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Wedding day nightmares you can avoid

By Jim Majka

FORT KENT – Your wedding day is finally here, and everything is going according to plan... Too bad your photographer double booked your wedding date. Too bad your videographer didn’t have enough batteries and tape to finish out the day. Too bad you decided to let Uncle Charlie take your pictures, and he fell down drunk in the coat room.

These are the kind of things that can totally destroy an otherwise well organized wedding event. And while they are rare, these things DO happen. But they don’t have to happen to you.  Photography and video are the two most important and long lasting aspects of your wedding; and if properly planned and thought out, it will be one less thing to stress out over during the most important day of your life.

Let’s begin with the wedding video. To have your wedding day filmed by a professional. is truly the best way to capture the mood and the sounds of the guests you invited to your wedding. A good videographer will be as inconspicuous as possible, but at the same time will get everything that you could not have seen that day. For instance, would you like to have seen what was going on with the groom, his best man, and the priest in the side room just before the ceremony?  Or perhaps you are the groom, and you’d like to have seen what was happening with the bride, her dad and her maid of honor just before they entered the sanctuary - how much would that be worth? Any videographer who can capture those kinds of moments is worth their weight in gold. 

However, there is much more to it than that. You must make sure beforehand that the videographer has the right equipment to do the job. An old VHS camcorder is simply not good enough. Standard for today is a digital 3-chip, low light video camera, as well as a wireless lapel microphone and transmitter. Better yet, there should be two cameras to capture all the action from both the balcony and the alter, as well as at the reception.  Your videographer must also have a sturdy tripod. There is nothing that will ruin a wedding video faster than a hand held camera, waving and zooming in and out, making everyone sick watching it! Of course, there are times during your wedding day when the videographer will hand hold the camera, but a good videographer already knows how to do this.

As for photography, much of the same things apply. Does your photographer have the right equipment? In most cases with today’s wedding photography, high end digital cameras are used. Nikon and Canon SLRs are standard, utilizing telephoto and wide angle lenses as well as a good flash. Flash is especially important in churches where the light is usually not adequate.

As in videography, ask your photographer for some print samples. Do they have a web site where you can see their work?  Do they offer online ordering and proofing once your wedding is over?  How many weddings have they done in the recent past? Do they do just “posed shots” or will they do candids as well?

The best way to avoid all these potential problems is easy. Ask your photographer or videographer to show you some samples of their work... Another way is to ask for references.  Word of mouth is generally a solid indicator of good work. News of quality work spreads fast… as does bad!

The very best advice is to ask lots of questions. You will know by the answers you get whether or not you should trust this person with recording the most important day of your life.

One final thought… Family members, although they may mean well, are NOT the best choice to do your wedding video or your wedding pictures. You want someone professional who is totally focused on you and what you want, and not easily distracted by friends and family.  Just ask uncle Charlie in the coat room… once he wakes up.

Jim Majka is the owner of Fort Kent Video & Photography