A lot of planning, love, time, and quite possibly tears, go into organising a wedding only for the big day to whip by. Now that doesn’t mean that you won’t have the best day ever or that all your efforts won’t be worth it, but it’s worth thinking about what you will have once the confetti has fallen at your feet.
A wonderful husband or wife. Tick. A shiny new ring. Tick. Memories that will last a lifetime. Yes. Though there are several ways in which to document the proceedings so you can relive those fun, totally loved-up and truly special moments again and again.
Photography is key, of course, and framing images and compiling albums will certainly reflect the look and feel of the day, though videography goes one step further, with moving footage able to capture people’s emotions, reactions and mannerisms as well as their voices, not to mention music and sounds that will instantly transport you back to your day.
Having featured countless weddings on the blog where couples report their only regret being that they didn’t hire a videographer alongside their photographer, it’s our pleasure to present to you a talented couple who can tick both these boxes – our fabulous Sponsors Penny and Ed of Silver Sixpence Film & Photo.
Keen to capture couples at their most natural and reflect the true emotions of the day, the East-Yorkshire-based husband and wife team capture their footage in a discreet manor and edit to produce gorgeous films and emotive images that preserve those precious memories in time.
We’ve invited them along to the blog today to tell us more about the benefits of hiring a videographer whilst sharing some of their stunning footage and snaps with us. Furthermore, the fabulous duo are offering our readers a 5% discount on packages if booked before April 2020*, just mention Brides Up North when getting in touch!
When did you first start filming weddings and how did you get into it?
Silver Sixpence say
: We are a husband and wife team and when we met we were both working in feature film, Penny as the director’s assistant on Harry Potter and Ed as a Visual Effects Editor on a variety of films including Skyfall and Edge of Tomorrow. Because of our media jobs we were often asked by friends to film or photograph their weddings and we eventually realised that we preferred telling those beautiful, intimate wedding stories than we did the big budget feature films, and so five years ago we decided to take a leap of faith and start shooting weddings full time and we have not looked back since.How would you describe your style videography and how does it set you apart?
Our style is heavily influenced by the cinematic inspiration we had when working in the film industry, so we think of it as beautiful and cinematic, but we also strongly approach each wedding with the mindset that we are there to capture the day and not to get in the way, or stop guests from being able to enjoy the day – so we try and capture our cinematic style in a natural, reportage manner. We think that our blending of reportage with cinematic stylings is what makes our films so special.
Adam and Katie from Silver Sixpence Films on Vimeo.
In your opinion what are the most important things for a couple to consider when deciding which videographer to book for their wedding?
A couple obviously needs to like the style of the company they are hiring and it’s helpful to view an entire film, rather than just the online highlights, in order to fully understand what a company will be likely to deliver. On top of that we think it is really important to check the shooting style of the company you are considering – some people may produce amazing work, but will require you to spend a long time taking specific direction throughout the day, whereas other companies might capture your day unobtrusively. Either approach is ok if you know about it and are happy with that method of capturing. The biggest thing that we often notice is that couples don’t always match the photographer and videographers. Choosing two companies that are able to work together as a team is a really important consideration when hiring separate video and photography teams. As we offer photography ourselves, we are well aware of the requirements that other photographers might have and so we do everything we can to work together as a team. It is regularly assumed we are all one team even when working with external photographers and that makes us happy because it means we are doing our job well.
Why would you encourage couples to have their wedding day filmed?
Photography captures stunning memories and often these memories take special place in a frame on the wall in a couple’s home, or in a photography album, but video captures something on top of what a photograph is capable of. Because of the moving picture and the sound, videos are an incredibly emotive reflection of the events of the day. Our couples always tell us that it was the video that had them breaking down in tears and they watch it every year on their anniversary to remind them of their fantastic day. It is also the biggest regret people have from their wedding day when they chose not to have a filmmaker present. We had a wedding film made when we got married and then lost several family members not long after. The footage of them celebrating with us on that day is priceless and some of the most important video we own.
And what would you say to reassure camera shy couples?
