We had a great time filming Maria & Freddy's wedding. What a party! The day started at a beautiful airbnb in Fallbrook for the getting ready portion. This place had just the most beautiful views and it was so spacious! Perfect for getting ready with a large wedding party. The couple shared super special vows with their close family and friends before the actual ceremony at the church. They had a beautiful church ceremony and then proceeded to the party at the venue, Wedgewood Fallbrook.  The wedding was SO MUCH FUN. With live music and a DJ, the party was  blast. George (DJ) brought his LED dance floor and that was something super fun and special. Enjoy watching their video!

We worked alongside Everlove Photography. :)

If I had a time machine and went back in time to tell my super cool 7th grade self, "Hey, you know that song you are listening to on cassette tape, the one you love and think you're super cool singing along to? Well, most of your adult life you will be listening to it every single weekend!" I'd look up confused, thinking, "Well yeah, 'This is How We Do It' is amazing, but really?"

It feels that way, this year especially. And it IS still a great song. It gets the grannies on the dance floor, as well as the my age-ish millennial (geriatric millennials I think we're called), as well as the couple and all their friends. How could anyone go wrong with that song choice? 

Every weekend has been packed with weddings, but also week days too. In the past we averaged about 25 weddings per year, busy April-October, and had a nice break during the off months. This year has been different. We are more than double our average bookings and we work all sorts of days of the week, and many winter weddings. Couples I've talked to tell me how it doesn't matter if it is on a Monday or a Wednesday. Their friends will take the time off of work to be there! That is amazing! It goes to show you how priorities have changed in the last few years. People have made more time for what is important to them

For our company, 2023 so far is projecting to be as strong as 2022. My advice to couples is to get your date officially booked if videography is important to you. Because all the time, I hear from people that they wish they would've had video for their wedding. Since I can't go back in that time machine and really sell you on it afterwards, trust me on this one and GET THE VIDEO. :) Because "This is How We Do It!

And here is a video for your inspiration. ENJOY!!!!

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Weddings have been in our lives for the better part of 20 years. Classic Filmworks opened its doors for business in the early 2000's, and we have seen good times, bad times, equipment changes, trends, the list goes on... But never did we imagine the hit the wedding industry took when Covid-19 entered our world. We never imagined actually not being allowed to do our job. We never imagined countless date changes and reschedules. 

But we managed. We finished 2020 with 7 weddings completed. 5 of these weddings were in the times of Covid. These 5 weddings varied greatly. We had a couple very small, micro wedding style elopements. We had a couple completely normal backyard weddings. And we had a few that had the "new normal" of no cocktail hour, sitting at tables immediately, masks and very little to no dancing. But it didn't actually affect the beauty of the wedding films. No matter the type of wedding, we were able to connect with our lovely couples and capture what mattered most to them. 

We enjoyed the couples we did get the privilege of filming. We enjoyed seeing our wedding industry friends. What we are enjoying now, is a light load of editing to kick off the new, and hopefully more fruitful wedding season! 

As we move forward, we wish all of our couples and wedding industry friends the best. You made it through the worst and good things will come! We love you!

We miss you. Plain and simple. Our last wedding that we were able to shoot was in early March, just days before the whole world would start shutting down. It was bittersweet getting to shoot it, amid freeway signs reading "Stay home, wash hands, avoid Covid-19". We enjoyed filming that wedding, maybe it was intensified by the fact that we knew deep down it might be a very long time before we were able to film a wedding again.

Nearly 3 months since we filmed that last wedding in March, we are currently working with our spring couples to reschedule their dates. Some have moved their weddings to summer, some to the fall, and some to winter. Our 2021, already fairly booked out, is going to be a challenge as more couples may decide to postpone their weddings.

When we see an email come in about postponing, we feel for our couples. We can't imagine the stress of dealing with moving everything around, and in essence re-planning everything. Not to mention the stress of the entire world right now. We answer with understanding. Of course we will be flexible where we can, and roll over their payments to a new date. I treat our couples how I would want to be treated. We are dealing with a situation we have never dealt with, so new rules must be made.

