The wedding of Natalie & Alpesh took place in Warrington at St. Benedicts RC Church and the reception was held at The Best Western Fir Grove Hotel. This would be the second time we have filmed a wedding at The Fir Grove.

 
The wedding day combined Roman Catholic and Hindu traditions and the Fir Grove outdid themselves yet again with an amazing spread of delightful food!

You can see the highlights below:

Michelle & Daniel got married in Cyprus. They decided to have a second wedding reception at The Georgian House Hotel in Blackrod, for their UK guests. We put a custom package together so that they could have two cameras follow them around for the evening and capture the speeches and some video messages from their guests.

The Surprise

The great thing was, Michelle & Daniel didn’t have a clue that there was a team from Carillon Video to capture the evening on DVD and Blu-ray Disc for them. Imagine their surprise when a camera turned up at each of their seperate hotel rooms to catch them unawares!

Special thanks to Julie for organising the brilliant surprise. 

Below you can see the wedding highlights from Michelle & Daniels wedding reception video.

Here is the highlights clip, taken from the wedding of Lesley & John. The wedding took place at Walton Hall in Warrington, followed by the wedding reception at St Basils Catholic Club in Widnes.

Here are the highlights taken from the wedding day video we produced for Maruyah & Irfan. The video was shot exclusively at Davenport Green Hall, near Manchester Airport:

Mariyah and Irfan Highlights from Carillon Video on Vimeo.

Below are the highlights taken from the wedding video we created for Lauren & Ben. The ceremony took place at St. Michaels Church in Dalton and after photos at the church, the wedding party moved to the Ramada Plaza in Southport. We’re not sure if the bride and groom planned it, but the wedding coincided spectacularly with the Southport Airshow. As luck would have it, we managed to get a great shot of the Red Arrows drawing a love heart in the sky above and surrounding the happy couple!

Lauren & Ben – Wedding Video Highlights from Carillon Video on Vimeo.

Tom the Fool was a jester in the castle during the 16th Century. He was a dodgy character and yet also a personal friend of William Shakespeare. He would take great pleasure in directing unsuspecting guests through the treacherous quicksands and to their deaths. Indeed, the castle hosts a ‘Tom Fools Day’ where they run family fun attractions. His portrait still hangs somewhere in the castle and whilst there, I desperately tried to find it so I could get some shots of the bride & groom alongside it. Alas, I think it’s somewhere in the private residence.

I’m sure there are many other haunted wedding venues around the country that are equally interesting. We’d love to create a wedding video for you so if you book before the end of October 2011, we will give you a 15 percent discount! All you have to do is ensure you’re getting married in a haunted venue!

To see examples of our cinematic wedding videos, watch our series of highlights videos on our showreel, taken from real films we created for our clients. You can also contact us to discuss your requirements and book an appointment for us to come and see you to discuss your wedding video.

For more information on our discounts and promotions, please feel free to sign up to our newsletter.

It was very interesting to see a fellow wedding videography company on Dragons Den last night (26th Sept 2011). Even more interesting because they actually managed to convince one of the Dragons to invest. Hilary Devey threw in a cool £60,000.00 for 26 percent of the business, valuing it at a staggering £240,000.00. Well done to Shoot It Yourself! 

But I must admit I was surprised that the Dragons invested. There are several reasons for this:

1. The Dragons are always keen to invest in a product or service that’s protected. You will hear them discussing patent applications that prevent other manufacturers from copying ideas and stealing their future income. With the Shoot It Yourself business model, it’s so easy to replicate that virtually any wedding videographer currently working in the UK (or indeed anywhere in the world) could provide the same service for zero investment.
2. The service has a serious weakness that was picked up on by Duncan Bannatyne. Namely, the company editing the video into a finished product is wholly dependent on the quality of the footage that the client and their friends can film. In other words, if you pay for this service and you fail to provide quality footage to Shoot It Yourself, you won’t get a quality video.
3. The pricing structure of this DIY wedding video service is (as of today) on a par with many UK based wedding videographers that will shoot and edit an entire wedding video for you, virtually guaranteeing a great quality product.

Having said all that, Hilary Devey is no dummy investor. If she puts her money into this business then she’s pretty sure she will make a return on investment. That can only mean one thing – The DIY wedding video, edited professionally, is a service that’s of interest to brides & grooms in the UK.

