We didn't hire a videographer for our wedding // Santa Barbara, CA // Elopement Film

We chose not to hire a videographer for our wedding, and you might be wondering why or how we managed to create a film of our special day.

Allow me to introduce myself - I'm Collin, a wedding filmmaker and the owner of ANEW Visual. When Alexa and I got engaged, we began envisioning what our wedding day would be like. We had numerous discussions about how we wanted to cherish those memories and what truly mattered to us. We both agreed wholeheartedly that we wanted the experience to be as stress-free as possible. In other words, we decided to forgo the grandeur of a large wedding and save the money so that we could start our new life together on a positive financial note.

We sat down and carefully considered what this meant for us, ultimately devising a plan. Although I genuinely wanted to support my fellow friends and vendors in the wedding industry, it was difficult for me to justify hiring someone else when I had all the necessary equipment and expertise to fulfill that role myself. Additionally, as somewhat of an introvert, being in front of the camera or having someone else operate it didn't align well with my goal of reducing stress.

Besides, who could capture us and our relationship better than we could?

Side note: Before anyone gets mad about us running off to elope, we did run our plans by our families. Both sides provided their blessings and support.

Fast forward to now, and upon reflection, would I make the same choice again? Probably not. While I thoroughly enjoyed the editing process and had a lot of fun, there were moments when I felt slightly detached from the moment. Moreover, I realized that I hadn't captured as much footage as I would have liked because we were exhausted after a couple hours (meaning my wife had a meltdown and didn't want to film anymore). After all, this was our wedding day, an occasion that only happens once and we wanted to enjoy being in the present.

The moral of the story is this: I love our wedding film, and overall, I cherished the experience, as it did succeed in keeping things relatively stress-free. Would I do it again the same way? Probably not and I don't think I would recommend it to others.

Anyway, please enjoy our DIY home video wedding film. It's filled with quirkiness, emotion, and is a little bit sandy. We opted for a small elopement with just two guests - our black lab and Goldendoodle! Our ceremony took place at the Santa Barbara courthouse, and we spent the rest of the weekend in luxury at the Hotel Californian. It was at the hotel where we exchanged our private vows next to a cozy fireplace, creating the ultimate romantic ambiance.

Pro Tip: When hiring photographers and videographers, choose those who shoot in the style you love, and consider getting married during the offseason! During our wedding, everything was readily available for reservations, the downtown crowd was minimal (even during the farmer's market), and it felt like we had the beaches all to ourselves.

Thanks for reading!

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At ANEW Visual I believe in crafting wedding videos that are real, raw, and authentic. If this describes your wedding I would love to tell your story.

Inquire here: https://www.anewvisual.com/inquire

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Music licensed by The Music Bed: https://www.musicbed.com/

Wedding Filmmaker: https://www.anewvisual.com/

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