wedding wednesday: the story of the videographer.
i have known that having a videographer at my wedding was something i wanted since before i knew i was ready to think about actually being married. and i knew just who i wanted. hands down. no questions asked. don't even want to consider someone else because they were my one and only choice.
life stage films.
they are exquisite. their films make me cry at strangers getting married. four years ago, i sent my parents an email with their website saying "i don't know how much they are, but we HAVE to hire them when i get married like 15 years from now."
there was something about the way they captured emotion through the scenes recapping everything from the wedding shoes, to bouquets, to centerpieces, to napkins, to ceremony chairs, to the favors, to the cake, the first dance, the first kiss.. my Lord, i could go on.
it intrigued me. i found myself looking (and crying!) more and more at their work and my heart was set.
fast forward three years & and i met lee. following that, a year and some later, he proposed.
the first thing i did was contact life stage films.
most people take a month to enjoy being engaged, and although we definitely are still celebrating, i had everything aligned with the venue, the photographer, & the date within a week and a half. no joke. i'm pretty baller at this wedding planning thing. and then there it was - a returned email from life stage asking to set up an appointment to talk.
my parents have been amazingly generous by paying for our wedding and some more generous help from the walker's, but this - this videographer - i wanted to pay for myself so we could designate other expenses accordingly.
i got on the call. nervous and excited. the videographer talked about how lee and i met, began to date, & really got to know about us. and then he hit me with a bomb. time to talk moolah. he quoted me $7-8 grand to shoot my wedding video.
i think i died on the phone. flat line. heart attack.
he said, "now i know that scares some people away. are you okay with this amount?" i said "yes" even though i knew lee would kill me. i started thinking of different monthly installments rather than writing a check right then and there. i had my heart set on them remember! they had played the song i wanted on another video and everything! it was them or bust!
after hanging up the phone and feeling really bummed because 8 grand is a pretty significant chunk of change. did i really want to spend that much on a video? the problem also was i knew i would want every moment on that day captured. us girls getting ready, the boys getting ready, the pictures that we take, the ceremony, and obviously the reception and after party. but 12 hours of service was crazy hard on my budget.
enter my amazing venue - alexander homestead. i remembered seeing a flyer for a videographer within their preferred vendors.
i went to view his work at carlisle videography. found myself thinking his work was phenomenal too! i searched through more and more videos and even muted the sound on his videos and played the song i want on my wedding video. and found myself crying all over again.
it was an emotional day, okay? i downed some wine and ate chocolate.
and i think i cried even more when i found out that he was within my budget & what i was willing to spend on this. called, chatted, booked, signed, sealed, delivered! i'm yours! and honestly, i couldn't be more happier with our selection. and i will admit there are many days i go to his website and just watch videos imagining my own.
is that weird?
guess i'm weird.
i can already say it's best money i have ever spent and it hasn't even happened yet!
life stage films will always hold a special place in my heart. and they are so worth the money if you have the means and are okay with it. but i had to be aware of my limitations with the wedding while still getting to have a wedding video - which will mean almost as much to me as marrying my lee.
it all works out in the end and i can't wait to watch my fairy tale just about every single day after august 29, 2015.
Linking up with Morgan and Annie for Mid Week Muse.
