Meet your wedding videographer
Hiya, I’m Ellyn.
Originally I’m from Canada but I’ve been in the UK for 12 years now. I live in Grantham with my husband Simon, 2 year old named Freddie, and bastard cat Larry. I love true crime podcasts, luxurious bubble baths, live comedy, classic rock music and anything salty. Oh and I forgot to mention, I LOVE WEDDINGS!! Here’s me on my wedding day.
I studied film at uni, got a couple internships in my hometown of Toronto, then moved to LA where I was technically a production assistant but I mainly just tagged along to parties and made notes in meetings. When my visa expired I was of course bummed but it never really felt like home so I went on a soul searching trip around Europe, stayed on my friend’s sofa in Nottingham a little longer than expected and decided to plant some roots. I met good people, got a good job at a corporate video agency where I stayed for several years before branching out and creating Bright and Beautiful Films. My wedding videography journey started seven years ago now and they have been the happiest and most fulfilling years of my life.
Now for a bit of virtue signalling: I believe love is love, black lives matter, the faith that brings you fulfillment is awesome, and body positivity should be everyone’s default setting. Everyone is deserving of love and an incredible wedding day. Disagree with me? There are plenty of other wedding videographers who would be happy to take your money.
I have a few personal style rules I like to follow when filming weddings. But to sum them up, I rely on my handy-dandy motto “the wedding video is not more important than the wedding”. That’s why…
My Approach to Filming Weddings
I don’t bring in any massive, distracting equipment or insanely large crews.
Get the best shot you can without interrupting the guest’s experience.
Don’t micromanage the portraits, just capture the couple having a good time.
Take up as little time with the couple as possible, they want to get back to the party.
Don’t charge an exorbitant amount. Make a profit but don’t take the piss.
If all that sounds good to you, check out how things usually go during the weddings I film. Hopefully you like the cut of my jib and feel inclined to get in touch. I love chatting about weddings and painting a picture of how I can contribute to your wedding in particular.
Pre-Filming
I would love to chat you and your partner over a video call to discuss your wedding. We will lock down exactly what you are looking for from me and how involved you want me to be on the day. Once you’ve decided to book me (thank you) I’ll let you carry on wedding planning.
About 6 weeks before the wedding I’ll get in touch to arrange a briefing call. We’ll discuss the schedule, who the key people are, logistics and the video’s edit schedule. On this call I aim to enter into the friend zone a bit. I want you to feel comfortable with me on the day and like I’m just another guest, not some stranger.
I like to arrive as early as possible and get at least an hour of preparation shots. Then I go to the venue to film the details while it is empty and set up my cameras for the ceremony. I’ll mic up the groom and officiant and the next half hour or so is out of my hands (yey congrats, you’re married now).
During the reception I film lots of the guests chatting and enjoying themselves and generally getting scene-setting shots. For speeches I will mic up all the speech givers. I always film the speeches in full, so if you only bought a highlight video but decide later that you want the speeches too, I will have them. Following that, no one looks good eating so I usually wait until cake cutting or dancing to jump back into filming mode. But all that being said, all weddings are different and I will work around what you have planned. I go into more detail about how I can capture your wedding on the Packages page. If you are interested.
Wedding Day
I will edit the footage and send you a version one for feedback. It usually takes 10-12 weeks for me to get it to a good enough place to share it. I’ll send you a link to your own viewing portal. Together we will go back and forth until you are happy. 2 rounds of changes are included but hopefully I nail it the first time.
Once you are happy with everything, you can download your videos via the portal or purchase a USB and memory box which I will post to you.