Aside from the details of rescheduling and "office-y" stuff... We miss our couples! We miss filming weddings.

Filming weddings may seem stressful to some, mundane to others... But to us - we love it. We arrive with the anticipation of the day, just like the guests! We are excited to see beauty, and capture it in a creative way. We love to get to know our couples and their friends and family. We talk with everyone, we learn our couples' story and put it into a beautiful film.  

Another aspect that we miss is our relationships with other wedding industry professionals. During the course of the day we make friends with the photographer (if we aren't friends already), and we enjoy creating together. We have fun! I like to be myself as often as possible, even if it means scaring the other wedding vendors by putting the Photo Booth horse head for a moment. Wedding nights were our "office" setting every weekend.

We miss it. We miss you! We hope we can resume before the year is over, but if not, we will adapt and be wishing everyone the best!

This is something I never imagined having to write. None of us really saw something like this coming, so quickly and with such a huge impact. I saw the "pandemic" show on Netflix and thought about how crazy it was before we had modern medicine. I thought about how people didn't know how to properly clean and had bad habits. I thought about how that was a different time. 

Now, today, I received an email from my April 18th couple, postponing their wedding, and understandably so! While my kids school is closed for a month, there is no clear expectation of when life will go back to normal. Even when the virus disappears, there may be a sense of fear and people might be hesitant to resume to "life as we knew it". 

While I have no words that seem appropriate There are a few takeaways I would like to bring up.  

1. Things will go back to normal, but they might be a different normal. A new normal, as people say. I don't know about you, but disaster puts things in perspective for me, and I feel like couples will take new things into consideration when planning weddings.  Maybe this looks like smaller, more intimate weddings with the people that they truly care about. On the contrary, maybe this looks like everyone you know, because you've had to be isolated and you never want that again! 

2. A new appreciation for just about everything.  I've personally felt this calling to examine my life and every choice I make going forward. Will this affect someone else if I go out to buy these things right now? Is it essential? How can I make sure not only my family is safe, but my community, my state, and my country. There is a new found beauty about the world that I never noticed before, because I was just too busy.   Maybe it'll be different moving forward - slowing down and enjoying each moment a little bit more not just today, but every day, even on your wedding day. Enjoying it without stress and realizing what really matters, maybe not each little detail.

3. Family is everything. When your social life is down the drain due to circumstances beyond your control, you can't see your friends... your group, but you have your family unit. I'm sitting here thinking, "Wow, I live with these people and I barely see them." Now, I've gotten this gift of time with them, and it brings up some thoughts about family.  These people are important. They matter. Spend time and appreciate them. Don't forget this after this is all over. When you have your wedding, ENJOY and HONOR them as best as you can!

4. Love what you do, every day. I realize now that I do honestly love my job. It bummed me out big time to not be able to film a wedding this upcoming weekend because its just such a fun job, filled with beauty and joy. It bums me out that my April couples had to postpone. I'm looking at June or July and praying that those weddings can still move forward. Not just for them, but for me too, and for the overall industry. I will never again joke about all weddings being the same. They're really not. I have said it in jest, but its not true. They're all special and beautiful.

5. Find beauty now, and take it one day at a time. Maybe your wedding won't happen next month. But you still have your fiancee. Enjoy each other and find beauty in each moment as it happens, and we will see what tomorrow has for us!

Why is wedding video so expensive?! Our pricing - explained

If I had a dollar for every time someone said wedding videography was out of their budget, I’d be able to pay for your wedding film! Kidding! But not really. I’d like to explain what goes into the cost of a wedding video. What is really behind our pricing? Why do wedding video companies charge what they do?

In the beginning, Uncle Bob had his video camera. He walked around. He ate a little, well maybe a lot. He chatted with Aunt Bev. We laughed when we saw the video but overall we were happy because it was our wedding. 

These days, wedding videography companies make cinematic films of your wedding day. They use professional, movie quality cameras, drones, professional lighting and audio equipment... the list goes on. It’s just a lot better overall. But why is it so expensive?

