5 Of My Favorite Wedding Tips for 2024!
With wedding season coming to an end here in New York City, I wanted to look back on a few of my favorite things I’ve seen at weddings recently that in one way or another helped my couples with their planning, made their day easier, and gave them the best-looking photos and videos of their day. If you’re planning a wedding, you will definitely find these tips helpful, and as a wedding videographer, I can tell you these will
1. Bridal Party Sitting During Wedding Ceremony
It’s usually traditional for your bridal party to stand with you at the altar during your wedding ceremony, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but more and more recently I’ve been seeing the bridal party sit down on the front row during the ceremony after everyone walks down the aisle. I think this is a great alternative…let me explain why.
If you’re having an outdoor ceremony, chances are you chose that location because of how beautiful it is, especially if you paid thousands of dollars to a florist or designer to make sure it looks perfect. Even though your bridal party will look sharp in their matching dresses and suits, they create a sort of wall of people that blocks the background and location that you chose in the first place. Visually, from a filmmaker and photographer standpoint, it’s usually a much more pleasing image seeing just the two of you up there.
The second thing I might add about this is that when your bridal party is standing, they’re leaning over each other trying to watch you both and they don’t typically look comfortable doing so; or since they can’t really see, they look around at other things and seem distracted when they’re just trying to watch like everyone else but don’t have the right perspective. Have them take a seat and be able to watch just like everyone else and enjoy the ceremony. (I’ve also seen bridesmaids pass out from standing outside during hot ceremonies and they had to sit them down anyway, so might as well start seated!).
2. Have a Friday Wedding To Save Money For Othe Vendors
There are pros and cons to having a Friday wedding compared to Saturday and Sunday, but here’s the biggest pro in my opinion… the value of your venue to have a larger budget for other things.
Friday weddings are generally less expensive for most venues since guests have to take off work to attend if it’s earlier in the day. In my experience, I’ve never been to a Friday wedding that was empty. If your guests want to attend your wedding, they will.
By saving money on your venue by having a Friday wedding, you’ll have a larger budget to spend on other vendors you envision for your day. If you really want that florist, that designer, that photographer, that filmmaker, you’ll have the extra cash to do that. The best part is, your wedding will look exactly the same since it’ll still be at the same location. You were just able to move part of your budget around to accommodate.
3. No Look First Look
Most weddings I film have first looks, they’re very common and most couples like seeing each other to get their portraits and all photos done early so they can enjoy cocktail hour. This isn’t for everyone though and that’s fine. If you’re on the fence though, maybe consider a no-look first look!
This can be done in a few ways, but most commonly you can hold hands around a door while you stand in separate rooms, or around the corner of a wall and still communicate with each other. This adds another level of anticipation and excitement to your day. You can still tell your fiance you love them and can’t wait to see them walk down the aisle in a few minutes, but still hold hands and be able to communicate without actually seeing them, so there’s still that big reveal during the ceremony!
As a wedding videographer, I’m always looking for unique and creative ways to tell your story, so this is a huge plus in that sense.
4. Getting Ready With Each Other
This one is mainly for micro-weddings or elopements, but I LOVE this and see it more and more often lately. It’s tradition to get ready separately, maybe have your bridal party or close family members help you get dressed, then see your fiance for the first time for the big reveal. For situations where you’re not having a first look and don’t have a bridal party, you can get ready together and help each other while doing it! It’s really special seeing this happen too, because you see the build-up with your own eyes of your partner becoming this bride or groom you get to spend the rest of your life with.
5. Throw Flowers After Wedding Ceremony
After you say your vows and have your first kiss at the end of the ceremony, everyone cheers and applauds for you, wouldn’t it be nice to have a visual just as memorable??? As a wedding videographer, I’ve genuinely been enjoying guests tossing flower petals or bubbles as the couple walks down the aisle. It’s more dramatic, it adds another element to the celebration, and your guests will have a blast doing it!
At the end of the day, it’s YOUR wedding and it should be exactly how you want it. There is no right or wrong, as long as you’re happy then that’s all that matters. As a creative, I always have random ideas or ways to keep things fresh and that’s part of what I bring to the table. I’m always open to opinions and ideas from my couples as well, which is where some of these come from. What ideas do you have for your day? I’d love to know!
-Austin
Hi, my name is Austin, and a wedding videographer based out of New York City.
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