I struggled for a while with a title for this film. Usually a name comes easily once I get to know the couple, but for Richard and Carissa things were a bit different. Should I reference Richard’s Scottish heritage and smooth accent? Does their meeting in high school qualify? Or maybe I should talk about their engagement in Australia? They’re such an interesting couple. How am I supposed to distill them, their wedding, and their entire history into one simple title?
East meets west. Scotland meets Texas. Richard meets Carissa. There. Simple, and yet complex enough.
Down A Little Dirt Road
“But tell me more about them, Matt,” you say. Alright.
I’ve filmed weddings at a wide assortment of locations around the world. Churches, chapels, open fields, redwood forests, all beautiful in their own way. Without fail, those venues get chosen because of some meaning they hold for the bride and groom.
So whenever I was asked to film Richard and Carissa’s wedding down a little dirt road, behind the house she grew up in, I knew their day was going to be just about perfect. Perfection was confirmed soon after, whenever they told me that Richard and his groomsmen would be wearing traditional Scottish kilts.
An Arbor Of Luggage, Windowpanes, And Burlap
On the day of the ceremony, under a blue sky with only a hint of clouds, in front of a handmade arbor built out of luggage, windowpanes, and burlap, Carissa and Richard were married.
A backyard is a genuinely great place to film a wedding, and it’s underrated. The light is whatever the sky gives you, which on a day like this one is the best light money can’t buy. There’s no coordinator moving you along, no venue rules about where you can stand, and everybody there already knows the house, so the whole thing runs looser and warmer than a room somebody rented.
Two-Stepping Gave Way To Scottish Stomping
An evening of revelry commenced, and it saw the fusion of Texas charm with Scottish heritage. Traditional two-stepping gave way to Scottish stomping, with a fireworks show to cap off the festivities.
At some point the groomsmen went in the pool. In kilts. I am not going to explain it, I’m just going to tell you it happened and that I got it.
This wedding was the joining of two cultures, two families, and two people, and it was truly a perfect day.
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
Getting Married Somewhere That Means Something?
Interested in having my wife and I film your wedding? 🎥 Please get in touch.
And if you’re the one filming: 🎬 my wedding film editing course covers how a film like this gets 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.