I was reminded of the importance of wedding video music this week whilst finalising the edit for several different clients. Last year ago I remember Bobby enthusing over the director Mira Nair whose film Monsoon Wedding contains some wonderful music for wedding videos. I enjoy her work too and went to the cinema to see The Namesake as soon as it came out in 2007. What impresses me about much Indian music is the way that films are such a driving force behind the creation of it. Unlike a lot of Western music, from the outset many Indian artists aim to tell a story with their music as part of a film. My perception is their music is less abstract and chart driven than the UK & US with the lyrics possessing a much greater significance (although anyone reading this is welcome to correct me!).

Consequently whilst many ‘western’ wedding video clients might be happy with music that simply suits the ‘mood’ of their spectacle, many Indian wedding video clients will be more sensitive to its lyrics. This happened with Bobby & Sejal who provided many music suggestions for their film including ‘Aaj Mera Jee Karda’ (Today My Heart Desires) from Monsoon Wedding. Another track they suggested was ‘Tera Bina’ (Without You) from Guru which I think is beautiful. I often find myself scanning the search engines for translations of lyrics both out of curiosity and a fearful wish to avoid embarrassment!

Probably no job was more challenging to me in the last year than Amrita and Benji’s film – see my previous blog Epic Sikh Wedding Video. This is because it contains not less than 33 tracks, which proved a real challenge for a non-Indian language speaker like myself! Fortunately Amrita and Benji like a lot of Western music too, so it contains a bit of both. However I am very proud of the film not just because of the music, but also because of its epic proportions! One thing is for sure, I will think twice next time before agreeing to take on a 5 day wedding in the middle of the peak season! Nevertheless putting together the film score for Amrita and Benji was a useful experience for me, it made me appreciate Bollywood films a lot more than I did and greatly increased my awareness of good Indian music.

Nothing however quite scared me recently as much as Chloe & Martin’s wedding video. Yes they are an English couple, but Chloe is a music lawyer and her father owns a well-known record label! As part of their wedding celebrations they had Gospel singers, a performance by native Indian tribesmen and a live gig by a newly signed artist. With such a strong musical heritage, you can imagine how concerned I was about hitting the right note (okay, pun intended). Like the others, they did provide a few hints and I also paid attention to music used on the day to garner more suggestions. Fingers crossed they will like what we’ve done!

As part of the development of our new website we’ve recently added some help and advice pages. We hope it will prompt clients who are less confident about commissioning a wedding video to contribute to their music score. I strongly believe that the films we make for our clients should feel personal and relevant. Music in my opinion is one of the strongest ways of making this connection!

Another Muslim wedding we filmed this year was Shazma & Omar’s Nikkah, held at the Dorchester Hotel, London in May. Attended by 500 guests, the couple booked our Premiere package which I supervised personally with our videographers Dan & Tunji. Dan began the day in Berkshire filming Shazma leaving her family home, whilst Tunji and I went over to Chigwell to film Omar and his family getting ready and conducting the Sehra Bandi. Its quite rare for us to film grooms getting ready, (usually this is domain of brides!), but Omar’s outfit and preparations were considerably more elaborate than most grooms. Indeed it tends to only be Sikh & Muslim grooms that really warrant the filming treatment, for example see this Sikh wedding video and this Muslim wedding video. Omar’s family were very welcoming and I had a particularly pleasant chat with Omar’s father.

After departing from their respective homes the two families descended upon the Dorchester Hotel in central London. From a filming perspective, the highlight of the day was the Baraat. Behind the hotel in a small street the groom pulled up in a Rolls Royce Phantom and mounted a beautifully decorated horse. 200 guests and a large professional band then proceeded behind the groom into Park Lane to the astonishment of many bystanders. Buses full with commuters were temporarily held up for the jaw dropping spectacle as the band and guests danced their way down Park Lane to hotel’s ballroom entrance. Here the families met and greeted one another, before two Scottish bag pipers took over and led the whole gathering into the hotel ballroom. It was a fabulous setting and after the Nikkah was completed an evening of food, speeches and entertainment provided a treat for all. You can see highlights from Shazma & Omar’s Muslim wedding celebrations below

