Over the years I’ve had the honor of sh0oting a lot of weddings.  Jewish, Hindu, Catholic, Persian, etc., etc. I’ve also shot wedding all over the country. From Hartford, Connecticut to Napa Valley, California. You name it and I’ve probably shot it.

In all these weddings, there are a few things I have found that can turn a good wedding film into a great one.  These are things that are cheap (some free) and will not only make your film awesome but make your wedding day that much more special.

Here are three things that can make an awesome wedding film:

1.) Card/Gift Exchanges

Almost every couple exchanges some kind of gift the day of the wedding. So often though, I arrive for the preparations and the gifts have already been exchanged and opened. I know the excitement the morning of, but if you wait to open those gifts when both myself and your photographer are present, that emotional and memorable moment can be captured. What better way to open your Signature Wedding Film than with you opening your gift?
Card exchanges are something that are less common than gifts. Why? I have no idea! A gift is great but nothing beats a hand written letter expressing your love and affection for your significant other the morning of the wedding! You don’t need to be Shakespeare and write a sonnet; a quick paragraph will do fine. Trust me! The best wedding films I’ve ever done have card exchanges. It is a universal rule for having an awesome film!

2.) Choose your officiant wisely!
If you’re getting married at your local house of worship by your favorite pastor/priest/etc. so be it. But for those of you who don’t have someone particular in mind or are getting married out of town, take some time to research who marries you! Often I use your officiant’s message during the ceremony as the narrative that binds together your entire film. If you have an officiant who is boring, is not a good public speaker, or has nothing especially compelling to say, it will really hurt your wedding film. Ask for some sample ceremonies or maybe even a past wedding video for you to view. You can even request a copy of your ceremony before your wedding to make sure it’s up to par. Having an awesome message from your officiant will make a huge difference in the emotional impact of your film!

3.) Write your own vows!

If your religion and officiant allow it, write your own vows!!!! Don’t be lazy! I always get the excuse that “We don’t want to have to worry about it.” Tough crap! Haha. Writing your own vows will take less than an hour. You don’t need to memorize them, reading them off a small piece of paper is fine. But write from the heart! Your vows should be personal messages to one another. Writing your own will not only make your film better, but it will be the most emotional and touching moment of your entire wedding.

I hope these tips will help you make your Signature Wedding Film into an awesome Philadelphia Wedding Video.

I was honored to film Latane and Karen’s Rehoboth Beach wedding in October. The couple was referred to me by local photographer, Rob Nicholson of Humbled Eyes Photography. It’s been over a year since I last shot in Rehoboth so it was refreshing to take the trip down to the shore and shoot in a [...]

Photog ShootOut again invited me as the only wedding filmmaker to come out to their recent Philly shoot and create a video for them. It’s an honor and always a pleasure to attend these events where so many great photographers come together and collaborate and learn. This time it was held downtown at City Hall. [...]

This is NOT your ordinary first dance.  Latane and Karen had something up their sleeves at their recent Rehoboth Beach Country Club Wedding. Keep watching, you’ll enjoy this one!

Dan and Michelle were certainly one of my more unique clients this year. I often refer to them as the “Juno Couple” (keep reading, you’ll find out why). Dan, who is a graphic designer, seems to have a liking for comic books, super heroes, and transformers; as evidenced by the logo he designed for their [...]

** This post is for other wedding professionals.
One of my good photographer friends, Mark Gardner, designed a great tool for wedding professionals who do a lot of online bookings. It’s called Wed-Pick. Basically Wed-Pick allows you to build an online pricing menu that clients can use to build their own packages. Using check boxes and [...]

Dan and Michelle’s wedding is this Friday and I was reminded of the awesome invitation that they sent me a few months ago. Dan is a graphic designer and his stuff is great! Check out this invitation and their wedding “logo.”

P.S. - Make sure to come back and check out their Philadelphia Wedding Video trailer [...]

Jason and Noreen were recommended to me by the awesome Philadelphia wedding photographers, Dollface Studio, and expert Philadelphia wedding planner, Angela Malicki. Jason and Noreen wanted an authentic wedding film with lots of natural audio and voice overs from throughout the day. This is why we incorporated many of the toasts from their reception into [...]

Bill Gaff, a blogger over at Wedding Bee Pro, recently saw Mariah and Doug’s short form edit (click here to see their trailer) that comes with regular Aubert Films Coverage and asked me if I’d be willing to have it featured on the blog. Of course I said yes! He just posted it wedding bee [...]

Angel and Mike are a great couple that were referred to me by the very talented, Doll Face Studio. They chose to go with my Aubert Films light package that I only recently introduced. Their ceremony took place in downtown Philadelphia at the Saint Peter Basillica on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It’s a great place [...]