Back in the day, it was one guy with his camera, and editing consisted of “cutting the bad parts out”. Today, we are looking at 3+ camera angles during the ceremony and minimum of 2 cameras the rest of the day. And a little thing about files. No longer are we "taping" your wedding. We now shoot hundreds of smaller files to SD or CF cards in 4K. These files are very large! Gone are the days of one long, grainy videotape. So now, it takes organization and planning on our behalf. Working hours! In addition to multiple cameras and files, we record the audio to external devices which has to be synched up with the video. Sounds complicated! It’s not really, but it’s time consuming and 100% worth it as far as your video goes. 

What else goes into the price, you might ask!? Our expertise. Our continuing education. We are insured. We are business owners. Gone are the days of a guy with a camera. We take pride in our finished product. We love to create beautiful films for our wedding couples. The thought of following you around with a camera on our shoulder makes our stomachs turn. We hire talented shooters to work alongside us and purchase cameras and lenses appropriate for shooting weddings. I personally believe a 70-200 (a long lens for close ups) is a life saver and helps us avoid annoying weddings guests and couples 100% of the time. “I didn’t even know you were there for that” is what we like to hear. 

But that can’t be that expensive!? Well, consider this. We work about 2 hours before your wedding in planning, and packing. We (2 of us) work 8 hours for your wedding day. We work about 40 hours on your edits. That’s 58 hours worth of work just on your wedding! This isn't even counting the costs of our expenses... The time we spend on marketing, sales and business development. It isn't counting the cost of our equipment, rentals and repairs.

Still, we love to do what we do, filming weddings, and would never complain about doing the work we love. We just hope you’ll understand why we can’t make you a wedding video for $700! Just do a little math with us for a moment. Lets say we do your wedding video for $1000, to be nice and help you with your budget.  First, deduct 30% from that $1000 for taxes. That leaves $700. Then divide that by the 58 hours worth of work (we are being very simplistic but bear with us!). That equals $12/hour. I know McDonalds and Target offer wages competitive to this, and they offer benefits and employee discounts! I personally would prefer Target over McDonalds, but then I'd be spending all my money there! McDonalds gives free meals, but we get fed at weddings too. :) I'll stick to my job creating wedding videos because I love it, but at a fair and reasonable rate. I hope this give you a little insight as to why wedding videography is so expensive! We like to think of it as an investment that is worth making - you will love your wedding video and won't regret the expense when you look back on all your memories with your new spouse. Also - think about the value of being able to see all the money you spent on your wedding over and over again! 

What does a typical wedding day look like for the team? That’s a good question! While every single wedding is different, and unique, we have processes in place as your wedding videography team. I’ll try to sum it up as best as I can!

1pm - We arrive at the venue, Ponte Winery. We check in with the bride, the photographers are just arriving to her suite as we are arriving. I ask the lead photographer if they’ve seen the groom and groomsmen yet. They say no, but that they’re about to walk over there. I offer to go with the second photographer while Nan stays and starts to capture what’s going on in the bridal suite. She finds the wedding dress and the shoes and works together with the photographer so that they can photograph and video these items. Then, she starts filming the girls getting ready. I have checked in with the guys, but they are not even close to being ready and ask me to come back in 30-45 minutes. The first look is scheduled at 3:00, so I feel ok about the time line. I return to the bridal suite and start pulling aside bridesmaids to do little mini interviews - stuff we might use in the edit to drive the couples’ story.

1:45 pm - I head back to the grooms room. I ask him to put on his coat and tie. I capture little details of his attire (cuff links, bow tie etc). I ask the guys if they could do a toast, and then pull aside a few guys for their mini interview. It’s super impromptu and as minimally awkward as possible. I joke around so they feel more at ease. They do great!

2:30 pm - Its time to put on the dress! I head back over to the girls (yes it’s a lot of running around!) Nan is doing close up shots and I’ll do wide shots. Once the dress is on we talk about the first look with the photographers!

