Letter reading on your wedding morning

We spend your entire wedding day listening out for any bits of audio that can be used to make your film even more personal and tailored to you. Your ceremony and speeches are our main sources. But when one of our couples decide to write each other letters (or cards) and read each other's out loud - it's our dream come true!

A lot of couples choose to send a card to each other on the morning of their celebrations, but sometimes there's just a little too much to say for a card! It's your chance to remind the person you love the most the reason behind all of the madness of wedding planning; the reason you're doing this! Letters and letter reading have a unique ability to convey emotions in a way that spoken words sometimes cannot. Putting pen to paper, in our digital world, is a timeless and intimate gesture. Whether you choose to write about your love story, your hopes for the future, or simply express your love and gratitude, these letters and the footage we capture become cherished keepsakes that can be revisited for years to come.

Your wedding morning is a whirlwind of emotions, anticipation, and excitement. Amidst the flurry of preparations, this is your chance for a moment of quiet reflection that can set the tone for the entire day. As the morning creeps on and you're both almost ready, we'll sit you down in some lovely light (hopefully next to a massive window), clear the room of everybody so you've got some peace and quiet and get you to read it out loud.

Tips for letter reading:

• Make your letter personal: Share your favourite memories, inside jokes, and reasons why you fell in love. Make it uniquely yours.

• We’ll choose a quiet setting hopefully next to a massive window: We’ll make sure the space is serene, has some natural light and is quiet. We’ll also clear the room of anyone else if you want us to!

• Be authentic: Don't hold back while you’re reading the letter addressed to you. Let your emotions flow naturally, and don't be afraid to shed a tear!

Not only is this an absolutely dreamy moment for you both to have; reading letters that the person you're about to marry has written especially for you, but it also means that we've captured genuinely raw emotions and some gorgeous audio that is totally unique to you and your love story. It really adds a different dimension to your wedding film, an extra level of personalisation.

If you’re wondering whether to write each other letters on the morning of your big day - GO FOR IT! It’s lush and we love it!

Just how much confetti do you need?

Planning a wedding can be a minefield . . . it doesn't happen every day! You are thrown in at the deep-end with unusual wedding-day-specific decisions to make such as: does everyone need an individual menu or will one for the table be okay? What piece of music do we want playing when we sign register? Do we need a champagne tower and if yes, will a rather merry uncle Bob fall into it sending shattered glass everywhere??

Hopefully we can help with this decision: how much confetti should we order?

We LOVE confetti and we love talking about it! It's a brilliantly fun part of a wedding day, when all of your guests have been sat down, listening to you declare your undying love for each other, like coiled springs ready to explode with wedding merriment. We can't think of any better way to use all of that pent up energy than to throw confetti and cheer loudly.

Sooo, just how much do you need?? That's where our confetti guide comes in!

First things first, it depends on how you want your confetti to look and what your venue allows.

If there are no restrictions, the round tissue paper discs (biodegradable ones) stay in the air longest and make for the best confetti shots from our point of view.

A lot of venues ask for real petals only and there are loads of options within this, although they don’t stay in the air *quite* as long, real petals look beautiful afterwards wherever they’ve fallen.

Once you’ve decided on that it’s time to work out how your guests will end up with it in their hands. Again, a few options with this.

Individual packets have a few options, flat packets or cones are the most popular, but have a look online (see below for suggested suppliers to get your started), there are so many options! A lot of websites/suppliers let you customise the packets too. Remember to double check if you’re buying packets whether or not you need to fill them yourself or not - which is GREAT excuse to have someone in your wedding party round for drinks and confetti stuffing!

You can have buckets/baskets for guests to grab a handful of it, this is the easiest way from your point of view - no packaging anything up or buying individual packets, but some guests will be tempted to grab a massive handful (a massive pile of confetti does look inviting and we’ve definitely done this in the past!) so you’ll need to factor in a little bit more than if you are having individual packets.

Confetti Calculator

In terms of actual volume:

Flat packets: 1 per person

Cones: can often be 1 between 2, depending on size

No packaging: roughly 1 litre gives around 20 handfuls

You can use our table to help work it out!

Phew! You might be thinking all of this for only a tiny moment of your day?? Honestly, the rush you’ll get when everyone is cheering and you’re showered with beautiful confetti is one of the best feelings. Of course we’ll be there to capture it so you can watch it over and over again. This is one of the only situations that we really have to ‘stage’ during a wedding day. Unfortunately, people lining up to throw confetti over you just doesn’t happen naturally! As we've said - we LOVE confetti, especially me (Charlotte), I like to be surrounded by it at all times! If it’s important to you and your day it will be worth the teeny bit of effort beforehand.