What are the plus points? Well, Shoot It Yourself are right when they say they can get some unique footage. A lot of people are put off by the idea of a camera being thrust into their face and being expected to say or do something amusing. Most wedding videographers pride themselves on being able to discreetly film a wedding and still capture those great moments in style. Here, Shoot It Yourself are exploiting their ability to capture very personal footage where other videographers cannot. It’s their unique selling point. It’s also a unique selling point that won’t be unique by the end of the day as videographers up and down the country add similar options to their wedding video packages.

For us here at Carillon Video, we believe the key to a great wedding video is professionally shot and professionally edited video. We guarantee our videos. We also believe that we charge a fair price for our work and will always endeavour to do so. If you would like to explore the idea of having your own camera at your wedding for your friends to shoot footage independently of our professional camera operators but without losing all the benefits of a fully professionally made wedding video, why not drop us an email to discuss some options? Who knows… If it proves a popular addition to our videos we might put an option for it on special offer!  All our special offers can be accessed by signing up to our Newsletter.

Once again, congratulations to Shoot It Yourself for proving that despite the economic downturn, the future of wedding videography is bright! 

Below you will find an example of one of our wedding video highlights films:

Mariyah and Irfan Highlights from Carillon Video on Vimeo.

Why not have a go at completing our 2011 Wedding Video / Carillon Video Survey and be entered into our free prize draw to win a state of the art Blu-ray player to watch your new wedding video on?

You can enter the survey here: 2011 Wedding Video / Carillon Video Survey

Be sure to leave your email address at the end of the survey so that we can contact you if you’re the winner!

If you would like to save money on our wedding videos, be sure to subscribe to our email newsletter to get the latest promotion codes and discounts delivered straight to your inbox!

Note, this does not affect any of our clients who have already booked their wedding video with us, regardless of the date of your wedding. 

These are the highlights from the wedding of Zoe & Ben. The video starts with the bride and her bridesmaids getting ready before following on to St. Paul’s Church in Norden. After the ceremony, the wedding party braved the never ending rain for some photos and a car journey up to the magnificent Mercure Dunkenhalgh Hotel in Blackburn. Here we did lots of photos (the bride is a photographer and it seemed there were photographers everywhere!) and stayed right through until after the first dance to capture the celebrations.

Highlights of this wedding? Well, the weather was certainly something to contend with. Normally I advise my clients not to worry about the weather. We’re British! We’re used to the rain! If it rains on your wedding day, you know it’s not going to rain forever. There will be a bright spell along shortly and that’s when you dash out for your photos. Except, that didn’t happen this time! It rained and rained and rained. I think it’s still raining now! But at least the video proves it is possible to make a great wedding video even in the rain! 

Also, check out the wedding cake in the video. We’d never seen a wedding cake like it. Even all the suits matched down to the official photographer on the day!

Zoe & Ben Wedding Highlights from Carillon Video on Vimeo.

To find out more about Carillon Video, please feel free to browse our website. You can contact us anytime if you would like to ask us a question or get a quote for your own wedding video. We’ll be glad to hear from you.

Below, I have reprinted the forum post from the UK Bride website that Becky posted yesterday:

Hi all,

[I] just wanted to say how pleased I am with the videographer I’ve chosen for my wedding, have seen several demo DVD’s and thought they all looked a bit amateurish or school disco-ish, but then I happened to find Carillon Video! Their prices are totally reasonable, they shoot in HD so you get a proper cinematic effect and you also get 2 cameras, not just one (I had a quote from one wedding videographer for £1250.00 with just him running about the place, whereas here I’m getting 2 cameras)!

They also have cheaper solutions too – I was asking about a photo montage chapter which they usually charge £135.00 for, they came back and said it was no problem then suggested a website where I could make my own, and they would include it on the DVD for FREE!! Soooo helpful! And they email straight back when I’ve asked them questions about what options to include etc.

And the best thing is, as a Power User (on UK Bride.co.uk) I got 20% off – hence the ridiculous price quoted above – check out their website for examples of their work, which is www.carillonvideo.co.uk or if it’s blocked then they’re on the UKBride website, just search for ‘Carillon Video’. They’re based in Bolton but are willing to travel (one of their video examples was shot in Scotland).

If you do get in touch with them, let them know it was Becky from Liverpool who recommended them, I said I would so would like them to know about it.

So there you have it – great packages, great prices, great customer service and great videos from Carillon Video. If you would like to know more about our wedding films, or simply ask our advice about choosing yourself a wedding videographer we would be more than happy to help. Feel free to drop us an email and join our newsletter email list for all our latest promotions and discounts. You won’t find a better quality video for the money anywhere else!

