Katherine and John wedding video

During this wedding day, I said or thought the phrase "Well I've never experienced THAT at a wedding before." about 8 times.
Not because of the decor, entertainment, or exit, but the uniqueness of a bride's expectations of her wedding video.
One of the first requests Katherine had was "Don't film me very much today". 🤯
My jaw was on the floor, but as the day went on and as she and I had more and more Instagram convos, I began to understand what she meant and WHY she wanted things that way.
After 12+ years of doing this, my mentality was:
"I need certain content, I need certain shots, I need to make a video that I want to make."It was a template all my couples were satisfied with. I wasn't prepared to encounter a bride who didn't want the same old wedding video. She didn't want to remember the day in a way that her VIDEOGRAPHER felt was best, she wanted to remember the day the way SHE thought was best. I resisted at first, but as I began to edit, I fell in love with this couple and this new mindset (A mindset that ALL wedding vendors need to adopt).
You're hired to be creative for the client, not for you.
More things about Katernine that were different from all other clients were that she didn't want to go outside and, she had no interest in family photos (PRAISE GOD!!! If you are #weddingphotographer or #weddingvideographer you know that family photos are the most time consuming and stressful aspect of the day for us). Also, I missed their cake cutting but by that time of the night, I could tell it wasn't going to be footage I was going to use in a film like this.
Through my edit, I learned to live with shots I normally would toss out. I left in shots that "broke" the "Longer than 3 seconds" rule. I left in some shaky shots. I left in some poorly lit shots because the moment was more important than how it was lit. I sacrificed artsy shots for shots that mattered.
Heck, I didn't even use any footage of letter readings for their first look! Why? Because those moments were stanged, posed, and for lack of a better term, faked. And Katherine wasn't about things being fake. She didn't give off a vibe in those moments that felt real, so I didn't use them.
It may be overly precious for a wedding videographer to quote Beethoven to relate to my work, but he once said: "To play a wrong note is insignificant, to play without passion is inexcusable." ... Wedding videogs; don't worry if the shot is a little out of focus, a little shakey, maybe the farming is off and maybe the lighting isn't perfect... go ahead and play the "wrong note". What is far more important than all of that is the meaning, purpose and "passion" of that moment you are filming.
I needed this couple and this wedding for a host of reasons, the main one being I was in a rut. My wedding gigs were starting to feel the same and this one was ANYTHING but normal.
I want to thank the couple, the family, and most importantly God for using me as His tool to make this film for the couple.
Big thanks to the following:
Tyler Johnston of Ty In The Sky Photography for his drone work and second shooting
Jordy Co Photography
Ashton Thomas - hair
MakeupByLexiB MUA
Amanda Williams Zakolski of Devine Designs Floral
Atlanta Showstoppers Band
SoundForce