A lot of time, effort and expense goes into planning a wedding, but the day is so eventful and passes so quickly, that it is impossible to take it all in. A professionally produced wedding DVD provides a complete record of the day’s formal events, as well as capturing candid moments that you miss or might well forget. A DVD allows you to relive all the excitement and atmosphere of the day for years to come. The DVD will become a priceless snapshot of your family history, something that can be looked back on over the years and passed on to future generations.

An experienced videographer blends into the background and conducts himself with professionalism and discretion so not to distract or interrupt proceedings. We receive regular feedback from brides, grooms and parents saying they hardly noticed the video camera on the day and were surprised when they saw everything that was captured on the DVD. You will get so caught up in the day with your family and friends – and with the photographs – that you will simply forget about the video camera and rarely notice it.

The best advice is to relax and enjoy your day. You will look your best in your photos and video if you are happy and relaxed. Weddings are about people, family, friendship and the love of two people. Don’t let the little details of arrangements get in the way. Weddings rarely run 100% to plan, so expect there to be a few things that might not work out – such as the weather. Make a vow not to let anything spoil your day. Take time to choose the right photographer and videographer who suit your style and personality. Doing so will give you peace of mind and make you feel at ease. Experienced photographers and videographers know how to make the best of settings and people to create a successful wedding album or wedding DVD – regardless of the challenges a typical wedding day can pose.

Mark Stuart Weddings Films has worked with all the popular wedding photographers across the northeast of Scotland countless numbers of times over the last 17 years and gotten to know the style of these companies and individuals. We have also worked alongside practically all the less well established photographers who come and go, as well as many photographers outwith our geographic area. We have a respect and understanding of the official photographer’s requirements which is essential to make sure the couple are best served on the day without shots being unnecessarily spoiled. The excellent working rapport we have with photographers results in reciprocated respect for our needs as the official videographer. We are honoured to have so many clients book us because we were recommended by their photographer. Of course, we are also happy to recommend a photographer who best suits your personal tastes and one who complements the style of our work.

If your wedding DVD is of little importance or you cannot afford a professionally produced DVD, then having some amateur footage from the day will be better than nothing. However, do not have high expectations – be aware that any disappointment you may have with the end product could lead to family and friends falling out. And remember, whoever is filming is there as your guest – you don’t want to pile stress on them to the point that they can’t relax and enjoy your day. We frequently get calls from distraught brides who only have a guest’s recording and are devistated that the end result is nowhere near what they expected. Our experience is that every single bride in this position would do things differently - and hire a professional videographer if they could turn back the clock. The common theme is lack of coverage, events being missed and the filming being patchy, jumpy and of poor quality. The most common request is to fix the sound during the ceremony and speeches. Unfortunately, practically nothing can be done after the event to magically fix poor filming. There are many other issues which only come to light when the guest’s video is presented to the couple – unfortunately, that’s too late to remedy the problems. Guests’ amateur footage can offer an additional angle to the day, but it should not be looked upon as a replacement for a professionally produced DVD recorded by an experienced wedding videographer with professional or broadcast-grade equipment.

Rather than risk boring you with all differences between a wedding DVD costing £600 and one costing £2000, we will leave you to judge for yourself. We would recommend viewing at least three sample DVDs at different price levels. The most entertaining, appealing and highest quality DVD should stand out without any explanation. If the saying “you get what you pay for” bears any truth, it is wise to view what you get for your money before fixing an exact budget. The best value DVD is rarely the cheapest.

The main things that determine the running time of your film are the number of guests, the duration of the ceremony and the duration of the speeches. After editing, the average wedding film lasts one and a half hours. A smaller wedding usually results in a shorter DVD, while a larger wedding will have a longer DVD.

It depends on the time of year and how busy we are. Also if we are waiting on the bride and groom to supply or confirm music, this can lead to dealys. In general, we quote two to four weeks where we do not have a backlog of editing in the earlier part of the year. But our editing backlog really builds up between August and December and the longest delivery time can be as much as three to four months. We will always aim to have the editing complete as soon as possible after the wedding, but we will never compromise standards or rush things, regardless of how busy we are. We will try our best to give you an estimated delivery time at the time of the wedding.

