Elaine’s Editing Philosophy:

As gorgeous as your original, raw footage of your wedding day may be, the editing studio is where it all gets creatively put together, with an eye for the “story behind the story” and to attain maximum emotional impact and those  “chicken-skin” moments.

We include virtually every piece of usable footage and design it in an entertaining way using music and advanced editing techniques to enhance the actual emotion of each moment.  Throughout the entire editing process, we are keenly aware that it is our ultimate responsibility to create YOUR memories. 

We know that our decisions on how and where to use footage literally becomes your memory of your wedding.   Sometimes (often) the story of your wedding day is not laid out neatly in chronological order.   Part of the excitement of being involved in your wedding is that nothing is truly scripted and many delightful and serendipitous moment can (and will!) occur.

For example, there may be a moment where the camera is changing position during the photo session, and yet the groom is at the same time saying something absolutely wonderful to his new wife.  Other companies may simply discard that footage since the video is not usable.  We will take that audio and place it in another sequence, perhaps under the visual of the couple as they are standing on rocks in the distance as the sun sets behind them and the waves are crashing at their feet.  With a beautiful piece of music playing softly in the background, this scene becomes a powerful testament to your love, instead of something that is not in your final video at all.

This example also makes clear the extreme importance of having the wireless microphone on the groom… our camera operator may be 25 feet away from you as you enjoy a private, romantic moment… but that whispered “we did it!  We’re actually married!” is captured forever for your memories.   Most of our couples tell us that they completely forget about the microphone… and they are absolutely always happy that their exchanged words were recorded.

How Long before I receive the edited movie?  What is Premium Delivery?

All weddings, for the most part, are edited in the order they occur.  Editing is intense and is never rushed.  We do not “cookie cut” or ever settle for “good enough.”  Each wedding and each couple are so completely unique, that the editing is always unique, starting with how the "story" is constructed through to the music, special effects and vignette choices.  No formulas, no templates... only unique decisions made to fit the flow of the wedding day and the personality of the couple. 

We carefully go through every frame of raw footage many times, looking for just the right look or expression or moment.  These sometimes brief clips (some less than a second in duration) are incorporated into special features of the video, such as the opening Preview (like a movie trailer) or the closing Romantic Recap.

This is an extremely time-intensive procedure.  Even the simplest wedding, such as our two-hour, single camera Intimate package, takes up to 20 hours to edit and the Masterpiece takes at least 3-4 weeks. 

This results in a turnaround time (depending on the season) of 8 to 16 weeks (or more).

Because time is sometimes a factor, a couple may choose PREMIUM DELIVERY which means their video will be moved to the top of the editing schedule.  Because our team of editors are always working, when a video moves to the tope of the schedule with a deadline, it means the editors have to work overtime, weekends and holidays, which means an additional cost.

The price of this expedited service depends on the size of the wedding and the speed of the requested turnaround.  If several large weddings choose this option, it does slow the delivery for the rest of the editing schedule.  This busy past season saw quite a few extremely large wedding choose Premium Delivery.

You can rest assured that your wedding will receive the utmost care and attention during the editing process