooms, their families and their wedding suppliers, causing a knock-on effect all down the line from venues to caterers to florists. The whole wedding industry has been rocked from March to - who knows when?

Small outdoor ceremonies might be the way forward this summer.

To be honest I had no weddings booked between February and July this year anyway, so I've been lucky, but not everyone has been so fortunate.

According to Metro.co.uk, in Northern Ireland measures seem to be relaxing slightly with weddings being permitted where one partner is terminally ill. Also in NI, outdoor weddings of no more than ten people may be allowed from 10th June. Inspired by this the UK government is looking into the possibility of allowing small weddings to take place from the end of this month. As long, presumably, as there is no second wave.

So what does this mean? Several of my clients who booked me to film their big day this year have asked if I'm available in 2021 and 2022, and happily, I've been able to accommodate their rescheduling with a minimum (actually zero) of fuss and/or expense. I can only imagine how agonising something like this can be and am very happy to help where possible.

However, if you're really keen to have a 2020 wedding later in the year it may be necessary to look at small, outdoor ceremonies. How would that work? One solution might be to have two events : the legal/spiritual one with just your closest family and friends in a garden this year (with live video links?), followed by a larger friend and family reception with speeches, dancing etc next year or beyond.

My wife and I got married in Japan in 2008. Our son was already on the way, so we had to kind of speed things up a bit because it's not so easy to register children born out of wedlock in Japan yet, and there are still stigma involved compared to the UK and other western countries. My father and sisters could attend in person, but unfortunately my mother had a bad back and couldn't fly over from Scotland, so I attempted to live-stream the ceremony using my laptop and Skype over a wireless internet connection. 

Good idea? No. 

Just watch out for hay fever!

On paper this might sound like a plan, but unfortunately, as old Murphy was fond of saying, "What can go wrong will go wrong," and in this case did. Tip #7: Never try to film your own wedding.

The internet connection was intermittent at best on the lead up to the ceremony. We did see each other on the screen for a brief while, but then the inevitable happened. Mum had her hopes up and all her friends with her in the middle of the night, only to have them dashed when the connection crashed almost immediately, and I wasn't able to tinker with it because - ahem - I was otherwise engaged. I couldn't really stop the priest and say, "Sorry, just a sec. Mum! Can you hear me now? How about now? Damn, where can I plug this in? Do we have an ethernet here in this lovely rooftop venue? Oh dear, my wife-to-be's water just broke. Let's get on, shall we?"

Joking aside, nowadays live-streaming has become much more achievable and commonplace. Just don't do it yourself. Please. Ask your videographer. What would it take? A strong dependable ethernet connection, an encoder, and a youtube or Vimeo channel would probably do it. It might cost a little extra to get it done properly, but with all the uncertainty in the world today - technical gremlins notwithstanding - it must be well worth it.

Anyway, our wedding went without further mishap (apart from a few tears on my mum's side) and happily our son was born a couple of months later. Then we set up a reception back in Scotland for all our UK friends which you can see a video of here.

Our family wedding reception in 2010

We were able to enjoy seeing all our family and friends at this second gathering without the stress of the ceremony, had a few speeches, and made some nice memories. It was actually pretty great and I'd recommend it.

Anyway, whatever happens, I hope your wedding takes place with a minimum of fuss and that you can enjoy it as the wonderful, love-filled, friend and family involved, food and drink laden, humorous speech entailed day and night it should be - whether spent over one day or two :)


If you'd like to enquire about our availability to film your wedding please email Chris at info@whiteorchidweddingfilms.co.uk or call/text 0789  9718 775.

Tip #4 - The Speeches

Giving a speech isn't easy. Public speaking has been known to be one of the scariest things to do, even scarier than a fear of death with some people, so having watched a few in our time here are a couple of pointers to help calm the nerves and ensure good delivery of your speech on the big day.

1. Find out in advance if you'll be holding a hand-held microphone. This is important on the day because if you only have one hand free to hold your speech it's better to use A4 typed on one page if possible. If there's no mic or if it's on the table, we'd recommend writing your speech down on numbered cards and dropping each one on the table after you've read it. This not only looks professional, they fit in the sporran better than A4 paper and won't get crumpled.

2. Write your speech at least a few days in advance. Practice it as many times as possible up to the night before, video yourself if you can, to get an idea of what looks and sounds good and what doesn't. Try your best to memorise it. It may seem impossible to memorise the whole speech, but the more you can look up and smile at the audience while speaking, the better. A good night's sleep between memorising and delivering the speech will help it sink in. Brush up again the morning of the big day. Memorising also frees your hands up for gesturing (!) and making your speech more animated, and allowing you to look up, smile and gain eye contact with your audience or the bride and groom.