Yes, it will be Mark. We have built an impeccable reputation for reliability, quality and consistency and restrict our bookings to one wedding per day so that Mark personally films every wedding. This also ensures a technical consistency with the grade of equipment employed on all weddings being the same.

We take pride in portraying a professional image in every regard and our wedding day attire is a suit, shirt and tie. A smart over-jacket is worn when the weather dictates.

Conventional 4:3 TV screens have been being phased out for a number of years now, and high street electrical stores have been dominated by widescreen TV sets for some time. Practically all DVD movies we buy or rent are widescreen, and UK digital terrestrial and satellite TV broadcasts have been transmitted in widescreen since 1998. The UK changeover to widescreen has well and truly happened, so you should definitely choose to have your wedding filmed in widescreen so the picture aspect matches that of widescreen TVs. If you do not specify widescreen, be aware that filming in the old 4:3 aspect will result in widescreen TVs squashing the picture vertically to fill the screen. This produces the highly unflattering effect of making people look fatter and shorter than they are in real life. By choosing widescreen, the picture will fill the screen perfectly without any distortion or squashing. If you still have an old 4:3 TV set, the DVD player will automatically put in “letterbox” black bars top and bottom of the picture and everyone will look the way they are in real life.

The benefit of recording in high definition (HD) is that the picture resolution is around four times that of standard definition (SD) video. This results in more detail in the picture when viewed on a HD-capable screen and HD-DVD player.

It is important to check the resolution of the claimed “HD-ready” screen you intend to purchase. Full HD resolution is 1920x1080 pixels, and to get the most benefit it is worthwhile looking for maximum resolution screens that approach these figures. HD LCD screens have been widely available in the UK for some time and the prices have been dropping as resolutions increase. However, HD DVD players have been slower to develop. The first mainstream HD-capable player to hit the UK mass consumer market was the Sony PS3 (PlayStation 3) in March 2007. The PS3 is capable of playing the Blue-ray format of HD movies. Unfortunately, there will be a format war between HD-DVD and Blue-ray. Both formats have the backing of different groups of Hollywood studios and equipment manufacturers, and at this stage it is impossible to tell whether one format will dominate over the other or whether both formats will co-exist.

At the moment, there is not a definite case to filming weddings in HD as there are currently more compromises than benefits. Mark Stuart Wedding Films owns two HD cameras and has extensively tested others, but our first choice for weddings is still a superior SD camera. There is a price to pay for HD not only in terms of additional cost but also in terms of picture quality in low light. Due to the laws of physics, the increased resolution sensors inside HD cameras require more light than lower resolution SD sensors – they therefore do not perform well in low-light environments. Available light levels inside the majority of churches, castles and reception venues are insufficient for HD filming, and it is not always feasible to adequately light every indoor scene. We are reviewing every new potentially suitable HD camera that comes on the market and guarantee we will be among the first to acquire the right equipment and recommend the switch over to HD when the technology has been further developed. Until then, the SD cameras we use produce superior pictures: the colours are vibrant, the picture is clear, sharp, noise free and detailed. And the regular DVDs we produce will play on everyone’s DVD players unlike HD-DVD and Blue-ray which will require specialist equipment. Our current advice is that unless your ceremony and reception venues have very bright lighting and the venue lights will be left up until the first few dances are over, say no to high definition.

We encourage you to take all the time you need to fully consider your options and reach a well-informed decision on your preferred choice of wedding videographer. However, it is wise to do this without unnecessary delay, as it can be heartbreaking to discover that your first choice of videographer has since received another booking. Please be aware that we often have several enquiries for a single date and it is very difficult to implement a fair policy of holding dates. Therefore, dates are only reserved when bookings are confirmed by our receipt of a completed booking form along with a booking fee. When you have decided you want to book Mark Stuart Wedding Films, please phone to double check availability before sending off the relevant agreements and fees. We are also happy to take your booking and payment of the booking fee by debit card over the phone.

Yes, we have facilities to take a booking and payment from anywhere in the world over the phone. Please telephone us on 01224 314999.