Still the Debate about the Flowers and the Video

In my mind at least it's a debate. These are the last two big things that we have to decide. At first I was sure I didn't want video, and then I saw videos from Paper Tape Films and fell in love with those. The only problem is that since we are getting married on a holiday weekend they have a six hour minimum and that would set us back about $4.5k.

Then I ran across Layer Cake Films and they also do gorgeous 8 mm wedding video. Unfortunately their holiday weekend minimum is $3.5k. Why does everything in LA have to cost so much?

Then there's the flower front. For a while I was seriously considering doing these ourselves, but started thinking about the logistics. Orange County isn't way far from home, but it is a 40 minute drive. If we had flowers delivered they would need to arrive on Friday for a Sunday wedding, or we could pick them up at the Downtown LA flower mart. Either way that means transporting those to the OC, and I have already had a few experiences with flowers not travelling so well, so I'm a little worried about how that may turn out.

So It's back to the drawing board. In the next few weeks we will probably meet with the lovely people at Asiel's Designs, and the work on their website is gorgeous. I feel like they really have a great eye for whimsical, which is totally what we want.

I've also spoken to Bobbe over at Bobbe Vagell Floaral Designs and he seems like a really nice guy. His work is amazing as well.

So only time will tell what may happen. I feel like so much of the wedding is set and these are the two areas where we can fiddle with the budget. If we ended up not having video I would be ok with that too, since we already have a great photographer, and I don't really want to spend money on a "bargain" videographer. I mean if I don't like the final product and never watch it, it's not really a bargain.

Super 8 Wedding Videos From Layer Cake Films

This company was referred to my by a soon to be bride. One of the cool packages they offer is sending you a camera and film that you use to shoot your own wedding. You then send it back to the company and they develop and edit the film into your very own wedding video.

The only problem is asking someone to videotape your wedding and have them being stuck behind a camera the whole time. I sent them an e-mail asking them for a detailed price, so more details to follow later.

Paper Tape Wedding Videos

Well it's one in the morning here and I'm having a little trouble sleeping. It might be because I had a cup of coffee after dinner, or it might be because it's warm so my window is open but there is lightning in the distance (I'm definitely not used to it so it's very distracting). Either way I though this would be a good time to get some thoughts down and maybe that would make me sleepy.

I'm actually a little upset at our photographer for showing me this. I was, and still for the most part am, not in favor of wedding videos. I've just never liked them. They always feel cheesy and forced to me, like I can see the parts where the cameraman says "ok, everyone make a goofy face!"

Then she sent me a link to Paper Tape Films and my opinion changed. They shoot all their video on Super 8 film, so your wedding looks like the opening credits to "The Wonder Years." They do an edit job, throw some music over the footage and make you an awesome wedding video. Then you get a dvd of your movie and all of your footage on one of those big archival reels, yours to keep forever and probably not watch too often because who has the tools to play that stuff anymore?

The only problem is they cost a little more than your typical wedding videographer. Their usual minimum is four hours, but since we are getting married on a holiday weekend their minimum is six hours. So that all adds up to a video that's a little pricey, but I think this is a case where you definitely get what you pay for.

We went with a photographer that was more expensive than a lot of other photographers out there because we figured it was the way to go if we were going to skip video. That's definitely not a decision I regret because I am looking forward to having some great pictures of our big day. Who knows, maybe we'll find somewhere in the budget to make some cuts. Do people usually expect to be fed at a reception?

Well now that I've got some thoughts down in kilobytes I think I will try to get some sleep. I will not surf onto any wedding websites. I will close this laptop right now and close my eyes. Ok, maybe just one quick peek . . .