Wedding ChecklistIn the multitude of tasks that need to be planned and checked for a wedding, one that might be overlooked is your wedding video checklist.

If you have a professional wedding videographer booked for the special day, he or she will know the “money” shots that are part of every wedding ceremony.

Some brides and grooms may wish to have special events recorded on the day so it is wise to have a wedding video checklist so that nothing is left to chance. For example you may wish for certain groups of people to be filmed together or with you, so rather than running around on the day frantically trying to round up the guests you need for your proposed footage, a little planning ahead can make things run smoothly and capture everything you desire for your wedding video.

You may feel happier making your personal wedding video checklist once you have had your consultation with the wedding videographer. After you have come away with some ideas and options, you can incorporate them into your checklist and when completed, give a copy to the videographer for reference.

You may want to begin by doing your own storyboard of the day’s events and highlight anything you are especially keen to be filmed. An experienced videographer will blend into the background unobtrusively or he or she will direct the whole process if you are unsure of the “fly on the wall” style.

Approach your checklist by composing a series of headlines for different parts of the day and then within those headlines, identify any special filming you require or people to be involved at that time. A bride may want to appoint someone, the matron of honour perhaps to keep a small make up kit handy so the bride can refresh her make up between blocks of filming. Here we look at what a typical bride and groom would consider for inclusion on their checklists.

Ceremony Preparation

This is an exciting section of the wedding video bristling with excitement, nerves, and a lot of tears and laughter. Write down anything that is important to you to be captured on the wedding day. Some examples are:

  • At the hair salon (if hair is not being done at home)
  • Make up
  • Bride interacting with her pets
  • Bride interacting with bridesmaids and relatives
  • Father of the Bride getting ready
  • Placing of the wedding veil
  • Intimate moments between bride and mother of the bride
  • Bride fully dressed with some artistic mirror shots
  • Random footage of general activity such as deliveries or neighbours calling

You may want a second videographer to film at the groom’s ceremony preparation or split time between both venues. A checklist for the groom’s preparation will need to be done.

Remember to note down if there are any individuals that need to be in the scenes such as Mother, Father, Sister, Bridesmaids, Grandmother.

Travelling and Arrival at the Ceremony

You may have chosen a carriage drawn by beautiful horses, a dignified vintage Bentley or even a red Courvette to travel to the church. Be sure to capture the transports that are whisking you to the ceremony. However, if you are wearing a big fat gypsy style wedding dress, you may wish the videographer to hold the filming while you are being levered into your transport amidst endless metres of underskirts and train!

Some beautiful shots to be captured are:

  • Bride being helped into transport
  • Bride and escort waving from the transport
  • Bridesmaids waiting for the bride at the ceremony venue
  • Arrival of Guests
  • Interior shots of church or wedding venue with guests being seated
  • Arrival of Groom and Best Man
  • Bride’s dress adjustments
  • Bride walking to venue

The Ceremony:

This is the moment when you are exchanging your vows so consider carefully all the things that take place and what you especially want to be captured on film.

  • Film any musicians or singers present
  • Film the wedding celebrant
  • Exchange of Vows
  • Exchange of Rings
  • The Kiss
  • Signing the Register
  • Any special moments for example a candle lighting ritual
  • Leaving the ceremony
  • Bride and groom greeting guests as they leave the ceremony
  • Confetti rose petals or rice being thrown
  • Guard of honour

Prior to the reception is the time slot for filming and still photographs often at a place of beauty such as botanic gardens or parks. In this case, make sure the people you need to be there are gathered together and transported to the location.

The Reception:

All wedding receptions are different so it will be important that your wedding video checklist includes everything you want captured. There will be the usual events such as speeches, cutting the cake and first dance that are traditional and some of these events are listed here. Anything more unusual like a set piece, crazy wedding dance or doves being released in the reception room, always let your videographer know.

The reception is the time that is most joyful and relaxed so there is scope for plenty of ad hoc footage but do not forget to include these moments in your wedding video checklist:

  • Wedding cake
  • Film of all wedding guests table by table
  • Bride and groom seated at the top table
  • Toasts
  • Bride and Grooms First Dance
  • Cake-cutting ceremony
  • Throwing the bouquet
  • Dancing

As you can see, a wedding video checklist is a useful tool to make sure nothing is overlooked on your wedding day leaving you to relax and enjoy the day and your professional wedding videographer doing a great job of filming everything you desire.