The 2013 wedding season is booked, and I anticipate 2014 will book up too, so it’s hard to give away a wedding package, but I wanted to do a really fun give-away. So I have decided one lucky couple will win a FREE save-the-date video package!

Save-the-date videos offer the opportunity for a couple to be really creative, to do something uniquely them, and get to share it with their friends and family.

A Few Rules:

• The video shoot must be local to Rochester, NY
• Shoot date must be on a week day
• Entries must be in by June 30
• The couple who submits the most creative idea WINS!

Submit your idea in the comments section below OR by emailing elizabeth@housetwelve.com!

The post Anniversary Contest appeared first on HouseTwelve Weddings & Events.

The post My First Video Blog: Any Animal Experts? appeared first on HouseTwelve Weddings & Events.

I also have a very cool and exciting development in the works, that I can’t wait to reveal! I hope to make that announcement very soon, so be sure to check back!

The post Featured on the Wedding Lovely Blog! appeared first on HouseTwelve Weddings & Events.

I also added to the arsenal with some new video equipment that I can’t wait to use for weddings–a new travel jib! Check out this short video I made testing it out for the first time!

The post New Video Equipment! appeared first on HouseTwelve Weddings & Events.

Flash forward a few years. I had moved to Rochester, NY and was on the verge of quitting my full-time job and starting my own video production company. There were still a lot of unkowns, but what I wanted to do wasn’t one of them. Every time I mentioned my plans to somebody, I got a similar reaction: Oh, like wedding videos? Just in time for wedding season. So you’ll be shooting weddings! Every time I cringed inside, but smiled and shook my head. No, no. Not wedding videos.

I had a couple video clients already, and would soon land some fantastic new ones. And this is what I would do: short, web-based marketing videos. Some longer promotional videos. And I had a couple friends getting married, yes, I would do their wedding videography too.

Shortly after I began working for myself full-time, I met with a local wedding photography company. Little did I know, it would be a meeting that set off a chain of events that would change the course of my business. I was hesitant about the meeting, I didn’t want to do weddings. But would I turn them down? The man I met with explained to me that they were looking for a staff videographer. The staff videographer would be responsible for shooting and editing each wedding themselves, for $300 a pop, and I would have to sign a non-compete agreement. They showed me a sample video of what they would expect from a staff videographer. It was bad. Awful. Not worth the $1,000 they were charging the couple. And the kicker: they already had 20 couples that booked the wedding videographer that they didn’t actually have.

I walked out of that meeting insulted. But also angry on behalf of their clients, who were clearly nothing but a check to this company. It took some time, but eventually I decided that this company WOULD have some competition.

After that meeting, I mostly went back to business as normal. I shot a few weddings that year, favors for friends who were getting married and friends who were providing the photography or videography for other weddings. What surprised me the most was how much fun it was! It’s hard work, it’s very stressful … but so much more rewarding than most of my corporate videos.

So it became a thing that I do. That I want to do.

The post How I Got into Wedding Videography appeared first on HouseTwelve Weddings & Events.

It’s kind of an “event” video … My son’s 2012 opening day little league parade and the game he played afterwards. I don’t take these videos too seriously, they’re just cute and fun! Yes, it’s old, but this is exactly what video is great for–memories.

The post One of the Cuter Videos appeared first on HouseTwelve Weddings & Events.

Shooting a video at the same time can be a great way to go! As photographers always say, it’s a great way for the shooter to get to know the couple and their style. It helps the shooter know what kind of direction the couple needs and is comfortable with, before the pressure is on.It actually benefits the photographer and the videographer too. It’s great for the couple because it helps set them at ease with the shooter before the big day. It actually benefits the photographer and the videographer too. The photographer-videographer relationship can be quite contentious at times, both often trying to be at the same place at the same time, and both sometimes too focused on what they’re doing to think about the other. I always make an effort to contact each couple’s photographer before their wedding, to introduce myself and break the ice. But when I have had the chance to shoot video during a couple’s engagement shoot, it has always been the start of the best working relationship. I love having the chance to work with and get to know all the parties in a low-pressure environment.

And If You’re Not Sending Formal Invitations…

A lot of couples are going paperless, or close to it, for their invites these days. It saves money, it’s green, and the internet is a natural choice these days. None the less, a stigma exists. Video provides endless possibilities!Good thing for video, it’s perfect for the internet. Formal invitations can be amazing, unique and creative pieces of art, but forgoing them doesn’t have to mean you have to give up the opportunity to showcase your theme or personality. Video provides endless possibilities! Some couples have set video save-the-dates to family and friends overseas, as a quick and reliable means to share. Others have used them in last-minute situations. They can be personal with a heartfelt message; dramatic or humorous, with a recreation of the proposal; or simple and beautiful.

Be sure to check out this example!

The post Why Do A Save the Date Video? appeared first on HouseTwelve Weddings & Events.

The post Overhaul appeared first on HouseTwelve Weddings & Events.

I shoot many weddings alone, and most of the time I am comfortable doing so, but there are times when I strongly recommend more. Here are my four guidelines for determining how many videographers is right for you.

1. The Number of Guests

This is usually the second question I ask a couple, and the quickest way to gauge how many videographers a couple needs. While my goal isn’t necessarily to capture every guest on camera, a 300:1 ratio doesn’t bode well for capturing all of anything. Larger crowds are hard to navigate through, and one videographer is likely to miss a lot of action.

2. Your Priorities

This is a broad category, but every couple has their own priorities that often appear to me right off the bat, and everyone is very different! Some brides absolutely do not want shots of them getting their hair and makeup done at all. Other couples want to be able to look back and peek on on their new spouse getting ready before the wedding. Sometimes I can get both the bride and the groom getting ready before the wedding, but there is no guarantee. If the locations are too far away, or the timing just doesn’t work out, you will need two videographers if this is a priority for you.

Similarly, couples vary on the priority they put on the ceremony itself. Some just want to be able to see the important parts, others want the whole thing from beginning to end. Ceremonies themselves differ quite a bit as well, so this one is more of a balancing act. Consider: 2 cameras (one videographer) can document the wedding, and capture the important parts, but more videographers and more cameras will mean more angles and  if the ceremony is very important to you, more is better.

3. Your Reception

Again, it’s broad, but they’re all different. I’ve shot small receptions with sit down dinners, no dancing and none of the traditional tosses–and one videographer is definitely enough. Some weddings are a circus of festivities, and for all the thought and preparation the couple has put into planning, they deserve to see it all on video. I don’t ever want to push a couple into more than what they need, but the last thing I want is for them to be unhappy with the final product because I couldn’t be in two places at once. Which brings me to….

4. Location

This is a big one. If I am shooting a wedding alone, and the preparation location, ceremony location, and reception location are all different, it’s guaranteed, at least once, I will have to pull myself away from one thing in order to set up my equipment at the next location. Add in another location for formals and photographs, and I am bound to miss something. I have done it many times…and many times I have wished I was able to capture something that I just couldn’t. Definitely take this into consideration if you’re on the fence between one or two videographers!

The post How Many Videographers Do I Need? appeared first on HouseTwelve Weddings & Events.

The bulk of our business at HouseTwelve is corporate video production. We shoot weddings because we love to, but we’re not a wedding-every-weekend type shop! We want to keep our services personal, and keep turn around time to a minimum, which means we don’t cram in weddings.

We urge you to check your date as soon as possible, but don’t hesitate to check last minute dates either. A couple months in 2013 are already booked, but we will accommodate last minute events if it’s possible!

The post Not a Wedding-Every-Weekend Shop appeared first on HouseTwelve Weddings & Events.