Don’t forget, you can register yourself on the UKBride.co.uk website free of charge. There is a thriving discussion forum and lots of other information to find.

There didn’t seem to be many guests around but a quick investigation revealed they were all keeping dry in a local pub, so we went do there to capture some shots. 

The Bridal Preparations

This video shows the first eight minutes we put together for Zoe & Bens wedding video.

Taylor Wedding Intro from Carillon Video on Vimeo.

The Cake & First Dance

Here is a video from the end of their completed wedding video. It starts with the cutting of the cake and runs right through until the end of the first dance.

Taylor Wedding First Dance from Carillon Video on Vimeo.

I hope you find it useful. 

Carillon Video – Wedding Videography

Website: www.carillonvideo.co.uk

Yes, that’s me! You can see examples of our wedding videos on our website, which if you’re reading this, you’ve probably already realised. Don’t forget to sign up to our Newsletter and you can receive all the latest discounts, promotions and ideas for your wedding video.

Tony Hemans Photography – Wedding Photography

Website: www.wetfrog.wordpress.com

Tony is based less than 200 yards from the Carillon Video offices and is also a friend from years and years ago, back when we were smaller and life was simple (think school, camping, long holidays and no need for money!). You can see examples of his photos on his website.

Classic Formalwear of Bolton – Wedding Suit Hire

Website: www.classicformalwear.co.uk

Shirley has been running this established wedding suit hire business for years. I think I myself have hired suits from her, long before I started producing my own wedding videos.

Chris Hunger – Graphic Design, Web Design & Print

Website: www.chrishunger.co.uk

The more observant of you may notice that this very website is designed and built by Chris. Chris designs websites and marketing material for a number of companies as well as offering a bespoke wedding stationary design service.

Blooming Flowers – Florist

Website: www.blooming-flowers.co.uk

Blooming Flowers is your number one florist, based in the centre of Westhoughton. If you have seen Carillon Video at a wedding fayre before, chances are it was organised by Diane at Blooming Flowers, or Jean from All Occasions.

Listers Wedding Car Hire – Wedding Cars

Website: www.listersweddingcarhire.co.uk

Listers wedding cars provide some stunning vintage Austin cars to drive you and your guests to and from your wedding. Check out their website for photos and other information about their cars. They also offer modern Mercedes-Benz models.

Shout Promotions – Wedding Entertainment

Website: www.shout123.co.uk

Shout Promotions have been around longer than maybe I’ve been around, providing great entertainment for all manner of functions and events. Their acts range from DJs, solo singers, right through to Tribute bands and big name acts. If you’re booking any kind of entertainment for your wedding, you will find everything you ever need on their website.

David Smith Photography – Wedding Photography

Website: www.davidsmithphotography.co.uk

David Smith is the top wedding photographer based in Westhoughton and from what we can tell, he covers the entire world! We even booked him for our own wedding several years ago. Our guests raved about our photographer long before they saw David’s photos and even today people remark about how happy our wedding day was. David played a big part in creating the atmosphere of our entire day. If you’re local, you will no doubt be aware that David Smith Photography has a shop on Church Street. Be sure to pop in and talk to the expert himself before you look further afield for a wedding photographer.

Brookfield Masonic Hall – Wedding Venue

Website: www.brookfieldmh.co.uk

Brookfield is a very popular venue and has been holding a great many wedding receptions for as long as I can remember. With improvements to the building and more recently, the gardens, there are few venues that can provide the level of expertise that you will find here.

All Occasions – Wedding Table Decorations & Balloons

Website: www.alloccasionsbolton.co.uk

All Occasions can make your day that extra bit special decorating your wedding reception with amazing balloon creations and table decorations. If you’re looking at several wedding suppliers for table decorations, chair covers and other visual features, you should check out this website because they have everything under one roof.

Don’t forget to mention Carillon Video if you speak to any of our recommended suppliers!

Cheap, fast, good. Pick Two.

I think this perfectly sums up just about every wedding videographer and wedding video business here in the UK. I read it about twelve times, marvelling at the simplicity of it all and how revealing those five words are. In the end, I thought I would share my thoughts with you.

So, what does it mean? Well, firstly there are three attributes… Cheap, Fast and Good. The second part simply states you can only have two of those three attributes at any one time (sorry for pointing out the obvious).

Cheap

Have a look around the internet and you will find many cheap wedding videographers and videography services. How do they do it? Basic filming, basic editing and single camera shoots are the order of the day here.

