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!