3. Search online to find out who it's traditionally your duty to thank, but try to steer clear of internet speech jokes as there's a good chance many people will already have heard them. 

4. When writing your speech, a good balance of heartfelt sincerity with striking humour seems to go down well. Not too soppy, not too jokey, but try to aim right down the middle - like bowling. EG "Tom's a great guy, we've known each other all our lives, and I'd do anything for him. I'd take a bullet for him. Not in the head or chest, but maybe in the leg."

5. Delivery. If you don't have a mic you'll have to keep your head up and try to project your voice to the back of the room or they won't hear you. Also if the mic has problems you may need to dispense with it altogether.

6. Keep your speech original and personal - funny stories and anecdotes are great. Try to keep it 15 rated for the sake of the happy couple and the DVD so they can watch it with their family and friends. We can bleep out the occasional F bomb, but there's a limit 

7. Traditionally it's the father of the bride, followed by the groom, and then the best man, but nowadays it's refreshing to hear something from the bridesmaids, mums or family friends.

8. Don't worry if you make a mistake - just pause and start the sentence again. If we are filming with two cameras we can edit it out easily and seamlessly.

9. Slideshows work well, if the venue is amenable, to talk through the bride or groom's early days.

10. The length depends on what you want to say and how important and/or entertaining it is, but remember your guests are probably getting hungry and looking forward to dinner.

That's all that springs to mind - the rest is up to you! 

Photo Credit : 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cjuhlin/3711300424/in/photostream/

Tip #3 - Why choose a videographer?

Now and again I receive enquiries from brides asking me to film their wedding, and after I send them a quote, they tell me it's difficult to persuade their fiancés that a wedding video is worth it. So I thought I'd sit down and write an article about that.

As with everything there are pros and cons to making this decision, and both should be weighed up and compared. Let's have a look at some that spring to mind below.

First the Bad News

Expensive

As discussed in my last post, decent wedding videos can cost anything from £500 to £2000. With all other expenses at a wedding, adding this on top is quite tough to justify. 

Yes, weddings are expensive, but there are videographers out there who will be happy to film your day without costing the earth. (We're one of them :))

Awkward

Who wants a guy you don't know standing around pointing a camera in peoples' faces? He adds nothing to the actual event and just makes the bride and groom, the bridal party, and the guests feel nervous. Who needs that extra stress? 

True enough, but a good videographer should show enough tact and discretion at a wedding. It is a live event, and in order to end up with a great result, it really helps if we have footage of people naturally having a good time. The best way to do this is to film from afar, zoomed in for close ups. Half the time you won't notice were there.

Takes time

You have to go to meet them to talk things over, that's an hour plus travel. You have to think of songs you like and make even more decisions. You need to wait for months for them to be completed, open the wrapping and watch the whole thing again. 

A preliminary meeting before the big day is a great way to get to know your videographer, build a rapport, and gives them a chance to find out a little about you and your plans for the day, with timings etc. It makes everything go much more smoothly, and is well worth the time. If geographical distances are a problem, a Skype call or even just a phone call can make all the difference.

Aren't Photos Enough?

We're already forking out a tonne of money for the photographer – why do we have to have a videographer as well? How many media formats do we need to record our wedding in? 

Yes, photos are the more traditional way to capture a wedding, and can look fantastic. I have absolute respect for all the great wedding photographers I've worked with in the past. But video is slightly different, which we'll be looking at below.

Now The Good News

Moving Pictures

In 1892 Edison and Dickson invented a motion picture camera and a peephole viewing device called the Kinetoscope. They were first shown publicly in 1893 and the following year the first Edison films were exhibited commercially. Since then the technology used to capture moving pictures has advanced greatly, with many videographers now offering 4k HD.

Audio

One of the great things about having your wedding videoed is that the audio gets recorded too, which means that all the special, meaningful words spoken at your ceremony by the celebrant, minister, priest or registrar - all the advice they give you - is recorded forever. As will your vows be, and any readings given. Then there's the speeches - nervous undertaking, but well worth it! If you have your wedding videoed you'll have them there to look back on and enjoy again and again for years to come. 

Our job to make you look good

You don't have to worry that your videographer might catch you at an embarrassing moment, or send a clip of you falling into your wedding cake to 'You've Been Framed'. It's our job to make you look good, which you will do, you'll look great.

Family and Friends

One of the best things about your wedding day is having all your family and friends in one place to give you a good send off. It's usually quite a rare occasion, with everyone all dressed up and looking so grand, so isn't it worth capturing it as much as possible for posterity? And while you're at one end chatting with one group of friends, your videographer is at the other, videoing messages from the another group.

The Day Rushes By

The day will go by in a flash, trust me. There will be so many people to try to catch up with, so many faces, and once the alcohol starts flowing and the dancing kicks off that's it :) Woosh. But if you've got videographic evidence to fall back on any time you want to relive it, theres nothing to worry about.

