As the world of weddings continues to evolve, so does the art of capturing those cherished moments on video. Wedding videography has transformed from simple documentation to a cinematic experience that beautifully encapsulates the emotions, details, and memories of the big day. In this post, we'll dive into the hottest trends in wedding videography for 2023, from styles and editing techniques to the latest technology that's shaping the industry.

Couples are increasingly drawn to wedding videos that tell a captivating story, much like a movie. Cinematic storytelling involves carefully crafting the narrative of the day, focusing on key moments, emotions, and interactions. This style allows for a more immersive and emotionally resonant experience, ensuring that each video becomes a unique masterpiece. We have been filming weddings in Western Massachusetts for over 10-years and have a strong cinematic style that adds emotion and energy to every film we make. 

Drone technology has revolutionized wedding videography by providing breathtaking aerial shots that showcase the venue, scenery, and overall atmosphere. From sweeping shots of the ceremony location to capturing the couple against stunning natural backdrops, drone videography adds a touch of grandeur and cinematic flair. We have filmed nearly every venue in the Springfield, MA area from the skies and we would love to add drone footage to your wedding video.

Minimalist editing styles have gained popularity in recent years. These edits focus on preserving the genuine emotions of the day by using soft color palettes, subtle transitions, and ambient sound. The result is an ethereal and timeless video that feels authentic and emotionally rich. This is a fun style and we can create a wedding video that fits your vision.

With the rise of micro-weddings and elopements, videographers are tasked with capturing the intimacy and close connections that define these smaller gatherings. This trend calls for a more personalized and intimate approach to filming, emphasizing the emotional connections between a select few. We have filmed many micro-weddings all over Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut. 

The integration of VR and AR technology is opening up new possibilities in wedding videography. Imagine being able to relive the wedding day as if you were right there, thanks to virtual reality. Augmented reality can also be used to enhance certain elements of the video, such as adding interactive captions or animations.

In an age where technology connects people across the globe, live streaming the wedding has become a trend. Couples are opting for live broadcasts so that loved ones who can't attend in person can still be a part of the celebration. Additionally, same-day edits are gaining popularity, allowing couples to share a professionally edited highlight reel at the reception itself. Our team has live streamed many Western Massachusetts weddings and we would love to film for you!

Stay ahead of the curve by embracing these trends in your wedding videography work. Whether it's adopting a cinematic storytelling approach, integrating drone footage, or experimenting with VR and AR, the key is to infuse each video with emotion, personality, and a touch of innovation. We deliver the best quality videography for clients and we have filmed at venues all over the Pioneer Valley and Berkshires in Massachusetts.

At HaleChannel Video, we're passionate about staying at the forefront of wedding videography trends. We're excited to bring these exciting developments to our clients, ensuring that their wedding videos are not only beautiful but also reflect the latest industry trends.

We were talking weddings the other night as a family over dinner and my sister-in-law said she has one regret about her wedding day: She didn't hire a videographer.

"I guess I just figured someone would record it on their phones or something," she said. "But I don't have anything. Not the ceremony, the speeches, the cake, the dance - none of it. No one recorded a thing."

It was true, there weren't a lot of cell phones out that night at The Log Cabin - we were all having too good a time to document it.

​Whenever I hear about wedding day regrets, it's almost always not hiring a videographer. Your wedding is one of the most important days of your life: the party, the family and friends, the commitment - you're going to want to remember it vividly for years.

Photos do a great job capturing the sentiment, beauty and emotion of the day, but they can't do things like recite the best man's speech or recreate the bride's dance with her father. Video lets you hear their voices again and brings you back to the moment in a way photos can't deliver on. As the years slip by your video will become more and more treasured. ​

Videography has become a wedding standard with over 60% of local couples choosing video. It's joining services like caterers, florists and music as a wedding essential.

Finding the right videographer for you is easy. (There's me, for one!) Check out the websites of videographers in your area and watch a few of their short wedding films to see if you like their style and quality of their equipment. You want to make sure that the videographer has the tools to make you a cinematic film worthy of your wedding day - outdated camcorders are going to make you an outdated video. For a very posh look, get someone who uses an assortment of lenses ...and it's a bonus if the offer drone shots.

Once you find someone's work that you like, call or send an email for a chat or to set up a time to meet to discuss your wedding and vision for the film. For the best selection, try to hire your videographer early on in your planning process before too many of them get  booked up for the season.

Let's roll!

The Mountain Rose Inn is a stylish, new wedding venue in Greenfield, Massachusetts, with lush grounds and loads of charm.

