If you have decided to have a wedding video in Melbourne for your wedding day, get your hair stylist and make up artist to come to you, and allow extra time if you have a big bridal party. Otherwise you may not have enough time to cover all the moments you want captured.
Often brides are running late due to a delay at the hairdressers.  Some hairdressers take on extra clients at the salon, even when they have an entire bridal party’s hair to style, and we all know hairdressers never run on time. 

You never know what the traffic in Melbourne is going to be like, going to or coming back from the hairdressers. This means less time for your wedding video and photography, let alone the stress it will cause you if you have to rush!

Getting footage of your beautiful wedding hairstyles looks great on small sections of your wedding video. Having your wedding hair stylist and make up artist come to you, means that you can have more of your wedding day captured for you to remember for a lifetime.

I was looking around the Easy Weddings www.easyweddings.com.au forum and came across a post http://easyweddings.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22595&st=0&sk=t&sd=a#p280538
about a lady who was disappointed in her wedding photos and the lack of care from the wedding photographer.

“Now, while he has delivered what we asked for, with quite a few really good photos and he was really good on the day with lots of energy etc, I find that I am disappointed that he didn't take more care when taking the photos, mainly with placement of things around us and how our attire was sitting on us etc.”

So I did some investigating and asked some photographers, that Wedding Movies recommend, what their thoughts were:

Johl from JD Digital Photography said: http://jddigitalphotog.com/

“I think she has gone with a very cheap photographer and unfortunately you do get what you pay for with wedding photography.
I would respond with the attitude that whatever it takes to fix it for this bride I would do. I would go above and beyond to make her happy.
This hasn’t happened to me luckily, but I show my clients at least 2 or 3 full weddings that I have done so they can see my style and a typical wedding.  I don’t just show one or two good pics from each wedding because anyone can do this”. 
 
Questions Johl suggested Brides consider when choosing a photographer are:

• Can I see a couple of full wedding albums and proof books from the one wedding?
• Will you be the photographer on the day?
• Are you an accredited AIPP photographer?
• How long have you been in business for?
• Do you have any testimonials we can look at?

 
The three main things to consider when choosing a wedding photographer:

• The photographer- as you spend the entire day with him/her, so you want to like and get along with them.
• The Style- you have to like what you see, every photographer has a different style.
• The package inclusions and pricing- In Johl’s opinion, “charging under $1500- 2000 for a wedding package should be considered a risk, you can’t put out a quality product charging less than that, and if they are they probably have a full time job and do wedding photography as a hobby”.

It's sad that so many people can claim to be a professional photographer when they clearly don't have a passion for taking great photos.  It gives the industry a bad name.  The same applies to video as well.  Couples who go for the cheaper option often expect great things, but can be very disappointed with the end results.  You can't just reshoot the wedding you only have one chance. 

“You get what you pay for!”

These Kitchen tea ideas are just the beginning! Think back to all the gifts you have received over time and you will remember the ones that have been the most cherished are the ones that weren't necessarily the most expensive, but the most thoughtful or useful. Let this guide you and help encourage other ideas.

• Homemade Keepsake Recipe Book


Buy a blank binder, or make one up yourself with decorative paper and give a few sheets to each invited guest. Ask each guest to collect their favorite recipes for different types of meals such as special occasions like Christmas & Easter, and breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert! Ask them to also personalize it with notes of special traditions and or different ways of presentation. Compile the book by meal category.

• Kitchenware

Ask all guests to bring a gift that starts with the letter of the bride and groom's names. If the bride’s name starts with ‘s’, people can bring salad servers, spoons, salt and pepper shakers, etc. Use first middle and last name initials for a larger variety of items.
Or have a Tupperware party and guests can purchase for themselves, which will add to the Brides free gifts and Tupperware dollars, and guests can also purchase something for the bride.



• Gift Wrapping



For something a little different every guest brings a gift for the bride to be, and a gift wrapping expert shows you all how to wrap the gifts in so many different ways.
It’s a great way to learn how to be creative with your wrapping and sometimes they look too good to open!

• Cookie Cutters and Other Gadgets



When people don’t want to spend a lot of money, and if the bride loves to bake, ask each guest to bring a cute cookie cutter or other baking gadget which the bride or groom can use to bake some fantastic treats for when you go over to visit.

• Keepsake Advice Box

Decorate index cards and an index card box. Ask each guest to write down a marriage tip or household hint on a card. Make appropriate tabs like: 'kitchen', 'laundry room', 'bathroom' 'clutter free', 'Recipe Flops and Fixes', 'Stain removal' ‘Relationship advice’, there are many possibilities.

