A Parisian Extravaganza at the Ritz Paris
A Parisian Extravaganza at the Ritz Paris
The Venue
The Ritz Paris doesn’t need much of an introduction as the hotel, founded in 1898, is famous around the world as is said to be one of the best hotels in Europe, so it was a pleasure ot get to work here during a heatwave in May
The couple opted to have their ceremony in the Ritz’s Grand Jardin, a very exclusive place for a ceremony, with dinner and dancing in the grand ballrooms.
Teaser film
Patrick and Samantha’s Wedding Day Plans
The Ritz Paris
As an American couple flying all of their friends and family over from the States to Paris, Samantha and Patrick wanted to make the most of their time by starting their celebrations the evening beofre the wedding with a private cruise down the Seine, taking in the river side sights of Paris as the sun set, culminating with a stop at the Eiffel Tower as its lights began to sparkle.
This gave me and the photographer plenty of opportunities to get some great shots of the couple to incorporate into their film.
The next day took place entirely at the Ritz Paris, where both Samantha and Patrick got ready for their ceremony. Samantha was in a lovely suite overlooking the garden they would be getting married in and she allowed plenty of time for her preparations, giving me plenty of time to get really creative with this part of the day.
The couple also got access to the coveted Suite Marcel Proust for some groomsmen shots which gave me something to contrast the light and airy shots of Samantha’s preparation portraits with.
The ceremony took place in the lovely gardens at the centre of the Ritz Paris (the Grand Jardin) and both Patrick and Samantha’s personal vows were so well written and presented, they make up the entirety of the narrative audio for the couples film. Personal vows are a great way to weave your personal story into your wedding film!
The drinks reception took place on the Terrace and during this time both me and the photographer took the couple out into the beautiful Pl. Vendôme for some portrait shots.
Dinner was in one of the Ritz’s many beautiful Salons before moving to the lower level ballroom for the party, which was most definitely the highlight of this wedding film. The couple had everything needed for a cinematic party- great lighting, smoke machines, dancers and guests who were ready to dance the night away giving me so much great footage to work with and turn into an epic sequence in their film.
Wedding Videography Approach
My main aim as a wedding videographer is to produce cinematic, yet authentic, mementos of a wedding day. I want them to be stylish, filled with all the emotions of the day while being infused with a classic cinema flair, which I always have in the back of my mind when choosing which lens to use in a certain moment, how to frame a shot, the sounds and music I will use to tell that part of the story and thinking always about the edit.
Me filming a wedding in Portugal with my minimalist set up.
My main aim as a wedding videographer is to produce cinematic, yet authentic, mementos of a wedding day. I want them to be stylish, filled with all the emotions of the day while being infused with a classic cinema flair, which I always have in the back of my mind when choosing which lens to use in a certain moment, how to frame a shot, the sounds and music I will use to tell that part of the story and thinking always about the edit.
I knew the party was an important part of Samantha and Patrick’s wedding so I made sure this part of the day had a great sequence in the film and I also deicded to incorporate shots taken on the river cruise the day before like romantic cinematic flashbacks, which i think worked really well.
Once I have these all story telling elements in place I make sure my films are as cinematic as possible, and what I mean by that is I use every tool and technique at my disposal, from the filming style on the wedding day, to the editing and colour grading techniques afterwards, to create a piece of work that feels like a mini-movie, like a short piece of classic cinema, with a proper beginning middle and end, establishing people, place and story as elegantly as possible, woven together with music I choose carefully for each project.
Most importantly though, I use equipment and a filming style on the day that allows me to capture these moments without leaving a heavy footprint on the day- I use very minimal equipment, similar to a photographer, and avoid stage managing the day in any way because the most important element of making a great film is authentic moments and emotions and the only way to achieve these is allow them to happen naturally, unhindered by over posing/staging and manufacturing the events.
