Category — Videographers

When we began planning, Fiance and I briefly considered and then disregarded the idea of a videographer for our wedding. Why? Well for one thing videography can cost up to $10,000 (yes!) in the D.C. area and honestly I wasn’t all that impressed. The cheaper vendors were cheesy and even the work of the more expensive videographers seemed very contrived to me. It was all kind of overly dramatic, slow motion shots that just didn’t fit me or what I wanted my wedding to be.

But then I discovered the work of Monachetti and no one was more surprised then me that one of my favorite things from the wedding is something I once swore I didn’t even want.

Here are just some of the reasons I’m thrilled with Monachetti -

1) Unobtrusive - Mike from Monachetti was barely noticeable throughout the day. I’ve seen videographers at other weddings with huge cameras, bright lights, and the cameraman literally in the face of the bride, groom, and guests. But with Mike there were no lights and no giant cameras, and he definitely wasn’t in my face…just him and a handheld. I barely noticed he was there.

2) Open - For the most part, I’d like to think I’m not too demanding of a bride but I did have a couple requests. I wanted the video to be in black and white and I wanted the music to be completely un-wedding related (and no country). I didn’t want any of the good ol’ standards like “at last” or “the way you look tonight.” This wasn’t a problem. And even after all the editing was done and I wanted a couple extra things added they had a new version done up in less then 24 hrs.

3) Real - Husband and I aren’t super models. Our wedding isn’t going to be in the next issue of Martha Stewart. We’re real people, with a real wedding, and I wanted an authentic video of the day. I LOVE the documentary style of our video. What I hate most about other forms of wedding videography is the overuse of what I call “tricks” - like putting everything in slow motion to make it seem more dramatic, or using soft focus to make things seem romantic. I didn’t want our wedding to seem like a Hollywood production. I wanted it to be real. I wanted our video to show us how we truly are….real people—not movie stars. I wanted our video to reflect how our wedding really was. I think Monachetti really captured the spirit of the day.

4) Unique - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No one in our area is doing what Monachetti is doing. Their work is unique, and in my opinion exceptional. I truly believe that other videography companies in this area will have to adapt and follow Monachetti’s lead. They represent the new generation of wedding videographers. Modern brides will never look back.

You can see clips of their work on the website but to see a clip of our wedding you can go here - http://www.dcnearlyweds.com/2008/07/miss-capitol-hill-wedding-recap-video.html

My favorite examples of their work can be found here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRTWVU16FBk and here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knJ0TijuPuY

Link to Vendor’s Site: Monachetti
Date of Service: 05/25/08
Vendor Location: D.C. Metro Area
Vendor Recommended: Yes