By Bret Schulte

Tell Uncle Bob to leave his camcorder home. Aided by the latest editing and production software and the flexibility of the DVD format, videographers are turning the much-maligned wedding video into a professional-grade film even your friends will want to watch. The quality is "miles beyond what it was just five years ago," says Carley Roney, editor-in-chief of the Knot, a wedding-guide publishing empire. So is the price. In 1988, fledgling videographer Kris Malandruccolo of Chicago ( elegantvideosbykris.com ) charged $350 for a wedding. "It was pretty much point and shoot in VHS and here you are," she says. Today, she shoots digital video, uses two cameras, and spends over 40 hours editing. The Orzoffs paid her $4,000.

Videographers have become less invasive and more artistic than their forefathers. A wireless mike slipped into the groom's breast pocket records the vows. Light-sensitive cameras have replaced those with glaring headlights. And videographers can zoom in on the action without being part of it: Justin Parker ( new-jersey-wedding.com ) filmed from across the street as groom Ross Sussmann entered the church in Newark, N.J. "We didn't even know he was there," says Sussmann, a Harvard medical student. Parker's stylish work "helped us feel like it really is our Hollywood movie." The video even includes black-and-white cinematography.

But nothing is more Hollywood than what the industry calls the "love story." Like a personal VH1 Behind the Music, the love story mixes an interview with the couple, old home videos, photos, and even some choreographed footage. "The Love Story of Kathryn and Chace Beddingfield" of Flint, Texas, includes the tale of their first kiss (at his college graduation party)--and a scene in which Chace spins around while Kathryn suddenly appears in his outspread arms. Some of the staged interludes felt "unnatural," she says. But, "it's priceless because we can never go back to before we were married and talk about the future."

With great technology comes great temptation to overdo it. Yifat Oren, wedding planner for such stars as Kevin Costner and Mariska Hargitay, advises against a load of special effects, "sappy ballad" soundtracks, and graphics and titles (too cutesy and cluttered).
 

We at Coast to Coast Video Productions want to thank you for taking the time to read the article above.  You now know what to expect from a videographer.  We are here to help you plan you wedding video and provide you the best quality and package for the amount of money you want to spend.