As technology has raced ahead in terms of how we can record moving images the uses of this equipment has enabled both hobbyists and professionals to improve the way in which weddings are captured on film. Gone are the days where 8mm cine cameras with 4 minute load times were the only method for producing recordings with poor quality, no sound, and high processing costs. Now it is possible for your big day to be immortalised for you to experience time and time again with professionally edited films.

The emergence of the wedding video

In its infancy professional wedding videography was primitive. Using the first bulky handheld camcorders the production quality was severely limited with single channel choppy audio, snowy pictures, and poor color saturation. The ability to edit the finished product was also time consuming and difficult to manage and there were issues associated with further reductions in quality over time due to the poor wear of analogue video tapes.
Further damage was done to the reputation of early wedding videography due to the requirements for bright lighting and the intrusive nature of the equipment and sometimes less than professional videographers. No bride or groom wants to take their vows or have their reception under bright spotlights and the surge of untrained amateur video makers resulted in wedding video making receiving a negative image.

Professional Developments

By the 1990’s technologies had improved somewhat and there was a shift toward ensuring professionalism and improving standards. The Wedding and Event Videographers Association International (WEVA) an organisation that remains relevant today was founded and the market for professional video recordings of weddings boomed.

Going Digital

The most significant leap forward in the production of high quality enduring video wedding records came toward the mid 1990’s when the first digital cameras were developed. These eliminated many of the technical barriers that impeded wedding videographers since inception. Small, palm held cameras with the ability to work in reduced lighting and permitted discrete recording that did not intrude on the ceremony and celebrations of the weddings were just what was needed in order to take wedding videography into the new age.

The ability to computer, edit digital recordings has enabled the producers of wedding video to create versions of the big day that suit the needs of any bride and groom. Setting sections of the video to music, creating fun clips, and producing slide shows of stills, and ensuring that couples can have a wonderful and lasting record of their wedding day to relive events time and time again.