The first Jewish wedding video we filmed this year was on a cold wintry day in March. It was for Michel & Michael a couple whose special day was hosted at the Millennium Hotel Gloucester Road. The couple booked our Director’s Cut™ package at a time when it was only two cameras (now three). We used Sony Z1 cameras and our jib arm, we also hired a Steadicam Merlin for the occasion to see if it was something we might buy. I must say I was very pleased with the Steadicam and would have no hesitation buying one if it wasn’t for the fact that we ditched our Z1 cameras for the new heavier Z7 cameras. Creating a Jewish wedding video is always interesting, especially filming the ceremony, dancing and blessings. This particular Jewish wedding was a bit more orthodox than those we’ve previously filmed as the men and women were divided during the reception banquet. Despite the very dark time of year (and being two levels below ground for the reception), the wedding presented enough spectacle to create a fabulous Jewish wedding video. One thing that stuck in my mind was the Talbis which took place before the ceremony and involved the males of the family each singing in turn before being joined in chorus. You can see highlights of this wedding video below:

At the start of May we filmed Toby and Bhupinders Sikh wedding celebrations over 3 days including the family’s Mendhi and Ladies Sangeet events. It was our first job with the newly released Sony Z7 camera and Dan & Dusan had the honour of christening (or should I say Sikhisming?) the new cameras. I came and supervised the filming of the ceremony on the Sunday morning which was at Hounslow Gurdwara. What is unusual about this Sikh wedding is that Toby is a non-Sikh American guy who lives and works in the UK. He and Bhupinder were a really nice couple, representing a cross cultural marriage with a real sense of openness. Both families were very warm and friendly and Toby and his father grew the customary beards for the occasion. The Sikh wedding reception was held afterwards in the secret garden at Syon Park this proved a lovely setting for enjoyable event. To see highlights from their Sikh wedding video, click on the video below:

Towards the end of last year we were invited to film Rachel and Alexander’s wedding at the Palace of Westminster. This was a very special opportunity for me being a former arts student with an interest in Gothic Revival architecture since their wedding was conducted in AWN Pugin’s masterpiece St Mary Undercroft. The service was conducted by the Bishop of St. Albans one of nicest members of the clergy I have ever had the cause to work with and the wedding ceremony was very moving. Rachel and Alex’s wedding was attended by a number of dignitaries and familiar faces and their reception was held afterwards in the House of Lords banqueting rooms overlooking the Thames. It was nice to have a really iconic place to film and I enjoyed making this wedding video in Westminster particularly. Photography was done by Matt Link Photography who I enjoyed working with and certainly knew what he was doing. You can see highlights of their wedding video below

One of the first London wedding videos we filmed this year was for Catherine and Christian a couple who married at Farm Street Church in Mayfair with a reception afterwards at Claridges Hotel. The service was conducted by Father William Pearsall a splendidly nice chap with a great sense of humour. Catherine looked wonderful in her dress entering into this fabulous catholic church and Christian gave a witty speech at the reception. Claridges is a very nice venue for a wedding and we have been there on many occasions now. Like all our wedding videos in London, we try to combine the elegance of the occasion with a sense of what being in London is all about. Dishad and Simon filmed the wedding using the Z1 camera on one of its last outings before we upgraded to the Z7, I must say Claridges uses very low lighting so it is a struggle for the Z1 camera and I am glad we won’t have to use camera lights so often in future. Use can see highlights of this London wedding video.

Another Muslim wedding video we finished editing over the last few months was for Asif and Reshmin. Both of them are from Bengali families, so they found themselves at the centre of a fabulous wedding celebrations that went over for several days! The culmination of this was a lavish wedding reception at the Marriott Grosvenor Square attended by some 500 guests. Reshmin is the ideal bride to film as she always animated and wearing a big smile, she looked fabulous at her wedding reception. I was particularly pleased that she and Asif had a chance to do some photography in the park and it makes a big difference to the visual quality of the film. They are a lovely couple and I wish them well in the future. You can see highlights from their Muslim wedding video below