Suggested suppliers:

• Adamapple (this is where we’ve ordered it from for our wedding at the beginning of 2022; we chose biodegradable paper discs in our wedding colours)

• Proper Confetti

• Dollz Confetti

There are so many though, this is just the tip of the confetti iceberg.

Happy confetti shopping!

Ps confetti fact: the word comes from an Italian word for sweets/candies and one singular piece would be called a 'confetto'

Plan B Doesn't Have to be a Compromise | Sophie & Matt | Covid Wedding

Last month we had the honour of filming the first wedding at the beautifully, elegant church - St. Mary the Virgin Nunthorpe-in-Cleveland, since the world went crazy!

The wonderful Sally T was photographing.

It’s no secret that I (Charlotte) cry at every wedding that we shoot, but this one was different. It felt so emotionally charged! The combination of not having filmed a wedding in so long & the fact that something so lovely and so happy was happening in amongst all of uncertainty and odd way of life that we all currently have. An intimate ceremony is always a more emotional one, but this one really hit home.

For anyone wondering how things might be different keep reading . . .

Firstly - the timeline of the day didn't change, it was just a little shorter than usual. There was the normal calm before the storm bride prep, the groom prep, the guests arriving, the ceremony, the confetti, the couple shots & group shots and on this day there was even socially distanced dancing, but we'll come back to that!

We were able to film outside for most of the bride preparations. The gorgeous Sophie was getting ready at her Mother's home which has a room downstairs with double doors opening out onto the garden. With the doors open to let in loads of natural light we could get 'up close & personal' without actually having to be that close! I know that not everyone will be able to recreate this exact situation, but there could be a great solution to the morning part of your wedding day, it just needs a little thinking outside the box.

The groom, Matt, was getting ready where the newlyweds were going to be spending their first night as a married couple. This was in a log cabin: Blackthorn Gate, with the MOST incredible view of Roseberry Topping (I'm from Middlesbrough so I loved this!). It's got a hot tub that looks out towards the peak - Imagine relaxing in the hot tub with a glass of something fizzy in your hand - bliss.

Everything was close by so it was just a quick drive to the church after this to capture the guests arriving. Seeing everyone all lit up in their finery for the first time in months was magical. The atmosphere was one of glorious appreciation for this to be happening.

Craig & Sally wore masks inside the church as did everyone apart from Sophie & Matt and the vicar. This was a minor factor for the whole day and did not at all take away from the occasion at all! I was filming from outside the church (the maximum of 30 people were in the church) and was able to capture Sophie walking down the aisle & the full ceremony from my vantage point.

At the end of the incredibly special & intimate service there were a few revellers waiting outside with corks ready to pop off as the newly weds exited the church.

The group shots were brilliant! Sally T did a great job (as usual) of making sure everything looked *just right*. Remember Beyoncé's sister, Solange's wedding photos?? It looks so chic that I think this technique should be continued after we see the back of this pandemic!

The incredibly talented Hyde Park Brass band turned up after the ceremony as surprise! With their immense energy & perfectly curated set list they created an instant party. They are currently doing a tour of the country - I'm not going to do the concept justice here, but it's called 'To Your Street Tour' you should definitely check it out (https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/hyde-park-brass-to-your-street-tour )

Everyone was able to dance safely in the car park outside the church - the perfect chance to let off some steam and celebrate with Sophie & Matt, dancing to some absolute TUNES by the band.

We know the guidelines have changed since then, but this is brilliant example of how to think outside of the box given the rules that are in place. All it needs is a little creativity! It doesn't have to be a brass band in a car park, just something that fills you with joy. The plans for this wedding changed a lot and were still changing the week before the big day, but because Sophie & Matt rolled with the punches and found a way of celebrating & following the guidelines at the time it meant that they could relax and really concentrate on what mattered the most.

The whole of the celebrations had a relaxed, back to basics vibe - the simplicity of everything felt beautifully innocent, pared back & kind of what I imagine it was like in the olden days - a gorgeous village wedding. There were no distractions from the fact that two people who are in love sharing that with their very closest ones.

Thank you, Sophie & Matt!

Charlotte x

https://www.hellotherefilms.com/

https://www.sallytphoto.com/

https://hydeparkbrass.com/