Wedding Planner and Videographer Interviews

If you follow along on my Instagram you may have seen me asking if anyone has questions for my sweet wedding planner friend as well as amazing local videographer. I took those questions that came straight from you and sent them over to Cambria McNair and Jared Belt! They were both happy to help and here is what they had to say!

Meet Cambrea McNair!

Cambrea is an amazing Event Stylist & Coordinator who owns One Eleven Events!

 

Why choose a wedding planner?

In the era of DIY, a lot of brides are considering bypassing a planner for the option to do it themselves. Although it’s great to take on such a fete, planning a wedding let alone any event is not an easy task. It can be unrealistic to someone who lacks time and patience. Wedding planning has multiple components and many unforeseen details that make them run smoothly. It is a production.

At One Eleven Events we believe that occasions are to be celebrated and not missed. Choosing a wedding planner allows you to do this. From keeping you on track with budgets, vendors, day-of-coordination and all of the small details that no bride even thinks twice about, hiring a wedding planner Is essential to ensuring you enjoy a stress-free day of celebrating your love! It’s great to have friends and family involved but this can get sticky. Let your guests be guests! It’s a celebration for them as well! Hiring a wedding planner allows you to have a professional to focus on bringing your vision to life, eliminating all worry and making sure you are 100% present on the day of!

 

What to look for in a wedding planner?

When looking for a wedding planner it is ok to “shop around”! If you have a specific style or theme its ok to look for a planner that might have a niche in your style or one who is well versed. At One Eleven Events we strive to be personable with our clients. We’ll be spending a lot of time together and making a lot of important decisions together. Your planner should not only meet the basic requirements of being talented, creative, professional and organized, but we also feel your personalities should mesh (you should be able to know this after your initial consultation). Make sure to do your research on your potential planner to ensure they are the right fit. Choosing someone who can work within your budget, has a great portfolio, pricing structure, and a secure/detailed contract are also essential.

 

What are the top 3 things you recommend a bride to focus on first when planning a wedding?

1. I ALWAYS tell my clients that it is essential to start with a guest list. Your guest list is the KEY to planning and organizing your wedding! Some may wonder how so. At One Eleven Events we believe the guest list is the first thing you should focus on. Once you can decipher an idea of how many guests will attend, you can then choose your venue based on size and also get an idea on how many people you will need catering for. Although your guest count will change once you start to receive RSVP’s, most caterers will do a final count weeks before your wedding date. This ensures that you are properly accommodated for your anticipated number of guests. 

2. Find the venue. Most couples tend to do this first before thinking of their guest list which is fine. but in my experience, most venues have multiple ballrooms or areas where ceremonies and receptions take place. This is usually decided based upon guest count and how much space you will need for your wedding. Choose your venue immediately after you’ve generated an idea of your guest list. Numbers are important!

3. Choose your Caterer. Some venues will come with a preferred vendor list and some wont. Either way choosing a caterer falls into our top three things to do. You can book your caterers as far out as a year at minimum in advance. It is important that you find a caterer that not only meets your needs and budget but that also has a menu that is unique and suitable to your theme, style and pallet! 

Thank you so much for you tips Cambrea! Check out these recent styled photos I did with the amazing Cambrea McNair!

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Wedding planner  |  Cambrea McNair  |  One Eleven Events

 

Meet Jared Belt!

Jared is a local wedding videographer who owns the The Cintematic Wedding Company based right here in Fresno, CA!

Wedding Videographer with couple

Why choose a wedding videographer and not just a photographer?

First of all, this is the biggest day of your life. Yes there will be other big days in your life that are just as special. But none of them will come close to the scale of this one event. Nothing will come close to the preparation, the glitz and glamor, the number of guests, and just the sheer amount of planning involved leading up to it. This day is huge! You want it captured in the best way possible!

Photos capture amazing moments, and are absolutely essential in weddings. Video is also essential, because it will show how those moments happened, and (if done properly) can give you a truly unique and special look into how the day progressed. You can hear the vows, watch the groom tear up as his bride comes down the aisle, remember that joke your maid of honor told during her toast, remember those funky dance moves your cousin pulled on the dance floor, watch your grandparents cry and hug you on the happiest day of your life… these are things that, when captured right, are priceless!

