I’m wrapping up the last of this summer’s “A (Wedding) Day In The Life Of” series with a little look beyond the curtain of Post Script Productions. Carolyn and Michele are two of my favorite people – they’re sweet, fun to be around, and talented to top it off. A couple of triple threats, if you will. And, just like every wedding vendor, they work darn hard! See just what I mean as they share this behind-the-scenes look at their work day at a recent wedding!
From Carolyn (CKB) and Michele (MH)…
Hi BB readers! We’re excited to have you follow along as we give you the inside scoop on what happens when we film Christina and Ray’s Pittsburgh wedding! Enjoy!
GETTING READY
MH: I get to sleep in (yay!) and wake up at 9 a.m. Brew coffee. Shower. Pick out an all-black outfit that’s appropriate to wear to a wedding but also something I can move around in!
CKB: Sleeping in on a Saturday = the best kind of Saturday! And I got new black flats (a must) so I was particularly excited to put on my all-black today! I text Michele some last minute info and check to make sure we aren’t going to wear the same top.
MH: I drive to our office in the South Side and pack up our equipment. I check and double check that we have everything we need. Then I check one more time.
BRIDE PREP- CKB
11:20 a.m. – Head to the bride’s parents house – always a great place for pre-ceremony footage. So authentic and so comfortable for the bride, her bridesmaids, and family.
Noon – Was offered snacks upon arrival (so sweet!) by the mother of the bride and filmed the girls reminiscing about high school/college days. Captured some great footage of the dress – great light in the dining room!
Filmed the father of the bride and his first look with this daughter – so emotional, I definitely teared up (as usual) during that moment. Touched based with Alexis from SHE (we LOVE her) and captured some more amazing footage with Leeann (LOVE her too!) using our slider (one of our favorite pieces of equipment).
1 p.m. – Load up equipment and head to the church in my steaming hot car (sometimes I regret having black leather seats), but luckily it’s not far away!
GROOM PREP- MH
11:30 a.m. – Head to the guys’ room at the Omni William Penn downtown. Found a close parking spot! Helped two out-of-towners operate the parking meter. Turns out they are friends of the bride!
Noon – Film the groom and groomsmen getting ready. The groom’s three-year-old nephew has taken an interest in my camera. I show him how it works. I’m worried I’m going to have to pay him if he keeps helping me film.
12:50 p.m. – Grab some exteriors of the Omni William Penn. IT’S SO HOT OUTSIDE. Chug my water and eat a Rice Krispies Treat on the way to the church thinking, “I hope this church has air-conditioning.”
CEREMONY
1:30 p.m. MH – Arrive at the (air-conditioned) church and unload equipment. Talk with the church coordinator to get her approval for where we will be standing. This is VERY important! We are always respectful of the rules at ceremony sites.
1:45 p.m. CK – Arrive at the church and unload all equipment. Touch base with Michele to figure out the best locations for us to film during the ceremony – strategy is key based on lighting, lenses, where the couple will sit/stand/kneel, etc.! We always have one person at the front (usually me) to capture the bride walking down the aisle and one person near the back to capture a wide shot of everything. We only move around a bit during the ceremony and only when needed so as to not disturb the service or be distracting.
About 10 minutes before the ceremony starts, Carolyn puts a lavaliere microphone on the groom. We do this so we ensure we clearly capture one of the most important moments – the vows! But, not to worry, the mic feed goes directly into our cameras…NOT the church’s speaker system 🙂
2:30 p.m. – Ceremony begins. We hit record, critically observe everything that’s happening around us, and try to be invisible.
3:45 p.m. – Phew, it was long ceremony! Carolyn runs out to film the bubble exit. Then back into the church to film the photography session. We pack up the cars and head back to the Omni William Penn.
RECEPTION
5:10 p.m. – This time, there’s NO parking. We park in a garage and get our daily workout by carrying all of our equipment a few blocks in the heat.
5:25 p.m. – Arrive on the 17th floor. Hide our equipment in the balcony so guests can’t see it. Michele begins filming reception room details while Carolyn films guests at cocktail hour. We both toss back a nice, cold glass of Diet Coke and now we’re ready to rock n roll!
6:30 p.m. – Get in position for bridal party entrances and the blessing. Michele is up in the balcony and Carolyn is on the main level. Two angles make for a more interesting film, plus it eliminates the chance of someone blocking our shot.
6:45 p.m. – Dinner! We chat with the band, the photographers, and the planners during our one-big-happy-vendor-family meal. Michele catches photographer Leeann taking a photo of her while she’s eating because we told her about this blog post.
Thankful to our couple for getting us a super delicious meal and thankful for Alexis and the women of SHE for asking for our preference and making sure we eat!!
7:30 p.m. – Back out to film the first dance (more tears), parent dances (tearing up AGAIN), toasts, and cake cutting. In addition to filming the main events, we also film reactions from the bride, the groom, and the guests. Capturing those moments make the film more impactful.
8:30 p.m. – The dance floor is open! We are constantly scanning the crowd for great moments. The mother of the groom is dancing with the ring-bearer…college friends just took a funny photo…the “quiet” uncle has let loose and is busting out some “interesting” dance moves! We love it!
The Omni William Penn is a beautiful place to film – usually it has great lighting, and there’s a balcony which allows us to get great overhead shots of the entire room before and during the reception to capture the true “look and feel” of the space.
10 p.m. – We’re finished! Pack up the equipment. Hit up the cookie table (the parents always insist!). Say goodbye to the bride and her mom and thank them for having us. Say bye to our “friendors” Leeann and Alexis, too.
10:15 p.m. – Walk back to the garage together (safety first). Take equipment back to the office in the South Side.
MONDAY and beyond…
Monday morning, we’ll transfer all the HD footage onto the computer for editing (this takes a few hours!). The next few weeks are spent combing through every frame of footage to select the best clips. This is also when Michele and Becca (our assistant editor) both agonize over finding THE perfect music tracks to feature in the film.
During our busy season, it can take up to a few months to edit a couple’s trailer, wedding film, ceremony, etc. We pride ourselves on crafting something beautiful that couples will watch and share with the families for years.
BB here…
I don’t know what is funnier…the fact that Carolyn and Michele coordinate outfits or the fact that they conveniently left out the photo Leeann took of them eating. Regardless, these two dance circle around me when it comes to hard work…and they do it with really expensive cameras in their hands. Talk about a pair of bosses. Ladies, thanks so much for sharing your work day with us! Now go take a nap already…
Cara Rufenacht Creative
Garnish Event Design
Pure Beauty Makeup Artistry
