Winter weddings in Scotland can be problematic due to extreme weather. I’m pleased to say however that my first wedding film of 2013 went very well and the weather behaved itself perfectly!
The wedding was through in the West of Scotland in Cumnock with the ceremony at the Parish Church of St John the Evangelist and the reception at the Lochside Hotel set in picturesque surroundings. I attended the rehearsal the evening before the big day and decided on my discreet camera positions. Being a Catholic ceremony the Bride and Groom would be sat at an angle during the ceremony and stand up where they were to exchange vows. I’m not sure if all Catholic ceremonies are held this way but certainly every one I have filmed have been like this. It’s not a problem but does require a little more planning in terms of camera placement to make sure I will be getting the best angles throughout the ceremony.
I arrived nice and early – my usual three hours before the ceremony to start capturing the cinematic establishing shots to really set the scene in style. The exterior of St Johns was tricky as there wasn’t really any great angles to shoot it from, I tried my best but spent most of my time inside where it looks great and there was much more opportunity for great shots. Being the 5th of January the Church still had Christmas decorations and a nativity scene set up which I used a little as it helps to visually tell the story of what time of year the wedding took place on. Once I had finished I got all my bulky cinematic equipment packed away and set up my cameras ready to discreetly to capture the ceremony.
Once everything was ready for the ceremony I took my single camera outside to start capturing the guests and wedding party arriving. I work with the same type of camera as the photographers which is great for capturing nice candid footage, although I use a monopod for stability most people think I’m another photographer – in fact I quite often get people asking me take their photo! People really do act very differently to when I used to use my big professional video camera, there was no doubt about what I was doing and understandably people would turn their backs to me or just look self conscious. I have made so many wedding videos now that I have learned how to balance keeping out the way whilst still managing to capture great footage, shooting HD video with the stills camera has made my job way easier!
I mentioned above that the weather was kind but being January it was still pretty chilly! The guests didn’t hang about, they all made their way from the cars and buses into the Church pretty quickly so I had to work extra fast to make sure I captured enough footage for the wedding film. I actually captured a little more footage than usual of everyone inside the Church waiting as that’s just where they spent most of the time – I go where the action goes!
I set my extra camera’s to record as we approached the start time of the ceremony and with everything ready I made my way outside to await the arrival of the Bride. I got my first real opportunity to say hello to Tom, one of the professional photographers for the day. We both waited in the cold and right on time Ezra the Bride pulled into the Church car park in a beautiful Rolls Royce. John the second professional photographer arrived and the three of us captured shots of the Bride and Bridesmaids gathering outside the church ready for the ceremony.
I made my way to my discreet spot hidden behind a pillar from both my other cameras and most of the guests but with a great view of the Bride and Groom. I wasn’t able to capture the wedding party making their way down the aisle from my position but that’s the huge benefit of having some additional camera angles as this was captured perfectly from two cameras placed right at the back.
The ceremony went absolutely perfectly. The only potential issue was the underfloor heaters were very noisy so thank god I had the Groom and Minister wearing hidden clip-on microphones otherwise I wouldn’t have heard a word they said! They were standing right next to one and the Bride actually ran over it as she entered to avoid a Marlyn Monroe moment with her dress being lifted my the strong blast of warm air being blown upwards. Things like this really can’t be avoided but I captured the best quality sound that was possible and as a bonus I use software that can further reduce the background hum of the heaters.
The best man had been warned during the rehearsal to be very careful not to drop the rings down the heating grill as he wouldn’t be going down after them! Luckily there was no such disaster during the ceremony.
After the ceremony at the Parish Church of St John the Evangelist there were a few photos outside but with clouds in the sky looking a little ominous everyone piled into their cars and made their way to the Lochside Hotel.
Being my first Lochside Hotel wedding video I had already dropped in past earlier in the morning before going to the church to check it out in person. I was really impressed, the photos on their web site don’t really do the venue or the location justice. The views are fantastic and the hotel is clean, modern and well maintained. The room they were holding the wedding breakfast and evening reception was really nice with a big window at one end looking across the loch.
When we arrived at the Lochside Hotel everyone made their way outside to have some photos taken. One of the guests was actually a photography student and was happy to help round people up and assist John & Tom to get them posed and ready. During these occasions I love having the room to run around and capture lots of different angles of the guests having their photos taken.
The Lochside Hotel really provided some great backgrounds for the photographs and of course it’s going to look great on the wedding film too! The sun was low in the sky generating some beautiful back light to everyone. Being January once the photos were taken everyone retreated back inside the hotel to warm up and have a drink.
Inside I was able to capture lots of nice footage of guests enjoying themselves, despite being a winter wedding the whole day had a nice warm feeling to it.
The speeches went really well and I felt I managed to deal with the large candle holders and flower bouquets that obstructed my line of sight filming from the other sides of the room. To make things a bit more complicated there were a few speeches from people not at the top table but I was able to capture them perfectly having the extra coverage from my 4 cameras.
The Bride & Groom decided they wanted to leave their cake cutting till the evening reception just before their first dance so their evening guests could see it. The wedding cake was definitely the source of a lot of interest as it really was something else.
The first dance was lots of fun to film as they were dancing on one of those floors covered in little lights which look like stars. I really love those dance floors, they look fantastic on video and I think they just look really magical! My camera is amazing in low light which means I never need to use additional lighting to blast the guests but the reception room in the Lochside Hotel was well illuminated with all the different lights so it was great for the wedding film.
For me shooting a wedding film at Lochside Hotel was made all the more pleasurable due to the friendly and helpful staff. During the time at Lochside Hotel the staff were fantastic at keeping everything very well organised but also being very accommodating with any last minute changes or requests. It’s not surprising when you discover how popular they are as a wedding venue, I caught a glimpse of their calender and they are booked solid! If you are interested in having your wedding at the Lochside hotel I would start making enquiries asap. They won ‘best wedding venue’ in Scotland with the VOWS awards and in the past have also won ‘best venue co-ordinator’ and a previous ‘best wedding venue’ award.
Please take the time to watch the highlights from this Lochside Hotel wedding video below.
I really look forward to shooting another wedding film at Lochside Hotel. If you’re having your wedding at Lochside Hotel and are interested in having a cinematic wedding film to remember your big day, please get in touch as I’d love to hear from you!
You can view up to date sample videos and get more information on my website here.
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