CORNWALL WEDDING VIDEO | HELEN + DARREN

If I was to get married again, I think I'd do it the Helen and Darren way. They did luck out on the weather but they also chose the perfect setting for not only a wedding but for a holiday. The guests treated it as a mini-break and we treated it like a working holiday. How could you not? Filming scenery as stunning as the coastline of Trebarwith Strand, Cornwall and at Pencarrow House is pure joy. Especially when the skies are blue and the sun is shining.

Helen and Darren were recommended to us by a friend. There previous wedding videographer had pulled out for some reason and they were struggling to find anyone who could to live up to their expectations. We jumped at the chance of spending a couple of days filming in Cornwall. It's very different to our usual wedding venues in London, Cotswolds and Surrey and we'd get to film some 'organised fun' as Helen like to put it such as surfing, ice-cream on the beach and duck races.

I arrived Thursday afternoon. I was immediately blown away by Trebarwith strand. It's a small place with some cottages, a couple of shops and an incredible cliftop restaurant/bar overlooking the beach. I was excited as any wedding videographer would be filming at glorious locations in the sunshine. I headed down to the beach with just the DSLR in tow and started filming. Safe to say I'll probably only use a couple of the 45 shots I took in that first hour on the beach but that was just the start of it. I soon discovered that my fellow wedding videographer Alexis was obsessed with filming waves. I have shots of waves crashing on rocks, sand, people, dogs, muscles and barnacles. I could make an entire film about the waves at Trebarwith strand thanks to Alexis. I only really needed two shots for the wedding video...

We spent Friday evening filming a picturesque sunset and settling in to our £29! Travelodge accommodation just down the road. An early rise and fantastic breakfast overlooking the beach set us up for the day and we trotted of Friday full of optimism that this would be one of the best wedding videos we have made and of course more importantly a great wedding day.

We had previously discussed with Helen and Darren the type of wedding film they would like. They wanted us to make a short wedding video shot with a modern look. I suggested we film it handheld as it would suit the casual nature of the wedding and would work well with the locations. So we started Saturday morning filming Darren getting ready at the Mill House Inn and Helen getting ready at Cumbrae House, both on Trebarwith strand.

When making this sort of wedding video it is very difficult to use a zoom lens. You have to be a little closer to people that we would usually like, but we always explain this to the couple so they are aware. Helen and Darren were more than happy with this and Darren, who by all accounts is a closet exhibitionist, were brilliant in front of the camera. They were comfortable, relaxed and knew exactly how to act. It was great for us being able to interview Darren about his recently gained bruise. Not many men would be comfortable being filmed having make-up applied to their face...

Alexis soon headed of to Pencarrow House, the location of the wedding ceremony. I waited and travelled with Darren on the mini-bus; watching his face turn from relaxed to nervous as we got closer and closer to Pencarrow. The outdoor ceremony at Pencarrow was so relaxed. Unfortunately the couple had to stand in an arch which made it very difficult for us to film. Thanks to a Go-Pro clipped to a branch on a shrub we made the very best of the situation. My love affair with the Go-Pro only grew after that.

Pencarrow House is an incredible location. The driveway leading up to the venue is simply stunning. I decided that we had to get a shot of the driveway somehow. So we attached a Go-Pro to the back of Alexis car and filmed Darren and Helen travelling in Lola the VW van on their way back to the wedding reception . The result was amazing and you can see part of it in the wedding video on this page.

Devastatingly for the guests and for the wedding everything was running late and we had to miss ice-creams on the beach. Booooo! But we did still have the duck -race to come....

The reception at the Mill-House was good fun, the speeches were some of the best I've heard and the duck race was entertaining. Almost everyone at the wedding left guest messages for the couple who are clearly adored by all their friends and family. I know Darren and Helen will be delighted that we give the guest messages uncut; it's such a great extra to the wedding video. The dancing went on late into the night but by 11pm we were dead on our feet. Travelodge luxury awaited and beauty sleep was needed before filming surfing the next day..

We're really pleased with how the final wedding video came out. Sometimes you have to make calls on the day as things don't always go to plan. Luckily enough we're experienced wedding videographers and now we tend to always make the right calls. And we also have Go-pros which are quite often life-savers. I have to admit I was a bit gutted to be leaving Cornwall and heading back to the Cotswolds although by the time they'd finished surfing I'd run out of excuses to stick around. Nobody wants a wedding videographer on their honeymoon....do  they?