Although it can be hard to choose who is in your bridal party it is best to keep it to a small number of people of 2 - 3 on each side, not six or seven on each side. Or if you do have a big bridal party get ready earlier and allow extra time for preparation and photo shoot, you don’t want to feel rushed and flustered cause the camera will be rolling and it will capture it all.

If you are having speeches it is a great idea to have them in a designated area like a podium or the end of the Bridal table. This is important so all your guests should be able to see you but it also helps us capture them better.

There are a few other things to think about for the video at your reception such as:

• Tall table centre pieces, they can be very hard to film around.

• Darkly lit with candles or low light can be very tricky to film in to get great quality shots, our cameras can handle very low light but there is some quality loss if it is too dark.

• Inform us of the running sheet and also tell your MC that we need to know everything that is happening and to make sure we are ready to film when things are about to happen.

• Make sure we are catered for and seated in the reception centre. Otherwise the risk of us missing things increases a lot. Sadly we have missed some important events at weddings because we were seated away from the guests and weren't told by anyone that things were about to happen ahead of schedule.

• Have your reception finish at 11 or 11:30pm. Why you ask? We have been to more weddings than most people will go to in their lifetime so why do we say have your wedding finish then? The few biggest reasons is so many people start to leave once 10:30 ticks over so you want to make sure you still have people left before you do. It starts to get messy once it gets later every family has those people that don't know when to stop drinking and we have seen some interesting things happen as it gets later and later, this isn't something you usually want to remember that happened at your wedding. And the biggest one is you get to the wedding night quicker which for some couples is a very special time so why stick around at the reception when you could be doing what newly weds do best!!

Here is a great idea to keep the kids entertained at the reception, and you might be surprised at the amazing photos they will take.

You put this scavenger list and a disposable camera on the kid’s seats. They then have to go around and capture the shots through the day or night.

I SPY
A great big kiss
A great big hug
A dress the colour of a ladybug
A white dress
2 shiny shoes
A shirt with stripes coloured blue
Some fancy flowers
A bubbly drink
A polka-dot tie spotted pink
A sparkly diamond
A floaty gown
People dancing & twirling around
A man on a microphone
2 people holding hands
A pair of shining wedding bands

The kids will love it and everyone will be grateful for including their children in all the fun.

Walking up the aisle can be tricky for most, the new high healed shoes, the nerves and the excitement of the day all make it harder than it looks. The biggest thing you should do is rehearse the walk. Make sure you don't walk fast up the aisle keep it at a slow and steady pace and also leave enough gap between each person so people can see you but also so we can video each bridesmaid.

Sometimes we have had bridal parties basically run down the isle which means we might not be able to get a good shot of you. Try to walk to the slow beat of the song, but walk like a normal person not a robot. Smile it is a happy occasion, you can look at the guests but if it makes you nervous just look at the groom or Priest/Celebrant, remember the cameras are all going so make sure you keep that in mind.

There are many different things you can do for bonbonieres; one of those ideas is to make them yourself and doing something a little different to everyone else.

• We all know that at a wedding many people can drink a few too many wines and beers, so why not make up a hang over kit for your guests.
• This could include two paracetamol, two berroca, a can of V, a coffee satchel, and a small bottle of refreshing mist spray for the ladies. These types of bonbonieres are easy, not too expensive, and your guests will appreciate it the following morning.

• You could get a picture frame and put a nice thank you message in it, that way they can either use the frame for a picture from the wedding later on, or they can keep your message in it so they can always be reminded of your wonderful celebration.

• You could use candles and put there name on it as their place setting and they can burn it at home as a symbol of your unity.

• Photo frame glass coasters look great with a picture of the bride and groom, or a thank you message.

• Rock candy with the bride and groom names and a love heart is fun and also tasty.

• Tea light candle and name cardholders look really sweet, and they come in many different designs, such as elephants, love doves, boats and many more.

• Bottle stops are fantastic and you can get them with a love heart on the top.

• Chocolates or even a cupcake in a decorative box look really sweet.

I suggest getting something that is useful or memorable so your guests will use it and remember your special day. Don’t use something that will be left behind on the table cause that will be a waste of your time and money.

You should be conscious that on your wedding day you are the focus and even though your photos may have been taken the camera is still rolling.

When some people are nervous they can do funny things with their face that aren’t at all flatering to capture on video;

Such as rubbing teeth with tongue, rubbing lips together when they have lipstick on, chewing on lips or tongue, chewing gum, playing or touching their face or twirling their hair.

This makes it very difficult to get great shots of your special day. So just remember try to relax, have fun and most of all be yourself!