We use the term high school sweethearts to describe couples who have been together a long time. They met young, figured out they were the one for each other, and stuck together for years until they got married. But what if they met before high school? Before middle school? What if they became friends in the third grade?
Elementary school sweethearts doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. But for Kelsey and Josh, that’s where the story starts. And after many years of friendship, and when I say many I mean close to 20, which included multiple proms, homecomings, high school graduation, breakups, and three and a half years of college, they were finally together.
Mexican Food And A Wedding Logo
Whenever my wife and I finally sat down with them it was, of course, over Mexican food. And listening to their vision for the day, it was incredibly apparent that these two had a style entirely their own.
Watch the film and you’ll see it. Palm fronds. A geode wedding cake. Edison bulbs draped over the dance floor like a willow tree. Kelsey even created a watercolor wedding logo that tied the whole theme together, which is not a thing most couples think to do, and it worked.
A Wedding In The Heart Of Austin
Most of the weddings we film sit out in a field somewhere, which is beautiful and also means the backdrop does a lot of the work for you. This one was downtown, right in the middle of Austin, and downtown is a completely different job. You’re shooting against glass towers and crosswalks and traffic, and you’re doing it in the middle of a working city that has no idea a wedding is happening.
Worth it, though. You get shots you cannot get anywhere else, and the city ends up as a character in the film instead of just a location.
The Reception
The Edison bulbs are the thing you’ll remember. Strung low over the floor, they turn the whole room warm the second the sun goes down, and they gave me something to shoot through all night long.
They also had a live band, which changes the energy of a reception in a way a playlist just can’t. People stay on the floor longer, and the first dance has a room full of musicians reacting to the couple in real time.
The Music In This Film
Licensed from Musicbed: “Dancing to the Radio” by Awake or Sleeping, and “Visitors on the Bow Wave” by The Echelon Effect. Licensed from Marmoset: “On Echo” by Mree, “Parachute (Pledge Remix)” by Blue Ember, and “Blackwood Canyon” by Marmoset.
Color graded with my LUTs.
The Gear I Filmed This With
- My insanely good lowlight main camera
- My favorite wide angle lens with autofocus
- The ultra-versatile medium lens with autofocus
- The best drone ever and the filters for it
- The beefy electronic gimbal
- A fantastic video monopod
- The ridiculously tiny audio recorder and mic
- A prism for fancy in-camera effects
- My fast video editing laptop
- An indestructible camera case
- A light and sturdy travel tripod
- A portable LED lighting kit
Having A Wedding That’s Actually Yours?
If you’re building something with your own style all over it, we would love to film it. 🎥 Get in touch with us at FilmStrong.
And if you’re the one behind the camera: 🎬 my wedding film editing course is how I teach a film like this getting built, ►► my free guide to booking more wedding clients is a free download, and ✌ the Learn Wedding Filmmaking Facebook Group is where the rest of us hang out.
Want The Short Version?
Here’s the highlight cut of the same day, if you’d rather have the three minute version than the full film.