At Carillon Video, you won’t find single camera packages because we believe that it’s nigh impossible to produce a quality, modern wedding video with just one camera and one camera person. That’s why we always shoot your wedding video with two cameras and two camera operators for the entire duration you book. This allows us to offer multiple camera angles and even be in two places at once, which makes your wedding video much more interesting to watch. Could you imagine watching an entire wedding ceremony for thirty minutes, filmed through one camera the whole time? No movement. No variation in shots. Some wedding videographers do this! We do not.

Saving money in this fraught economy is a big deal. We know this. We know that weddings are expensive. It seems every wedding supplier from cakes to dresses, table decorations to chocolate fountains, wants a major piece of your bank account. Whilst we have to charge in order to make a living, we price our wedding videography services according to how much time and energy it takes to create a perfect wedding video for you. You will find all our packages & prices are deliberately structured so that you can book the features you want and pay only for those features. If you want the ceremony and the first dance only, we will create a custom package for just that. What’s more, we won’t charge you for hanging around all day waiting for the first dance. It’s your video and you should have control.

Remember, price isn’t everything. What is the point of spending £400.00 if you get a wedding videographer that doesn’t live up to your expectations? In life, you get what you pay for.

Fast

Neither will you find fast delivery on our edits because we like to create a polished, professional wedding film. We refuse to compromise on the quality of our films. Our wedding films take a month, sometimes two or more months to edit together. We colour grade all our shots and also add professional effects to make them stand out from the crowd, adding that emotional touch you won’t find with many other cheaper wedding videographers (and often the more expensive ones). We believe our prices to be extremely cost effective for the quality of wedding films we produce. Everyday we always try to seek out a company offering the same service, quality and price point. We’ve never found one. If you know of one, contact us and let us know.

Remember, a good film needs time to create. Just ask Hollywood.

Good

It’s true there are many wedding videographers out there that are very good at what they do. Their films are very professional and look great, but how about their service? Do they work closely with you to tailor your wedding video to your personality? Do they charge a premium for their skills and services?

Carillon Video usually meet with every client we have before making a wedding video. All our wedding videos are individually made. No single wedding video is the same as another. Every bride wants something different! A professional videographer should be able to capture not only the wedding day, but also the emotion, atmosphere and your personality.

Does your videographer invest in new technology and training? Do they use amazing new techniques to create those special, dramatic shots? We do. We invested in High Definition cameras so we can deliver to Blu-ray Disc. All our wedding videos are shot and edited in HD, regardless of whether you only want a DVD. We invested in Glidetrack systems and Steadicam technology so we can extend our creativity and produce an amazing wedding film just for you.

Remember, weddings are an emotional event that must be captured right first time. Only a good professional wedding videographer has the experience, skill, time, equipment and ability to do this. Period.

Don’t believe us? Thinking of getting a friend or relative to film your wedding day for you for free? Then ask them for a full video they have produced before, using their trusty handicam. When you have watched it all the way through, compare it to the many samples available from professional wedding videographers. We’re confident it won’t come close to a professional wedding video in terms of quality.

If you would like to know more about our wedding videos, check out our packages & prices or watch some of the films on our showreel. You can always contact us for advice about your wedding video, even if you’re not going to book with us.

Now you can be sure, if you book your wedding video with Carillon Video. Today we qualified in first aid with the help of St. Johns Ambulance. Thanks go to Peter at St. Johns Ambulance for running a great course that was both interesting, informative, entertaining more importantly, helped us to qualify with the assessors first time. Thanks Peter! 

Also, thanks to all the attendees on the course… Dan, Heather, Wayne, Karen, Peter and Andrew for helping to make three days of serious training that bit more enjoyable.

We also discovered that Andrew runs a company making bespoke jewellery for all occasions, particularly for weddings. His designs look absolutely amazing, so if you’re looking for wedding rings and you want something totally unique or even just high quality rings, be sure to check out the Sparkle Designer website. We’re hoping that Andrew will be generous to give us a guest blog post in the not too distant future. How about it Andrew?

If you’re interested in St. Johns Ambulance and gaining a qualification in first aid, check out the St. Johns Ambulance website.

The intro clip shows some of our new title designs, Glidetrack footage and also a couple of shots with our Steadicam device. Be sure to check back soon for more clips and visit our Showreel to see some of our older videos.

The client said: The video is really good! We love it and we wouldn’t want to change a thing.

The Wedding of Maria & David took place at The Reeds Best Western Hotel near Hull in May 2011. Below you can see some clips from the beginning of the video along with the Marryoke / Highlights video we created.

