Congratulations Sarah & Robert

On the 6th of September, on an overcast and windy day in Martinborough, NZ, Wedding Day Videos filmed the wedding ceremony of Sarah and Robert at St Andrews Anglican Church.

St Andrews church is the oldest church in the Wairarapa area and was designed by a famous church designer whose name escapes me at the moment. In its early day, the building was blown off it's foundations by a gale and was subsequently reinforced with buttresses on the right side when it was re-established.

Anyhow, to the ceremony. I arrived early to film establishing shots of the venue and met the advance party as they arrived. Robert and his groomsmen arrived soon after.

Sarah arrived in a classic burgundy colored Jaguar. An classic ride. Robert waited nervously inside and before we knew it, the bride was being escorted up the ailse by her father.

The ceremony went smoothly. Besides a last minuted change of live music instead of cd music for the processional, all went well. Hymns were sung, readings were read, vows and rings were exchanged. After the signing of the register and a couple more prayers, the happy couple exited the building and received congratulations from family and friends.

From a production perspective, filming went smoothly. The Canon XL1s I use performed great. I love the skin tones that this camera produces. In the low light of St Andrews it produced an even cast from black to white while protecting the colours earlier balanced.

The only problem I encountered was with the photographer, who did not seem to realise that there was a professional camera operator (me) at the venue as well as himself. The fix for an operator is not hard. When using the zoom, simply moving 6 to 12 inches one way or another you can remove the offending obstacle from your shot. Though this doesn't guarantee that the obstacle won't reposition himself bang in the middle of your new frame! Ah well, no important shots were obscured, and to be honest, griping about problems instead of trying to solve them is a waste of time. No biggie.

I was contracted via email and met Robert and Sarah on the day. A common occurrence with clients who book me from overseas, which seems to be a lot lately.

We communicated and planned what they wanted via email and all fees were paid via internet banking. Our new PayPal facility was being built at the time. I received an email with their order of service attached. I was well pleased to have this so I could plan filming on the day.

Editing is now complete and their DVDs are wining their way to Canada as I write.

Once again. Congratulations to you Robert and Sarah. It was my pleasure and privilege to be involved in your wedding.

Best Regards
Toni Apa