Something I think a lot of people tend to forget is that most of the money they spend on their wedding is for things that will only last for that one day, and then it’s all gone. But this is not true for photo and video. Those are tangible things that will last forever, and will preserve the memory of that day (and everything that was paid for to make it happen).

Unfortunately, photographers and videographers tend to be the last vendors booked in the process.

This means they are usually paid for with the remainder of the budget. And after paying for 200 meals, the fanciest decorations, and a horse-drawn carriage, that remainder could be pretty tight. Compromises are made, and quality is sacrificed. And with sub-par photos & videos, what’s the point of spending all that money on all that other stuff? If it isn’t captured properly, it was money wasted.
The people you hire to capture your wedding are tasked with preserving the memory of that day, and showcasing all that was done to make it so special. They should be one of the first booked vendors in the process. If you wait until the end of your budget to book your photographers and videographers, it will show. Book them early, and budget for the rest of the stuff after.

What are the most important things to look for when choosing a videographer?

Your videographer should show that they care, and that they want what you want; to create the best possible memory of your day. I think it’s important for a videographer to take your ideas into account, and not just insist it be done “their way”. Creative flexibility has been my model, and my motto is “it needs to feel like you”. They can show technical talent, but if it’s missing that element that makes it feel unique to the couple, it’s not quite right. Our videos all follow a “faithful retelling” approach, but they all take on a life of their own by embracing the uniqueness of who you are and reflecting that cinematically.
For example, we had a couple who were huge Disney fans! They had planned their wedding as a fairytale, from the decorations, the setting, the fonts on all the invitations, everything. So we took that and completely rolled with it in their video! We set the whole thing to the most “Disney Fairytale” sounding soundtrack we could find, and highlighted all of those elements that were clearly important to them and their character. It was the most unique one we ever did, and still one of my top favorites.

What are the top 3 things you would recommend a bride gets video of on her day and why?

This one is difficult, because I think everything should be captured, and it’s all equally important. However, I think I can address certain ways in which things ought to be captured, and things to look for when looking at people’s work.

1 . Bride Coming Down The Aisle. When the bride is coming down the aisle, the videographer should get a shot from the front of the aisle so we can see her coming towards the groom in all her glory. A shot from behind could show the groom’s reaction which is great, but you’re missing what the groom is reacting to! So they should show both. A good videographer should be able to quickly get a reaction shot from the groom, and then continue filming the bride coming down the aisle from the front.

*One side note here though: the videographer should NOT be in the aisle, in front of the bride and her dad, walking backwards. This may create a cool shot that looks good in the video, but it is majorly distracting to everyone. And more importantly, the groom probably can’t see the bride! Instead, the videographer should stand at the front corner of the aisle, near where the parents sit. They should sneak in just enough to get the shot, while not distracting from the bride. And certainly not blocking the view of the bride and groom as they see each other on their wedding day! Okay rant over.

And that leads me to the next point…

2 .  The videographer should always aim to be discreet. Like a ninja. They should aim to capture what everyone is looking at, rather than being what everyone is looking at. There are ways to get good close-up shots without being right in their face.

3 . Last but not least, the videographer should learn the people who matter most to the couple. The videographer will not know who’s who when they get there, but throughout the day the roles become clear. Who’s grandpa? Mom? Sister? Best friend? Etc. They should watch carefully and pick up on this as they film. This information will be essential in the editing process as these are the people that will matter most when highlighting the guests. A really amazing cinematic shot of the bride’s aunt’s coworker’s son may look good when editing, but will come off as really random (and even impersonal) to the couple.

Thank you so much Jared Belt for your awesome tips!

 

Wedding Videographer  |  Jared Belt  |  Cintematic Wedding Co

 

If you enjoyed this wedding planner and videographer interview check out this recent blog post for more helpful tips! You can also leave a comment below with things you would love to hear about! I love helping my clients feel 100% prepared for their big day!

Planner and Videographer Interviews

wedding planner setting up table

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