3pm - We coordinate with the photo team to choose a perfect spot for the first look. Shady and secluded, this spot will be a beautiful place for our bride and groom to see each other for the first time. The moment comes and we all have our spots pre planned so we avoid photobombing each other!

3:30pm - We do some romantic shots with the couple alongside the photographers. Nan is on the steadicam getting walking shots, and artistic shots moving around the couple. I am firing up the drone. Sometimes there isn’t time for the drone during photo sessions but today there is and it makes me super happy because flying the drone is on the top of my list of favorite things to do. I fly over the couple, and follow them with the drone. I also get some venue overview shots.

4pm - We head over to the ceremony site to set up. Sometimes I’ll get a head start while Nan continues to take video during the photo session. Set up is usually fairly quick, but it’s important to be set up in advance! I set up three tripods (two in the front and one in the back). I put long lenses on the front cameras to get nice closeups of the bride and grooms faces. The back camera will have a wide lens so I can get the whole wedding party in the frame. I find the person running sound for the ceremony, and ask to plug into the sound board. Once plugged in, I like to test it out by recording a quick sound check. That way I can catch any issues in advance! Next, I find the officiant and put a personal recording device on him or her. (Backup!) Then, I put a recording device on the groom. (More backup!) All set up, and ready!

5pm - The ceremony! I make sure everything is recording and we capture everything continuously on all three cameras. Occasionally we might have an opportunity for a fourth camera (in a balcony maybe!) but not today. We have solid coverage with all three cameras. Nan and I take turns discreetly walking to camera 3 to make sure everything looks perfect.

5:30pm - Wedding ceremony ends and we split up! I break down the gear and move what needs to be moved to the reception site. There I set up the light stands and lights, and plug into the DJ for speeches. Nan covers family and bridal party photos, and additional couple photos. After I’m set up at the reception site, I head to cocktail hour where I get solid coverage of the guests enjoying and having fun. I like to avoid people eating / chewing which can be a challenge at times. If it’s a long cocktail hour I’ll fly the drone again, sometimes people will wave and interact with the drone. Again, it’s one of my favorite things in life!

6:30pm - Guests are seated, and we get set for grand entries. I typically shoot the wide shots and Nan does close ups.

6:45pm - Grand entrance happens and then goes right into first dance. Nan circles the bride and groom once or twice with the steadicam. It looks so good in the wedding video, it’s definitely worth the effort!

7:00pm - Dinner! Everyone eats including us. We scarf our food though because toasts are coming and we don’t want to miss a thing!

7:45pm - Toasts begin. We cover these with two angles, and capture the audio through our recording device that’s plugged into the DJ. We also stick a backup recording device on the mic.

8:00pm - It's time for the parent dances! We shoot this with both cameras, with a close up shot and a wide shot.

8:10pm - Dances are done, and we quickly transition to cake cutting. Nan grabs the steadicam, I grab the monopod and the light and we capture this moment.

8:20pm - Dancing begins! We film close ups, wide shots and are generally on alert for anything fun or funny that happens.

9pm - Our coverage ends. We start packing up, and say our goodbyes to our lovely couple. We tell them to expect their wedding within 12 weeks, though it’s usually sooner. It’s been a fun night and another successful wedding video in process!
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Obviously, hiring a professional videographer is the place to start if you would like to have a wonderful wedding video to watch over and over again throughout the years. However, there are several things you as a couple and do when planning your wedding, that will help make your video even better. Here are a few things:

Obviously, hiring a professional videographer is the place to start if you would like to have a wonderful wedding video to watch over and over again throughout the years. However, there are several things you as a couple can do when planning your wedding, that will help make your video even better. Here are a few things:

1. Avoid colored lighting, and colored up lighting. It is as simple as that! Unless you love your face to look like the color that you choose for your up lighting, avoid colored lighting. I know purple and red are very popular, however it might not look so good on your face. Videographers do use professional lighting to minimize some of this, but there’s only so much they can do.