We shoot in a reportage style and so for the majority of the day we will be in the background, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible so they can enjoy their day. We are literally being paid to make the couple look awesome, so they can relax knowing that we are very experienced professionals and we will be making them look as good as it is possible to look. On the day we do suggest that the couple take a short walk with us at some point so we can get some portraits of the two of them, but we encourage couples to think of that time to enjoy having a special moment together. We will make gentle suggestions to ensure we are getting the best shots, so they can relax knowing they are in safe hands. We regularly get told that couples enjoy the portrait session because it’s the only time in the day they got to spend any quality time with each other.
Do you have a favourite part of the wedding day to capture?
We love the emotion on a wedding day, so it isn’t always the same moment. Regularly the father of the bride seeing his daughter for the first time is a really emotional moment, but catching the groom tear up as his bride to be walks down the aisle is equally special. On a recent wedding day, the couple’s dog was brought to the church to meet them and witnessing the excitement from the dog when they came out of church was such a lovely thing. We have just finished editing a beautiful film and when the groom thanked his parents in the speech he had tears streaming because of how grateful he was for everything they had done for him in his life – it was really special and we are so thankful to be a part of all these important moments in people’s lives.
Will and Emily from Silver Sixpence Films on Vimeo.
You also offer wedding photography as a combined or separate package to your videography – can you give us an overview to your photography approach and style?
We approach our photography in the same way that we do our video – we mostly work in a reportage way, unobtrusively capturing the day with natural, but cinematic inspired photographs, but we aim to keep the quality very high. We want all of our images to look like they could appear in a magazine, but without getting in the way of guests’ enjoyment of the day. We often get complimented on how discreet we have been, and people often say they are blown away when they see how much we were able to capture when they see the finished photographs.
If a couple are to book you for both film and photography how do you work together as a team on the day and what are the benefits of taking a combined package?
When we are working on a combined package Penny takes the lead on the video and Ed works on the photography. We have some really brilliant second shooters that can join us for the day to make sure we are able to capture everything that happens on a busy wedding day. Our approach to video and photography is very similar and so we can work as a seamless team, capturing beautiful and consistent imagery in a relaxed, unobtrusive way. The benefits of taking a combined package is that you guarantee a team that works fantastically well together, that has a vast amount of experience, but you also know that the end product will all have the same cinematic and natural feel. It also means you will only have one point of contact which will make it easier for you than managing separate companies. It’s also a lot of fun to have a group with you that has so much history of creating amazing content together.
What area do you cover and is there somewhere in particular that you would love to shoot a wedding that you’ve not yet had the opportunity to do?
We mostly work in the North of England, mainly Yorkshire. The region has so many special venues! We are lucky to live in East Yorkshire and there is this amazing venue near us called Oaklands, which we visited recently and is located in a really beautiful place with a lake. We are really hoping to work there soon as they are developing the venue into a beautiful tree house, which is going to be amazing!
Ryan and Emily from Silver Sixpence Films on Vimeo.
What is it you enjoy most about your job?
We enjoy being part of some of the most important moments in people lives, it feels truly special to be allowed into this time, and to be able to capture it cinematically is an amazing pleasure. We have always seen the world visually, so being able to spend time creating beautiful imagery doesn’t feel like work at all.
Sean and Hannah from Silver Sixpence Films on Vimeo.
And how do you enjoy spending your time away from work?
We have a wonderful daughter who we love spending time with as a family, we still have a passion for movies and for our home and friends and family.
What is the feedback like from your brides and grooms?
People often praise us for how discreetly we managed to capture their day, and are really glad that we were a part of it. I think they like how natural our style is, but also how flattering our work is – in our films our couples look and feel like movie stars and we think that is how it should be. We spend a lot of time thinking about the music choices and are often complimented on our selection and how well it works with the footage.
Chris and Amanda from Silver Sixpence Films on Vimeo.
Can you give us an idea of price?
Our film and photography prices start at £2,700. Individual photography starts at £995 and film starts at £1,495. Brides Up North readers can get a 5% discount if booking before April 2020, just mention the blog when contacting us!
How can readers get in touch with you or see more examples of your work?
Visit our website, or you can find us on Facebook or Instagram.
*Subject to T&Cs
