So many of our couples have never hired a videographer before so it can be a bit overwhelming as you shop around. Wedding Videographers all offer pretty much the same options but often times call them different things. I’d like to demystify the terminology for you to help educate you on the process and hopefully make it a bit easier on our couples as they shop around for wedding filmmakers.

Feature Film or Highlight Film

A Feature Film or Highlight Film is a summary of your wedding day. It is all of the major events from your wedding day summarized into a customized story. Serendipity films have lots of audio in them so you can hear what was said and what people were feeling that day. Some companies do more of a music video with limited audio in it. Feature Films or Highlight Films are edited to music.

Documentary Style Film

A Documentary Style Film is a specific part of your wedding day edited in its entirety. For example a Ceremony Documentary Style Film is your entire Ceremony edited from beginning to end. How that is different from a Feature Film is the Feature Film is only going to have snippets from your Ceremony. The Documentary Style Film is your entire Ceremony. Most companies will offer many options for Documentary Style Films including a Ceremony, Documentary Style Film, Toast Documentary Style Film or First Dances Documentary Style Film.

Raw Footage

Raw Footage is all of the footage from the wedding day. But it is unedited, it is Raw.

Interactive Menu

This is how Serendipity delivers a wedding film. It looks like a DVD but it is not the clunky technology that is a DVD. It is a cloud based technology with each film being downloadable and easily able to be shared. It is the new latest and greatest in wedding film delivery technology. DVD’s and USB’s are a dying technology.

Only 50% of couples hire a videographer for their wedding day and I am often baffled how in all the years I have been doing this that that statistic hasn’t shifted much… especially with the invention of social media, You Tube and entire shows dedicated to videos on the internet. There is a reason Instagram started allowing 15 second videos, then Stories on their platform and has recently introduced IGTV to feature longer videos and why Facebook years ago allowed embedding of videos and more recently live videos. Video is the reason some people have careers with some You Tubers making millions of dollars now… Video is where its at… Think about what the first thing you look at online is when reading an article or consuming your media. Is it an article?? Or do you watch the video… Yet couples often times still see a wedding film as either a luxury or an item they will add at the end if budget allows. Sadness… Tear… So I am going to give you my very best pitch on why every couple should have a wedding film.

How often do you have every person that you love in one room together…

That moment needs to be documented… The love, the laughter, the emotions. It is one of the happiest days of your life and those around you are there sharing in that celebration. That celebration needs to be documented. Who is apart of your wedding day may not be in your life 10 years from now. Life happens… parents and grandparents get older. You can’t take for granted that those that are at your wedding will be with us forever. Take advantage of this moment to be able to remember it and celebrate it with your family and children you may have one day.

Photos and Video go hand and hand…

Of course you are going to have a Photographer. But a Photographer catches moments, snapshots. What a Wedding Film will give you is the sound from the day, the emotion in real moving moments. They go hand in hand. A Wedding Film allows you to see your wedding day in a totally different medium. We document your day so differently than a Photographer and show you often times totally different moments you didn’t know existed. I have never had someone say that they had too many memories of their wedding day by hiring a Photographer and Videographer.

Video is just easy these days…

With how easy it is to upload and share videos online why would you not have a wedding film?? You can send it to all of your family and friends who attended and to those that didn’t. So more people can share in the memories!!

Wedding Videos are not what they used to be…

Now they are films… Customized stories of your wedding day that are both cinematic and emotional. They are interesting and they draw you in. They are something you will enjoy watching for years to come.

I promise you’ll watch it…

1. Some people say they will never watch it… I disagree… They watch it at the minimum on their wedding anniversary. But more importantly don’t you just want to have it… just in case… for that day when you do decide to watch it. I wouldn’t want to feel the regret of wishing I had something that I never could do over or get back. That panic would be awful.

