“Turner into a Bearden” were the words chanted as Gracie and Blake left their wedding reception last November. In case you didn’t get it, her last name “Turner” sounded remarkably like “turn her,” which is exactly what the wedding did. It turned her into a Bearden. I knew immediately that I had the perfect title for their wedding film.
“Felegant”
Whenever I first spoke with Gracie about the wedding, she told me they were going for “felegant,” which is a mixture of fun and elegant. That became readily apparent the moment I learned where the reception was: the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas.
My dad is a pilot, so I love airplanes and I jump at any chance to film a flight themed wedding. But this one had a lot more than planes going for it. Packed dance floor. Goofy groomsmen. Laughing bridesmaids the entire way through.
Filming A Room Full Of People You Know
I should also mention that I knew more than three quarters of the people at this wedding. Friends from church, from school, from College Station. Most of them are also incredibly goofy and great in front of a camera, which is a combination you cannot buy.
That changes how a wedding film goes. Nobody stiffens up whenever you walk over. You don’t spend the first two hours earning the right to be close to people, because you’re already close to them. You just get to shoot.
The First Wedding I Shot On The Sony FS700
This was also the first wedding I’ve shot with the Sony FS700. It makes a beautiful picture, much like my Sony FS100 does, but the 700 brings super slow motion to the table, and that really added to the fun of this film. Whenever a room is this rowdy, being able to drop into slow motion at will is not a gimmick, it’s the whole joke landing.
Special thanks to Taylor Stanley for investing in that camera and shooting the day with me.
The museum is its own kind of challenge, by the way. You’ve got aircraft hanging overhead, hard surfaces everywhere, and lighting that was designed for people reading placards, not for filming a wedding. What saves it is that the room is enormous and the string lights they brought in do most of the work. Expose for the string lights, let the ceiling go dark, and suddenly a museum reads as a venue.
Partying The Night Away
All of it added up to exactly what Gracie said they were after: fun and elegant. Vows in front of family and friends, and then a reception that did not let up until they were chased out of the building.
The send-off was glow sticks instead of sparklers, which I’ll take every time. Sparklers photograph beautifully and they also burn out in about forty seconds, so you get one pass and you’d better have been ready. Glow sticks last as long as the party does, they’re safe indoors, and they give you a room full of moving colored light to shoot through instead of a room full of smoke.
And out the door they went, to a wall of people chanting a pun. Turner into a Bearden.
Having A “Felegant” Wedding?
If you’ve got one coming up and you’re interested in having me film it, please get in touch.