Editing

One of the cool things about using more than one camera is that your videographer can cut out any little slips during the vows or the speeches seamlessly, just by jumping from one camera to the other. So that's one more safety net if you're nervous about getting the speeches filmed. If the words don't come out right (but they will because you'll have practised a lot the night before) just take a breath and start again and let us take care of the rest.

Your Wedding to Music

Many wedding videographers edit your wedding video to music of your choice. They ask you for a dozen songs that are important to you and cut together music video montages from the footage to create a specially custom made music video just for you.

Photography Vs Videography

I've often thought about this - what is the difference between photography and videography? And this is what I've come up with. Photos capture moments, video captures the day. They're both good, and there are some overlaps, but at the end of the day they are two separate forms of media, created by two different people who work best when working together.

So that's it. It's make your mind up time. If you can find a videographer you can trust and get along with, why not have a chat with them and see if you can come to some arrangement.

But whether you have your wedding videoed or not, the most important thing is to enjoy your special day.

Read #Tip 1 : Support
Read #Tip 2 : Price

© Chris Young 2018

Wedding videographer image credits:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weddingvideography.png
https://www.flickr.com/photos/79992579@N07/8471365055

Tip #2 : Price

It's not all about finding the cheapest deal. It's about finding the best quality, the best value, the right videographer, with a character and style you like, who you can trust to do the best job they can. Some couples have a family member or friend video it for them for free for a wedding present. If your friend or family member's job is videographer with many years' experience then relax! You've aced it. Read no more.

The Wedding of Ruth & Alastair, The George Hotel, 1st Dec 2013

Consumer cameras are getting better and cheaper all the time, but there are some things that can only be learned from experience in the field. For example, did you know that most cameras, when trained on two people, autofocus on the central background between them? That's not good when filming vows. Also, will your family member or friend be using lapel mics to get good clear audio? Or know what an active smartphone can do to a microphone's signal? Do they know what to do if the bride and groom are silhouetted against a bright window and the camera can't make out their faces? Will they be using two cameras in case one is shaky or blurred or they need to edit something out? Just some things to think about.

The Cheapest Deal? 

One day when I lived in Japan it started to rain and was quite windy, so I went in to a 100 yen shop (like a pound shop) and bought the cheapest umbrella I could find. Then, while I was walking home the damn thing broke in half and I ended up throwing it in the nearest bin. And then I thought to myself, well, it was only a pound, what did I expect? And I walked home soaking wet. So I would have been better off not buying anything – I would at least have still had the 100 yen. From that moment I decided never to buy the cheapest option of anything. Usually I aim for the second cheapest, or middle of the range, or even better, a known and trusted brand name that have their image to worry about and so build things to last.

Another story. Before Christmas 2017 a young bride sent me a message. She was in tears because her videographer had made a hash of her video. I said I'd see what I could do. She sent me the link and I downloaded it and I felt a sinking feeling almost straight away. Because much of what her videographer had done wrong could not be fixed. When something is out of focus, it's out of focus forever. As far as I know there is no software that can put something in focus once it's been captured that way. I felt really bad for her. I could cut out those parts or cover them over, but apart from becoming the first person to invent an app to focus a blurry image there wasn't much else I could do.

How Much Does It Actually Cost?

A lot of people think wedding videography is generally over-priced. So did I. The trouble is, to make a good wedding video does actually take quite a lot of work (at least £8.50 per hour living wage) and needs quite pricey equipment that has to be upgraded every five years. A new Macbook pro + software costs about £2000. A good camera, £2500. Let's say hard drives & SD cards cost £500. That's £5000 every 5 years, or £1000 per year on average just maintaining equipment. (Say a videographer does 24 weddings a year. That's £42 for equipment per wedding.)

On top of this is £420 for insurance (£18 insurance per wedding) and £330 for accounting fees (£14 accounting per wedding).

Next let's say it takes 30 hours non stop to edit a wedding flat out + 10 to shoot it (+20 if there are two camera operators) @ £8.50/hr = £340 for labour.

And what about pension (10%), website (£5), admin (£10) and marketing (£10)?

Summary of Estimated Minimum Costs per Wedding

(assuming 24 weddings per year, one operator, £8.50/hr in 2017)

Equipment £42

Insurance £18

Accounting £14

Website £5

Admin £10

Marketing £10

Labour £340

Total £439

Pension(10%) £44

Grand total £483

So after all this £500 per wedding might not seem so expensive.

This is the minimum a videographer might expect to budget for costs for a wedding. Anything less than this and either they aren't using good equipment, or they aren't insured, they're doing a rush job, or they haven't thought things through properly.