Weapon Of Choice?

We’re not entirely sure why, but the happy couple provided weapons at this wedding, in the form of rather large pea shooters! I don’t think we have ever seen so many wedding guests having such a riproaring time firing balls at each other and generally causing mayhem. If you watch the Marryoke clip below, you will see the groom didn’t escape the barrage either. In fact, I think it’s fair to say he felt the full force of his guests glee as he tried to sing his way through the Journey song, Don’t Stop Believin in front of our cameras!

Apparently, it was the only place in the country that was sunny, so we weren’t complaining. The wedding took place at a rather unusual venue called Kinkell Byre which is just outside of St. Andrews and also incorporates Fyfe Offroad. We kept wondering if the bride might be up for a ‘trash the dress’ photo shoot / video on the off road circuit, but we didn’t dare ask!

Kinkell Byre is a great venue for a wedding. The only way to describe it is a converted farm / barn that upon closer inspection, hasn’t actually been converted. It’s full of character and is beautifully lit inside to give a warm, earthy appearance. If you’re planning on getting married in Scotland, you should check out this venue.

So, what made this wedding unique? Well, there were plenty of kilts on display and a rather excellent piper creating a sureal Scottish vibe to the day. The bride entered the civil ceremony to the sound of Nora Jones, Come Away With Me, sung and played by her brother who also provided some excellent chilled out guitar playing during the garden photo shoot.

In the evening, the speeches were extremely entertaining (two best men!) and the band were great. The first dance was once again performed by relations of the bride and when we finally left, the barn was rocking!

The client said “From initial communications prior to the big day right until receiving our final DVD, Carillon Video provided a thoroughly professional service. We didn’t notice being filmed the entire day, yet our wedding has been captured wonderfully, even better than we could have ever imagined. The DVD continues to be watched regularly by family and friends, and continues to receive wonderful comments. We thank you Andrew for a perfect memory of our wedding day.” – Nicola.

Choosing Your Wedding Photographer

Wedding photography is a very personal part of your day and picking the right photographer is very important. The chances are you will be spending a lot of time with them on the day, so you have to like them!

Below you will find my advice to help you in your decision making process.

Style

Have an idea of the type of styles you like and check that the photographers you have chosen to look at, shoot in that style. I am very relaxed about the way I shoot and try to capture as much of your day in an unobtrusive, informal way. But, for some couples this wouldn’t be right. Are you more traditional and want lots of group shots or do you want your day to flow without any interruptions?

Images

Look through their work. Not just the images they have chosen to put on their website, but also through a whole wedding album so you can get a feel for how the photographer has shot the day from beginning to end and how it has been presented.

When you look at the images, are you emotionally moved by what you see? Do you feel that the images really capture the atmosphere of the day? Can you imagine being there?

Personality

Choose someone you know you can get on with. It’s no use choosing a photographer based on reputation or price if you really can’t get along with them. Do they understand how you feel about having your picture taken? Are they listening to your requirements for the day? Will they shoot what you want, or what they want? Did you connect with them?

Price

This is always a difficult one as there are lots of different budgets for lots of different weddings and you obviously know what you are comfortable spending. However, the price is not always everything. It’s about you liking the photographers work primarily. Remember, generally speaking you do get what you pay for (I know in some cases there are exceptions) and you need to think about what is important to you. For example, my pricing structure works on a bespoke basis so my clients can choose how many hours they want coverage for and what type of album they’d like but some photographers work with set packages for whole or half days and you pay for that irrespective of the number of hours they are with you. If you want all day coverage then this might work out great for you, but if you only want a couple of hours you may not feel that you are making the most of their services.

And Finally…

Choose someone who is going to love your wedding. Someone who is enthusiastic about your choice of venue, who is confident that they can get the shots you require and someone who really wants to be part of your day. If they love your plans then they will capture your day perfectly.

I hope that this advice goes a little way to help you when choosing a photographer. If you need any more information or you’d like to know more about my photography then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

If you’re getting married in Yorkshire or the surrounding counties and you would like to see some of Nicky’s amazing images, we recommend you check out the Nicky Chadwick Photography website.

The final video will feature a Marryoke. Watch this space! 

If you would like to know more about Carillon Video, check out our Packages & Prices and our Showreel, then Contact Us for availability. We’d love to hear from you. Don’t forget, you can also join our exclusive mailing list to get all the latest discounts and promotions we run (and there are rather a lot of them)!