Serendipity in Life and Film with Taryn Pollock

Taryn, Owner of Serendipity & Simply Cinema, had the opportunity to be featured on Your Jubilee’s Podcast. They started up their podcast in June of this year! Your Jubilee started this podcast, The Celebrated Life, because as they shared; they wanted a way to live their purpose of a celebrated life. They wanted to connect with more people and share how life is more than the big moments. They’re passionate about “celebrating the journey and not just the destination.”

On this episode Taryn opens up about how she started Serendipity and Simply Cinema. Two very successful Wedding Videography companies based in Arizona.

She also shares out her top pieces of advice for starting up a new successful business and about her and her son’s struggle with PANDAS. If you have not educated yourself about PANDAS, and want to know more head to: www.pandasnetwork.org.

Taryn is now at a point where she advocates for PANDAS and wants to help others with PANDAS and their family recognize the symptoms. She understands all the people that could be currently dealing with misdiagnosis, so she tries to share her story and open other’s eyes about it.

To Hear Taryn’s Episode:

Click Here and play the link!

Taryn is so honored to be featured on this boss babe podcast and we can’t wait to listen to even more episodes! Make sure to subscribe if you’re interested in listening to amazing stories from local rock stars!

Photographer: Leslie Ann Photography

Pantone Color of the Year | Violet

When we saw that Ultra Violet was the Pantone Color of the Year we were so excited to see what gorgeousness our incredibly talented wedding planners would come up with this year. If you’re a purple loving bride then get ready for some amazing inspiration that we have been seeing around the internet. This purple shade is perfect for a simple backyard wedding, but can also be dressed up to dazzle your guests in a one of a kind high class venue.

Start your wedding planning with some of the inspo we found:

Invites:

We love the look of water color invites, and when you include
some bold colored florals it gives us all the heart eyes!

Pinterest

The Bride:

Amy & Jordan Photography

We love the idea of a Violet Mrs. Box. This is a great way to add a little pop of color to your ring shots.  These earrings are also just to die for! Who doesn’t love a good sparkle?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Groom:

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Bridesmaids:

We love the idea of having these bright violet dresses mixed with the pale purple.

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Bridal Bouquet:

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Amy & Jordan Photography

Ceremony:

Violet smoke bombs?! Yes please!

Amy and Jordan Photography

Reception:

Pinterest

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Did these gorgeous photos give you inspiration for your own wedding? Leave us a comment below to let us know if you are going to be using the Pantone Color of the Year, Violet, in your wedding this year!

My Top Three Must Have Vendors | Arizona Vendors

 

Hi there! Hope you’ve been spending the new year with good company and big goals. We’ve missed you over here. We have had many big changes and we’re ready for a new year with consistent blogging, incredible weddings, and loving couples. We are already up to over 50 weddings and still booking for this season! So if you were one of those lucky gals or guys that got engaged over the holidays, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Trust me, I know all about popular wedding dates. I am a recent bride and have been married for almost three months now! November 11, 2017 is when I tied the knot and getting vendors booked for this day seemed to be tricky. (I mean we did choose, 11.11.. what were we thinking?) So that is why I am sharing with you today, our top three vendors that were a must have and that we booked first! Are you recently engaged? Get to booking these vendors because they get busy, quick! If you have your eye on a specific vendor, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Want to check out my wedding and vendors at the gorgeous Paseo? Click here!

When my husband and I got engaged, we sat down and prioritized our budget and determined what was most important to us. We put a lot of thought into this. We thought about after the fairy tale day and we determined that the film and photos is what you will have to look back on for the rest of your lives together. Easily our top two choices were a videographer and photographer. These were the two people that would capture our day for us to look back on. We will get to reminiscence about our day with our children, grandchildren, and maybe even great grandchildren one day.