The Raptor Filmz / White Orchid 2017 Wedding Compilation 

Top End Wedding Videos

Well, what about the most expensive deal? £2000 for a wedding video? Okay, if you really like their style, talent, hard work they put in, etc. Have they won awards? Do they have great reviews and an infallible reputation? How many people are they employing? Are they all really necessary? Are they going to use your money efficiently? How many cameras are they using? Are they filming from Bridal Prep until Midnight? Are they using great stabilisation like motorised sliders? (on my wish list :)) How many years' experience do they have? How many years' training? Do they have a fast turnaround? What support do they have in place (See Tip #1)? What resolution end result do they provide?

If a videographer asked for £2,000 to film my wedding I would genuinely be quite interested to see a breakdown of their budget.

On a side note, studies have suggested that the more money a couple spends on their wedding, the smaller the chance their marriage will last.

Conclusion:

Ask yourself : what would Buddha do? Well, he probably wouldn't get married. But if he did, he would choose the middle way. £500 as standard, up to £600 if they have good references, you like their style, you have a good rapport, etc. And I'm not just saying that because that's how much we usually ask for, from Guests Arriving until First Dance. This is honestly what I would recommend to a niece or nephew if they asked me how much would be a good ball park figure to spend on a wedding video in Scotland in 2018. 

If you would like to add something to the discussion, please let me know in the comments below.

Read Tip #1 : Support
Read Tip #3 : Why Choose a Videographer

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© Chris Young 2018

Tip #1 : Support

Over the next few months we will be giving you a few tips on how to ensure a great wedding video and a worry-free wedding day. With over six years' experience in the wedding video business, we've picked up a few pointers that we'd like to share with you.

The Wedding of Ruth & Alastair, Edinburgh 1st Dec 2013

Tip #1 : Support

When choosing a wedding videographer it's usually a good idea to find out about how they will support you, not only on your big day, but before, during and after.

Before:

Will they meet with you to get to know each other, build a rapport and iron out any details? In my experience this always helps. Even if things change later it's always a good idea (travel time allowing) to physically meet and have a chat and a coffee. It could be at a location like a cafe halfway between you both. The preliminary meeting helps both parties to ask and answer questions, and to fully understand what is expected from the other. It's much easier to discuss the plan for your big day at a meeting on a different day than on the morning of the wedding itself when everyone is rushed and sometimes stressed. It's also a good idea just to touch base the week of the wedding to make sure everything is still all good and there haven't been any last minute changes. It might also be an idea to ask the videographer to send you a text when they arrive at the venue to let you know everything's on track.

There is also the small possibility that your videographer might be sick or their transport breaks down on your wedding day. (Sorry to mention this! It's never happened to me, touch wood, but it could and I'm usually prepared just in case, with AA membership and a network of other videographers to contact in such an eventuality.) Has your videographer got failsafes in place? Do they leave in plenty of time to account for roadblocks etc?

During:

Your videographer's priorities should be twofold. First, to capture the best video possible in the circumstances, and second to ensure the best day of your life runs as smoothly as it can. In practice this means :

• Being helpful, careful, safe and considerate to everyone
• Not competing, but co-operating with the photographer to ensure the best shots for both
• Lending a hand whenever necessary
• Remembering that it is a live event and that even though they shouldn't be visible in their own shots, they are still very much visible to all the guests and bridal party on the day
• Being as discrete as possible

After:

So it's all done and dusted. The day is over and everything went well. What's next? The videographer has to first of all duplicate all the footage in the event that a hard drive fails. Ideally they should do this the very next day, and have two copies stored at different locations in the event of a fire or burglary. It takes many hours of work to first whittle all of the 360GB or so  down to all the best stuff in a 90 minute video. Then there's the stabilisation, sound adjustment and colour correction. But an email every month or so to let you know how things are going might be nice. Your videographer should keep the master version of your wedding day backed up in duplicate (24GB) for as long as possible, just in case you lose your DVD, USB or there's some other technical problem, or even if you want copies. Probably in twenty years DVDs (720 x 576) will become obselete in much the same way as VHS has. What will the next format be? Rather than transfer from DVD to the next big thing, hopefully you can just contact your videographer and get it done from the master, which will be much better quality (1920 x 1080 HD). We actually back up your wedding film master in triplicate: twice in full 1080 HD and once as a hard copy on DVD.

So that's it. I hope this has given you an insight into what things to look for from your wedding videographer regarding support, before, during and after your big day.

The Highlights of the Wedding of Ruth & Alastair

Photographers/ videographers - have I forgotten anything?

Brides & Grooms - do you have any interesting stories to tell us?

Feel free to leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to reach us, you can find us on Facebook here.

Read Tip #2 : Price
Read Tip #3 : Why Choose a Videographer?

© Chris Young 2018