Making REAL memories
I hold to the idea that it’s not what you add to a wedding that makes it meaningful, but what you take out of it to make room for the things that count.
I just attended a friend’s wedding in KL over the weekend and thought I’d share something from the experience. I had a great time at the dinner, even though it was a relatively low-key event – there was nothing flashy at all about it. But there was one noteworthy thing – the fact that they didn’t go round taking table-to-table shots. You won’t believe what a big difference it made! The atmosphere was more relaxed, less stilted and the couple so much more accessible.
It wasn’t because they didn’t have an official photographer. It was because their guests weren’t being herded into groups to pose for photos. Instead, they created REAL memories by going round to tables to chat and hang out. They were there because they wanted the fellowship, and not because they had to take a token photograph with their guests. They didn’t even have an amateur photographer snapping group pictures – whoever wanted a shot took it.
I’m not saying to do away with a photographer entirely (my friends were very bold in not asking anyone to officially take pictures) – but I am saying to consider doing away with posed shots, or to keep them at a minimum.
I think the ‘tradition’ of taking table shots were from our grandparents’ time, when photographs were expensive and served to commemorate very special occasions. Photos were too expensive then for candid shots to be practical, so they had to get everyopne together to snap a picture. Now I think it counts for more that your photographer can catch the atmosphere and moments rather than ensure they document every single guest. The wedding photo album is supposed to be full of memories, not a pictorial attendence list! And if you think about it, you’re paying your talented photographer so much money, wouldn’t their time be better spent capturing true moments worth remembering?
I look at my wedding photographs relatively often, even a year after. And seriously? I don’t look at the table-to-table shots. They just don’t hold any memories for me. What I do like looking at are the candid ones the photographers snapped while we were chatting and toasting the guests. I only wish I had been thought of doing away with the posed shots – they took so much time that could have been better spent on actually spending time with people.
Wedding videography is a relatively ‘young’ medium and so suffers less tradition. It’s a good thing that nobody has asked us to videograph every single table as the photos are being taken. I can only imagine how it would slow down the pace of the video and how stilted it would look! We generally take a lot of shots in-between while the couple are talking to guests or walking about, and sometimes even work the photographer into the shot so there is some sort of context to the posing. But what we’d really rather do is get people to give their thoughts on their wedding and the couple, if time and noise-levels allow for it. And some of them really say the darnest stuff! Wouldn’t you much rather hear your friends’ best wishes than have a whole series of posed shots? When getting a videographer, consider asking them to go around interviewing friends and family. It will do so much to enhance your video!
~ Ami