2. Keep your getting ready area nice and clean. It is as simple as it sounds, a clean room looks much better on camera than a messy room. While most videographers will move around furniture, open blinds, and move around clutter, it helps when everything looks good already. I know you really don’t want the fast food trash and beer bottles in the background!

3. Think about the time of day you’re having your ceremony. If the sun is really bright, or directly overhead, you may be working with some shadows. Sunset ceremonies may be nice, but sometimes it leaves one or more parties looking or squinting into the sun.

4. Brides, try to wear a dress that you will not be fidgeting with. So many times, we see brides adjusting their chest, pulling up their dress and generally messing with their clothing. I get it, a wedding dress is not the most comfortable thing to wear, but it is also not great to see those constant dress adjustments in the wedding film.

5. First looks make the timeline go a lot more smoothly. We understand that you may not always want to break tradition, but it is very handy and it ensures all of the photos are done in a non-rushed manner.

6. It is your wedding video and we want it to be beautiful. We know you do too, that’s why this point is so important. If there is something that you absolutely love and want covered, make sure to tell your Videographer to cover that for your wedding video. You really can’t capture the s’more bar or the photo booth on video six weeks later when it’s time to edit the video. Likewise, If there is something you absolutely do not want included, like your drunk aunt Bev, please tell your videographer. In one case we had a couple dislike white lattice so we avoided at all costs. It just comes down to communication. And chances are, if you like the videos on your Videographer’s website it should be fine. If you are looking at another Videographer’s wedding videos maybe it is time to think about using that Videographer instead.

​7. The last and most important point of all, is to have fun and smile! A pouty bride or groom does not make for a fun film to watch. Big smiles and happiness make the wedding video something you really want to watch and keep watching over and over again.

1. It's like a time machine! You can go back to your day over and over!

Your wedding day happens only once (hopefully!) and by hiring a wedding videographer to capture it, you can relive the day over and over again!  Memories may fade over the years so having every moment on film is a truly priceless benefit of hiring a wedding videographer.  Besides being able to watch your vows, see how in love you were, and watch yourself get teary-eyed when your best friend pours out her heart during her MOH speech... you will be able to see the parts of your wedding day that you may have missed! When you were off taking your wedding photos with your wedding photographer, maybe cocktail hour was getting crazy, or Uncle Bob was doing magic tricks! You will be able to see everything with the help of your wedding videographer.

2. It allows people who weren't able to make it to 'be there'.

As sad as it is to think about, there is a chance some family members or friends might not be able to attend your wedding due to illness, distance, or age. And, if you decide to elope, it’s likely nobody but your officiant will get to witness your special day.  Having your videographer create a highlight film for your wedding will allow you to share the best parts of your wedding day with all of those who were unable to come to your wedding. The longer wedding video edit may also be shared with your family members - its as simple as emailing them the download link! 

3. You can't hear your vows or toast in a photograph.

Your vows, your toasts, the impromptu things that your bridal part said during the getting ready portion of your wedding - these things cannot be captured in a photograph. Sure - you can record them on your cell phone, and several guests will probably record these moments on their phones as well. But will you really dig up all these random clips on your phone years later to remember these moments? Probably not. Your wedding video will have these moments all professionally edited, and with professional audio. You will be able to hear these emotional moments all over again and remember the sounds of people's voices who may no longer be with us. Having a wedding video is very special - for this alone!

4. You’ll be creating a family heirloom.

My kids love my wedding video. The love to watch and see all their relatives when they were young. As time goes on, these moments will be even more special. It is fun to remember people at a wedding - happy, dancing, crying and celebrating. It is even more special if it is YOUR wedding. I've heard many people talk about wedding videos and say they were so happy that their parents got video, because they love to see how they were at the beginning of their lives together. The start of it all!

Still on the fence about wedding videography? Well, we understand, because its an investment. However, we've never heard a past bride or groom of ours say they regretted hiring a professional videographer to capture their wedding and create a wedding film for them. If anything, they were pleasantly surprised at the outcome and the lack of intrusion on their special day. Have questions still? Call us.