We got a lot of questions from family and friends, asking why a videographer was so important to us? A lot of them would say things like, “I haven’t watched my wedding video since the day we got it” or “It’s not that exciting to watch anyways, why spend the money on it?” Well first off, wedding videos aren’t like they used to be. They are films now, a full on gorgeous production of your day. Good bye to the wedding videos of just a long ceremony, first dance, and bad audio. These are hand crafted films of an overview of your entire day from getting ready with your girl friends, interviews of you and your fiance, to the first time he see’s you in your wedding gown, the ceremony, your first dance, and the party that ends the night!

When deciding we didn’t even think twice about booking a videographer. When you really think about it, if you don’t have a videographer there who is going to capture your personal vows and they way you say them to each other on your wedding day? The toasts from your very best friends? The emotion and way he looks at you during your first look? You can never get those words, the emotion, and the sound behind them without a videographer there to capture it.

Now we needed one more vendor. This also came pretty easy to us. I am naturally very OCD and Type A. Having someone that could handle our day with the same vision as us was very important. I kept thinking to myself, do I want to spend the one day of my life marrying my best friend worried about where the florist will place the florals on the arch? How the table seating arrangements will get done? And how my bridal party will make it down the aisle flawlessly? No! I didn’t want to worry about one bit of it.

For us a Day Of Coordinator, was the perfect choice. I have had a lot of experience with weddings by working with Serendipity and planning with Pinterest made it super fun. (I mean how did anyone plan a wedding before it!?) I also purchased an Erin Condren planner to help me pace out when everything needed to be completed. But man oh man, is a Coordinator worth it! Planning a wedding is a ton of work. I give all the props to the Planners out there making these magical weddings happen!

There you have it! My top three vendor must haves. Do you have a top three? Comment below and let me know about them!

 

Photo Credit:

Melissa Jill Photography

Raw Footage

We get asked all of the time from couples if they can have the Raw Footage from their wedding day. The short answer is no, and you should see the look on the couples face. It is as if we just told them their wedding dress was ugly. However, we want to take the time to tell you why. We promise we are not trying to be mean, keep precious memories from you or even hold it hostage for more money from you. The answer is because you don’t need it, let us explain.

Years ago before cinematic wedding films became the norm a videographer would show up at your event with a giant camera and record the entire day from beginning to end. Then they would deliver tapes of 10 hours of video footage of every single second of your wedding day. Those were the days before editing.

Somehow the idea though, that Raw Footage was absolutely necessary as a deliverable stuck. We are here to tell you that the Raw Footage is no longer necessary. Wedding Films have evolved. Nowadays wedding films are creative and cinematic edits that summarize the wedding day.

That being said, when we film a wedding we no longer film the entire day in full. We only film what we know we are going to use. We will say it again, We only film what we know we are going to use. Our videographers are shooting in HD so the files sizes are huge and we quite frankly don’t want to film every single second of the day for space purposes as well as editing purposes. It’s just too darn much footage to sort through. Since we know we are summarizing your wedding day, filming every single second is just not necessary anymore.

Before you start thinking there is a mountain of memories on the cutting room floor, to compensate for not having that Raw Footage most companies will offer Documentary Style Edits of the most important parts of the day. What that means is that on top of the Wedding Movie Trailer and Feature Film we will edit for you your Ceremony, Toasts, and First Dances. Most couples see those as the most important parts of the day so we film those and edit them in their entirety.

What we always tell our couples is that if something doesn’t make an appearance in the Wedding Movie Trailer, Feature Film or Documentary Style Films there is a reason why. To be clear though, ANYTHING of value is going to show up in one of those 3 places, we will be sure of it.

Raw Footage has become fluff. And when it is offered to couples in packages or as an add-on it is painted as this extremely necessary and valuable piece of their wedding day when it is pretty much what they already have.

The Raw Footage includes the shaky shots, poorly colored shots, and practice shots. We just don’t see the value of this. Again revisiting the size of the files most couples don’t even have the software to open the files or know what to do with them once they do get them open. Not to mention who is actually going to watch 10 hours of footage.