Promoted as a great place to have an outdoor wedding, The Mountain Rose Inn has landscaped gardens and lawns set with stone pathways. There is also a cozy gas firepit. And, of course, lots of roses! But the show stopper is the view: from The Mountain Rose Inn you can really get a sense of the Pioneer Valley’s majesty. It was the view that drew owner and manager Kasey Richards to the Inn in 2018. “You pull into the driveway and the view is stunning - it just kind of takes your breath away,” Richards said. ​​

The Mountain Rose offers guests the use of a tented ballroom with satin-draped ceilings and elegant chandeliers. The posh canvas can accommodate up to 175 people. Couples also have the option of renting out the 6-room Inn to host out of town guests or just to have extra room for relaxation and fun.
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Richards said one of the reasons her venue stands out in Western Massachusetts is that she renovated with an eye to high-class elegance as opposed to traditional, rustic New England chic. Though if rustic-chic is what a bride and groom wants, The Mountain Rose Inn can make that happen, too. The venue is customizable to any couple’s unique style. 
“We’re a blank slate,” Richards said. “Any vision can fit into this space.”
Because it is mostly an outdoor venue, the wedding season at Mountain Rose is May through October. In the future, Richards said she’d like to have the venue open and hosting weddings year round.

​The Mountain Rose Inn on Smead Hill Road was purchased by Kasey Richards in 2018. She owns and manages the venue while Ryan Harrison is the grounds manager. Before Richards’ incarnation, The Mountain Rose has lived several lives in Western Massachusetts. First it was a bed and breakfast called The West Winds Inn. In 2013 it was purchased and renovated into a wedding venue called Alexlee House. Under Richards’ ownership, the Inn has been painted inside and out, the driveway has been freshly paved  and many upgrades have been made to the aesthetic.

For more information on The Mountain Rose Inn, visit their website. ​

Thank you to everyone who voted in WeddingWire's annual Couples Choice awards celebrating top wedding vendors nationwide; HaleChannel receieved a 2020 WeddingWire Couples' Choice Award for videography.

And thank you to the 64 people who took the time out to review HaleChannel on WeddingWire, where we have an amazing 5-star rating. 

There are a few wedding awards vendors covet in the industry: WeddingWire and The Knot. I've been in The Knot's Hall of Fame for years, and I have won the couple's choice award many times as well going all the way back to 2012. 

Winning this award increases my business's exposure on Wedding Wire as many brides jump right to the winner's section of the website. This award is appreciated and the appointments sure have been coming in! I still have a few dates available for video in 2020 and I'm taking reservations for 2021 and 2022 at this point as well.
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Thank you again to all the couples who have shared their great experiences with HaleChannel on the web and to their family and friends. And thank you to my hardworking team. Without you guys, this award wouldn't be possible. 

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While staying up to date on the latest wedding videography trends my helpful Google search bar auto-filled in a question: "What is a wedding videographer?"

To me there's a simple answer, but I soon learned that there are a lot of people unsure of what a wedding videographer does - afterall, smartphones can record video, right?

A wedding videographer is a person, or team of people, who are focused on capturing the most important moments of your wedding in a way that tells the story of your family and this special time in your lives. They look for the perfect light and angle while they position their cameras in anticipation of special moments. 

But that's just the start. Once the filming is done, the editing magic begins . Videographers score your wedding as if it were a major movie and cut together only the best scenes to tell the romantic and endearing story of your wedding day.

There's not a heck of a lot of us videographers out there right now - especially in Western Massachusetts, Pioneer Valley and Berkshires. If I had to guess I'd say it's because it takes a special type of person to do this job. Not everyone can pull together so many moving parts and envision a film while the action is happening. Running multiple cameras and microphones at once is a skill that most people would shurly be intemidated by. But for videographers that do it well it's an amazing thing to see. The best videographers even make it look easy and fun!

Having videographers at major life events is going to become more standard as people  digitize and share more and more of their memories online. In fact, the number of video editors is expected to grow by 14 percent in the US from 2018 to 2028, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of people behind the camera is expected to increase by 8 percent. 

Prices for videographers range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. When shopping around you will have to do some research and watch a few of each companies films ...then compare the cost to quality. You will find that there are great deals out there! Expect to pay more for a company that has a cinematic storytelling style ... as they are typically more professional and their work has a higher production value. 

​I just finished a new ad promoting Halechannel Cinematic Films. Hope you all like it!

More and more people want their weddings documented in multimedia. Photos are a must, but brides now want videography with drone shots more than ever.

I know this because I do it all - video, drone work and photos - and I've seen demand rise for having all three methods of recording at weddings.

