Video is the best form of documentation, but not any kind of video—raw and real vlog-style videos! This is where you can feel the true emotions of your memories; it is basically like ‘modern-day’ journaling. But how can you vlog your wedding season? You’re in the right place to find out!
At Ascend Together, we always encourage the couples we work with to consider vlogging their entire wedding season, from their engagement day to their engagement party to their ceremony and everything else in between! This way, you’ll not only have a lasting heirloom, but when you rewatch the videos, it will feel like you are right back in this special season of your lives with the chance to relive it over and over again!
Read on to learn more about how you can get started and film your own wedding experience!
How to Vlog Your Wedding Season
Here are our top tips on how you can vlog your wedding (or even better, your entire wedding season):
Don’t neglect the importance of lighting
Even if you’re a beginner in the world of video, lighting is always going to be important! You need to know that the light above your head creates shadows, and the light behind your head makes your face dark. You always want to eliminate harsh shadows and lines as much as possible.
The best light is to have it pointed directly at your face and to try to always find natural lighting. You can find natural lighting right next to a window and in darker settings by using an external light.
If you’re in a darker setting or don’t have access to natural light, you can use small LED lights as a replacement or upgrade to pro lighting such as the Amaran 200x S. Also, another way you will create unflattering light is if you have a ceiling fan light turned on, so make sure those are always off!
Equipment
If you want an accessible and simple camera, you can always use your phone! Your phone can be perfect for “vlog as you go” style videos, and they still make great quality videos!
However, if you do decide you want to invest in a vlogging camera, here are some that we would suggest:
The Sony ZV-1F Vlog Camera is easy to use and has fantastic image quality. It has image stabilization and 10 creative style presets for pro-level footage.
The Sony ZV-1 Digital Camera for Content Creators, Vlogging and YouTube comes with a flip screen, a built-in microphone, 4K HDR video, a touchscreen display, live video streaming, and a webcam! It makes content creation very easy.
Outside of a camera, if you want to add some additional equipment to your vlogging toolbox, here are some other things you can purchase:
- External Mic
- On Camera Light
- Off Camera Light
- Iphone Vlogging Kit
- Iphone Gymbal
- Iphone Tripod
- Iphone Mobile Light
- Iphone Bluetooth Mics
- Camera Filming Card: If you are using a vlog camera for filming, you’ll need SD cards for the video to be recorded.
- External Drive: You’ll want to store all the videos, editing, and any digital memories on an external hard drive. If you put it all on your computer, it will slow it down for day-to-day use.
- Cloud Storage: If you’re not editing your videos and just want to store them for later, the cloud, like Dropbox or Google Drive, takes up less space. It is still always best to have some sort of backup, like an external drive or a USB.
Organization
One of the hardest parts about vlogging is consistency and actually pulling out the camera and doing the vlog! Here are some ways you can set yourself up for success:
Scheduling
Use your calendar to schedule a vlogging date and time in advance for all the vlogs you want to do so you can prioritize and plan around them.
Storage
These are videos meant to look back on often, so we would suggest setting up a dedicated folder system with the date and topic and all of your videos compiled in one place for now and for future videos. Pro tip: Create a file system like ‘2023 Vlogs’ > ‘4/23/23 Vlog.’ That way, it will be easy to find!
Editing
After everything is vlogged, we recommend putting all of your videos into one montage with a simple date and title introducing each video. When it comes to editing, we’ve broken down some different options you can try:
Beginner software: If you’re only wanting to edit just for this or do very light editing in the future, get a simple editing software. One of our favorites is iMOVIE.
Pro software: Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro are the two top editing softwares that give you a lot more options for editing. These are for you if you see yourself doing consistent and more in-depth editing projects in the future.
Hire it out: If you don’t want to edit and piece your vlog together, you can find freelance editors to do it for you. Our favorite place to find these editors is Upwork.
Vlogging
How do you go about vlogging your entire wedding season? Where do you start? The answer – you begin with what you’re doing right now! Vlogging is just a way to capture everything you’re already doing on a day-to-day basis – you can vlog everything as you go!
Vlogging is full of real moments and memories – it’s not just a beautifully polished film. It shows your wedding season exactly as it happened. You can include interview-style vlogs, which are typically 10-30 minutes long.
The key here is not to hit the pause button – keep the camera rolling through the laughter, the tears, and even the blank moments. When you’re vlogging, in the moment, practice keeping your camera rolling for a minimum of 5 minutes to go beyond ‘highlights.”
We also recommend that for your vlogs, you use mainly horizontal filming!
If you’re drawing a blank on what exactly an interview-style vlog should entail, don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with some sample questions you can try using in the next section of this post!
Remember, when it comes to vlogging, this isn’t for the entire world to see – it’s just for you and your partner. Think about how amazing it will be to look back at this footage 10 years from now and have a collection of home-style videos to enjoy and reminisce about!
Vlog Prompts to Try
To make vlogging so much easier, it’s great to have a list of questions that you want to ask prepared beforehand for an interview-style vlog! Here are some questions you could try using:
Your love story
- How did you first meet each other, and what was your initial impression?
- What were some of the qualities that you initially found attractive in your partner?
- Describe your first date and what you did
The day of your engagement
- Share the story of how the proposal happened and what led up to it
- Were there any particular details or elements of the proposal that were especially meaningful to you?
- What does the memory of the proposal represent to you in your relationship and your journey together?
For a vlog interview with you and your partner’s parents
- What was your first impression of their partner?
- What was your first reaction when you learned that your child was getting married?
- Can you describe your relationship with your child and how it’s evolved?
The day of your wedding
- How are you feeling today?
- How has the morning been going?
- What do you want to say to your future spouse?
- How do you feel about getting married?
- What do you want your fiance to know about how much you love them?
Post wedding interview
- What was your favorite moment from the wedding day?
- How did you feel when you saw each other for the first time on the wedding day?
- What was going through your mind as you exchanged your vows?
- Did anything unexpected happen on the wedding day? How did you handle it?
Ready to Film Your Own Wedding Experience?
We hope you found these tips on vlogging your wedding season helpful! Vlogging your wedding season is truly the perfect way to document your love story into an heirloom you can cherish forever!
And…if you’re looking for a California elopement package with a vendor team ready to start making your stress-free elopement a reality, let’s work together!
Ascend Together Co. provides full elopement planning, photography, and video services. Both our photography and video services capture genuine moments in a natural, documentary style, with a nostalgic, home-video touch that creates memories for you to cherish forever.
All you have to do is –
- Book your complimentary consultation. Our consultation is where we offer you creative ideas, show you what’s possible, and guide you step by step in crafting a day that’s unique to you.
- Schedule your elopement planning call. You’ll simplify your decision-making in one call. You will meet with your expert elopement planner to choose your location, guests, budget vendors, and all the details that make up your dream day. After, you’ll receive your personalized elopement experience to finalize your details.
- Continuous support. Leading up to your day, your expert elopement planner will check in monthly to remind you of any small elopement details, to send mindfulness and connective resources, and be ready to support you!
Sound just like what you’ve been looking for? Go here to get started!
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