And finally not offering the Raw Footage is a brand management thing for us. The best representation of our brand is always going to be our edited films. With how easy it is to upload videos online these days we never want to run the risk of our Raw Footage getting out there and someone posting a practice clip and claiming that “this is how Serendipity shoots a wedding film”.

In summary Raw Footage is not what you think it is. If there is something of value we will be sure that you have it. We want you to have as many memories of your wedding day as possible. But we also want you to have the best viewing experience and the best experience is always going to be watching an edited film.

Photos By Elyse Hall

Videographer Phoenix

We know that when it comes to planning a wedding, to say it can be overwhelming is an understatement. There are so many decisions to be made, and each step in the process affects the next. This is one of the reasons we LOVE the Wedding Wire vendor checklist, it provides a step-by-step timeline for when you should book your wedding vendors. Armed with this, and a few other tips and tricks from us, you will be ready to take on the wedding world. Videographer Phoenix

1. HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER. We cannot stress this enough. They know the wedding world like the back of their hand and are worth their weight in gold. You don’t know what you don’t know… A quality Wedding Planner not only will keep you on track, but will help you create the day of your dreams, or help you figure out what your dream day is all while staying within your budget!

2. A good rule of thumb when planning your wedding is to get a jump on hiring your wedding vendors. Nothing is worse than falling in love with a vendor only to find out that they are booked on your date. Haven’t picked a date? Even better, they may be the ones who dictate that for you based on their availability. Very rarely do vendors hold a date for you. They work off of a first come first serve basis so solidifying those vendors early on so you can enjoy your engagement is a great plan.

3. Hiring your wedding vendors is like choreographing a dance, you want to pair people up with the very best partners. If you are unsure about a vendor, don’t be afraid to ask around. It is always good to get recommendations from other vendors because we see it all. We have the pleasure of seeing the good, the bad and the ugly. If we work with people we know and love on the wedding day it’s like working with friends and it just makes wedding magic for the couple!!

4. Weddings are so expensive. One of the benefits of booking vendors early is the fact that you secure better pricing. Most vendors raise prices slightly every year. So, if you are getting married in 2018 it is best to book vendors at 2017 pricing.

5. The earlier you book the more time you have to sit back, relax and just enjoy being engaged.

 

 

Wedding Venues from Wedding Wire

Videographer Phoenix

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As we are about to dive head first into one of the busiest spring seasons we have ever had, at the same time we are super excited to this years wedding trends.  One of the most fascinating parts of our job is to see how each couple executes their perfect day, to a T. We also love to see how they incorporate the wedding trends of the season and make them their own. Here are some of our favorite things right now.

Metals: We loved when couples started to incorporate more silver and gold into their wedding pallet over the past few years. This year its full-blown metal! Gold, silver, rose gold, pewter and copper. They are so versatile, and really compliment so many different color arrangements. We love how they can easily dress up, or soften the feel of the whole day.

Whimsical Floral: So far, we have seen a huge amount of our brides sticking with what we like to call “sophisticated whimsical” floral. This includes large soft flowers such as garden roses or peonies, paired with beautiful succulents, that gives off a romantic and classic look.

Sugar: Who doesn’t love cake? Just a few years ago and still a bit now, it was popular to have cupcakes. I mean it’s the perfect portion all ready to go for your guests. However, this year the movement seems to be leaning towards beautiful multi-tiered cakes. We can’t complain because these stunning works of art are not only beautiful to look at, but also still delicious as ever.

Gown: This category is ever changing and we love it because it means we get to see new and fabulous dresses every season. Color is making a huge come back and in the most gorgeous way ever. May it be just a slight hint of pink to the overall gown, or possibly small details that give off a hue of your “something blue”. We also are seeing an increase of sleeves in all sorts and cutouts in flattering places. This gives such a nice update to the classic silhouette of a wedding dress.

Videographer Phoenix

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Most couples have never hired Wedding Videographer before so they have no idea what to look for or what questions to ask. Here is a guide on how to select the right Wedding Videographer for you as a couple.