As Josh Nichols of Morning Light Film notes: "On your wedding day or rehearsal dinner, your family members and close friends are going to say very sentimental things about you. How we capture your day helps you truly remember the day how it was. I think that’s the value."
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​If it's a video job, drone shots are becoming expected. My crew and I are ready for this, but be aware that not all venues allow for this type of footage. However, I am usually able to work with venue owners and managers to set up specific drone shots with which they are comfortable.

The next step in the expansion of wedding documentation and commemoration will likely be streaming weddings on Instagram and Facebook. Streaming a wedding for family that couldn't make the trip has been a practice for years, but streaming to the world - that's different. It requires better production value than a Skype phone call - the traditional way to include far-off family. Videographers are starting to hear requests for social media services.

A wedding is a once in a lifetime experience. For many people, it's the best day of their lives. Surrounded by cheerful family and friends, it makes sense that a bride and groom would want to preserve the ceremony and reception (and maybe the rehearsal dinner, too) in a multitude of media. The resulting cinematic film and stunning wedding album will bring happiness to  generations. 

​Random bit of news
Nice: Brittany Dalrymple and Benjamin Brown of Cambridge, Massachusetts, applied to be on "Say Yes to the Dress," but were asked to appear on its spin off instead: "Say Yes to the Dress America" wherein a couple from each of the 50 states plus D.C. and P.R. get married in NYC in a mass wedding. The show started airing on Jan. 4 on TLC, so keep an eye out for the locals!

So, what do people do when they’re not filming a New Year’s Eve wedding? I’ve spent a bunch of New Year’s Eves shooting elegant weddings at indoor venues across Western Massachusetts, but this year neither my wife or I will be working; we need to take advantage of this rare scheduling opportunity and go out! 

One of my first, and favorite, New Year’s weddings I ever shot was for two friends, Lindsey and Pete, who got married at the Sheraton at Monarch Place in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. Back then, the hotel had a multi-tiered, glass platform where the wedding party, the bride and groom stood for the ceremony. This made lighting tricky (isn’t lighting always tricky?), but the production came out beautifully. 

There are a lot of wonderful venues in the Pioneer Valley for winter weddings, but when there’s snow, I like to head up to the Berkshires for shoots. Berkshire County’s mountains and rolling fields, thick forests and frozen lakes blanketed in pristine snow are a great environment for a winter wedding.  

New Year's Eve is a popular date to get married; if you're planning for a NYE wedding, start locking vendors down now. Also, know ahead of time that some vendors charge additional NYE fees. It makes sense, though. They need to cover the increased cost of throwing simultaneous NYE and wedding parties. 

​All right, I’ve got New Year’s plans to make. Happy holidays, everyone. See you next year!
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This is great news for people who like a lot of contrast in their compositions - and weddings! For New England in particularly, I've always liked how a wedding theme with a striking blue sits against fall foliage.

Every year, Pantone sets the table for a color conversation that designers and artists are happy to take up. The New Jersey company is best known for its proprietary color matching system as well as its "color of the year" proclamations. Whether you like the color or not, it will be showing up in art, fashion, magazines, design, decor and weddings. (I like it!) 

Will we be seeing Classic Blue featured in Western Massachusetts 2020 weddings? 

​If it seems like you've been hearing a lot about engagements lately, that's because it's engagement season! The wedding industry has its seasons and the holidays is a big one for all of us vendors. I was looking for some statistics on engagements when I stumbled across Congress’ wedding guide. Which is strange, right? Because who knew the U.S. Congress was into this stuff. Anyway, turns out, they had some pretty good info. I found a treasure chest of interesting U.S. engagement and wedding factoids compiled by Trip Savvy, a travel website.
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Like did you know that … 
-- 16 percent of wedding proposals occur in December
-- The average American engagement lasts 15 months
-- Every year 2.4 million weddings are performed in the U.S., including 44,230 weddings each weekend
-- 3 out of 4 couples live together before getting married. 

There’s more!
-- The most popular month for weddings are September and October
-- Only 33 percent of weddings take place in a religious institution - 43 percent are officiated by a friend of family member
-- The average number of wedding guests is 136
-- The average per guest cost is $268
-- Each guest spends about $703 to attend a wedding
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I see a lot of these trends playing out here in Western Massachusetts. I always get a wave of phone calls around the holidays from newly engaged couples eager to start planning for their wedding videos. 

A couple of times, the groom-to-be has arranged for me to film the wedding proposal without the bride-to-be knowing. I usually try not to stand out while I’m behind the camera, but I don’t usually have to be invisible - this challenge always makes these jobs a lot of fun. And the look on the girl’s face when the guy gets down on one knee is priceless, I’ll never get tired of getting to play a part in such a special moment. 

Congratulations to all the couples who have and will be making beautiful commitments this engagement season!