Audio is such an important component of a wedding film – it’s literally half of the final product! I dedicate a large amount of time during post production to selecting music that sets the right mood and matches with the visuals. I put a lot of thought into piecing together audio from the reception speeches that best tells the story of your relationship and your big day. Sometimes I incorporate a clip from the officiant’s address during the ceremony to emphasize the meaning of marriage. I also like to incorporate some other sound bites like laughter, tears, and applause to really evoke the emotions of the day.

These are all great audio sources, but my absolute favorite audio to include are recordings of your own voices. After all, this is your day and your video! This gives you an opportunity to share your feelings in your own words.

Three main ways you can incorporate your own voices are through:

• Exchanging Wedding Morning Letters
• Writing Your Own Vows
• Giving a Short Speech at the Reception
    

Wedding Morning Letters

Writing letters to each other to open on your wedding morning has become a big trend over the past few years. It allows you to communicate your last-minute wedding day thoughts to each other while you are in separate rooms getting ready for the big day. It’s your last chance to write a message to each other as fiancés before you can officially call either other “husband” or “wife”!! This gives you an opportunity to calm any wedding morning jitters and remind each other what today is all about: the two of you.

This is extra popular for couples who don’t plan to recite their own vows during the ceremony, because it still allows them to tell their future spouse how much they mean to them in their own words.

Sometimes the letter accompanies a wedding morning gift, so the letter also gives you an opportunity to explain what the gift is or why you chose it.
 

 

Some points you can include in your letter are:

• Reflect on your history together – how you two met, what your relationship has been like, how you got engaged, etc. When did you know he/she was “the one”?
• How do you feel towards your future spouse? Why do you love him/her? What are your favorite things about him/her? What do you love to do together?
• Think about your future together – what are you most excited about? Traveling together? Building a home together? Having children or pets? Seeing him/her as a parent? Growing old together?
• Comment on the fact that it’s your wedding day! Have you been waiting for ages for this day? Did the planning process fly by? What emotions are you feeling right now? What are you most excited for today?

(You can read some more tips from WeddingWire here.)

 

Here are some of my favorite examples of letters from past #LinPernilleCouples to get you inspired:

Wedding Morning Letter Examples:

 

Writing Your Own Vows

The vows are my favorite part of any wedding day – it’s also usually the most tear-filled part of the day!

A wedding ceremony is meant to be a public affirmation of the commitment you are making to each other. Your guests are there to witness your vows to each other, and give you whatever guidance they can to help you keep those vows for the rest of your lives.

Most churches and officiants have standard/traditional vows that you can choose to repeat after them. If you’d like to write your own vows (which I highly recommend!), you can either modify those vows to make them more true to yourselves, or just write your own vows from scratch!

Here are some prompts to get the wheels turning and help you write your own vows:

• Start by addressing your future spouse, typically by their full name.
• What have the past __ years together been like? Think about your past and all that you’ve been through. If you have a unique love story, share it.
• How do you feel about your fiancé? What are you grateful for? What are your favorite memories together?
• Why are you choosing to marry your fiancé?
• What do you love about your relationship? Why do you think you’re such a good match?
• What does marriage & this commitment mean to you?
• What is your vision for your marriage & your future together?
• What vows do you promise to keep, both big and small, easy and hard? (These can be serious, sweet, or silly! Try to do a mix of all three, if possible.)
• Specify that you promise to keep these vows through any kind of challenge (“thick and thin”, “for better or for worse”, “in sickness and in health”), and that you promise to keep them forever (“until the end of time”, “until death do us part”).

Here are some of my favorite vows from past couples (that may or may not have made me tear up behind the camera):

Handwritten Vow Examples:

 

Reception Remarks from the Couple

Another opportunity to capture audio from you two is by saying a few words at the reception. This is also a really thoughtful way to address your guests and thank them for being there!

Here are some suggestions for what to include in your remarks:

• Thank everyone for coming.
• Thank everyone who helped make your wedding possible.
• Do you have a lot of guests from out of state or out of the country? Thank them for coming so far. Is it snowing or raining or super hot outside? Thank them for sticking out the weather to be here today. Is it a weekday or holiday? Thank them for making arrangements or turning down other obligations to be here.
• What does it mean for you that they’re here? If you have a lot of guests, maybe say how happy you are to have all your loved ones here in one place or how grateful you are to have so many loved ones. Don’t have a lot of guests? Let them know that you had a selective guest list and only invited the most dear people in your lives, so if they’re here, they mean a lot to you.
• What are your thoughts on your wedding day so far? Are you having a blast? How many times have you cried so far? Is it exactly what you dreamed of?
• End with a call to action – what do you want them to do tonight? Enjoy the food? Help themselves to the open bar? Get on the dancefloor? Tell them! 🙂

If you’d rather not speak to everyone out loud at the reception, but you still like the idea of addressing your guests, consider writing a “thank you” note on the ceremony programs or menus!

 

I hope I’ve convinced you to include at least one of these elements on your wedding day, if not all of them! Believe me, you will be so glad you did when you’re able to watch your final wedding video and hear all the excitement, nerves, and emotion in your own voices as you share your feelings on one of the most special days of your life.

👰

Read more helpful wedding planning blog posts here.