Style… The first think you need to identify with is the style of the Wedding Videographer. Take a look at their website samples and review their blog. Ask to see films from the venue that you are getting married at. Don’t bypass that videographer if they haven’t filmed at your venue though. That is often times a good thing because they see it as a blank canvas and it actually stimulates creativity to be able to film at a new location. If you are finding yourself sending who you want to hire samples of other videographers work then hire the videographer that you are sending samples of… If you are asking to change that videographers style then they aren’t the videographer for you.
Experience… It is really important to look at the experience of the company you are hiring. How many years have they been in business? Have many wedding seasons have they gone through. Do they specialize in weddings or all video production? You want to work with a company who specializes in wedding films. Weddings are a very different animal than commercial video production because they are live events. We get one chance to get the shot so live event experience is a must.
Videographers… Who will be filming your wedding? Do they have a staff of videographers that are trained to film weddings or do they just hire freelancers to shoot the weddings booked. Be very aware of this. Freelancers can operate cameras just fine but they may not be trained in filming weddings. Weddings are live events and require a specific level of expertise. It is important that your team of videographers is in sync that day and has experience with one another and is not just randoms hired to film your event.
A One Camera Package Is Never A Good Thing… The offering of Packages with one camera and one videographer is NEVER a good thing. Do not purchase this despite the temptation of the low price. It is very dangerous for your wedding film for so many reasons and you truly are selling you and your wedding film short.
What if something happens to the one camera they are filming on. Then what… All filming stops while they figure out a solution?
What if something happens to the one card they are recording on. If your wedding is filmed with one camera and one data card and the card fails… Then what? Your whole day that was recorded is lost?
So much is missed when filmed by one person because they can’t be in 2 places at once.
You only get one angle of everything.
Service… Who will you be working with throughout the process? Are you working with a sales person who just sells you on the service and passes you off? Will you be working with the owner or have access to the owner should the sales person leave? Your wedding film is a very important investment. Who is servicing you and how they are servicing you is of utmost priority.
Investment… You truly get what you pay for with wedding videography. There are a lot of low cost providers flooding the marketplace with some very cheap packages. A quality wedding film is definitely something worth investing in. If a company is significantly less than others in the marketplace there is a reason why. You need to look long and hard at their product and what your experience will be like with them. Quality wedding videography is not cheap and owning a wedding videography company is not cheap. There is a reason the pricing is the way it is for a legitimate company that may cost more. You may need to be concerned about the low cost providers ability to still be in business by the time your wedding comes if the price point is so low.
Watch Out For Fluff… You need to look at the meat and potatoes of the Collection or Package you are purchasing. There are things that videographers offer to make a Collection or Package look like you are getting so much that is truly of no value. For example the Raw Footage… Everything that is usable is going to be in your film or films. Everything else is what was on the cutting room floor. When you get the Raw Footage there isn’t a mountain of memories that was missed because if it was good it would have made it into the film. So pretty much is all of the stuff that didn’t make the film is generally the practice shots and out of focus stuff. See… No value… Plus are you ever going to really look at hours of footage? What would you do with it? What matters most are the deliverables and these are what you need to be asking for:
How many hours of videography are you getting?
How long is the Feature Film?
Are you getting a Wedding Movie Trailer?
How many Videographers will be at your wedding?
How many cameras will they be filming with?
Delivery… How the company delivers a finished wedding film is important. Are they delivering on old outdated technology like DVD’s and Blu Ray’s. Those are both dying technologies that in a few years won’t be around. Asking for a DVD is like asking for music on a cassette tape or CD. Everything is going towards streaming, downloadable films or URL based delivery methods. These are how you should be delivered your film at this point.
Videographer Phoenix, Serendipity Cinematography is a Arizona and California based wedding videographer focused on hand crafted wedding films.

Videographer Phoenix, Simply Cinema, specialize in simplified wedding cinematography for the budget minded couple in Arizona and California.