wedding films

Looking Back at 2019

Wow, I don’t do blog posts often do I? I should really try to keep up on these more.

So, anyway.. as with every year since I have been filming weddings, I am amazed by my love of doing what I do, the fantastic wedding couples and wedding suppliers I meet along the way and the beautiful places I go to to create wedding videos. I really am so grateful to anyone that books me, recommends me and is at all interested in what I do. It means so much that I get to do this for a living and people enjoy my work.

Something I have really tried to put across to potential couples this year is that my videos are all very much based upon each individual couple. The music I choose, the style of the video and everything is very much tailored to suit each individual wedding. Some wedding films will be a lot more upbeat, others might be more emotional and cinematic, some will be a bit of a party and others might be a bit more mellow. I try to make sure each film is unique, so it’s good to watch a few examples of my work to really understand that rather than watching just one wedding video and thinking that must be my style. I want each wedding couple to feel like their film is unique and not just fit into a format that each video follows.

The wedding industry is a fantastic community and with filming weddings I get to see people at their happiest whilst doing what I love the most. This year, I have had the joy of filming some exceptional weddings with beautiful people from all around the United Kingdom. This year has actually featured a little less travel than usual and I have largely ended up in the Surrey area, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and some slightly further afield in Devon, Kent and London.

I am quite lucky that I quite often get to do so many new venues that I haven’t shot at before, rather than sticking to a select few I like to do something new which always allows me to create fresh, different and unique work. This year I have been to some stunning venues, I will link some of them below and also link to a video (wedding film trailer) from each of these venues:

Grittleton House - Naomi & Ben Wedding Trailer: https://vimeo.com/369440321 - Grittleton House is in the lovely Chippenham in the village of Grittleton right near Castle Combe, a stunning part of the world and Naomi and Bens wedding trailer hopefully shows that off!

Newton Park Barn - Amazingly I filmed two weddings at this tiny little family run venue this year, a small barn in the middle of Milton Keynes (I am based in Salisbury, nowhere near Milton Keynes so how I had two weddings here I will never know!). However, I am so so glad I did as it is a fantastic, intimate venue that has the most stunning scenery and the hills across from the barn are perfect for some beautiful couple shots. Matt & Jess’ wedding from the barn is one of my favourite weddings this year and I love the upbeat style I made their wedding video to, here is a link to that video: https://vimeo.com/360355666

Pennyhill Park - Pennyhill park in Bagshot, Surrey is part of the Exclusive Hotels group and it turns out I filmed 4 weddings at 4 of their venues this year, the others include The Manor Barn in Castle Combe, The Royal Berkshire Hotel and Lainston House in Winchester. They are all STUNNING venues and the weddings were equally stunning and Shanie & Stuarts wedding from Pennyhill Park (featuring a games room!!) was just incredible, that wedding trailer can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/354943454

I have also had the pleasure of shooting at a couple of venues from the Bijou Wedding Group with a fantastic wedding at Botleys Mansion and another stunning wedding at Cain Manor and since then I am delighted that they have invited me to come on as a wedding supplier partner, so hopefully, I will be filming a few more weddings at these beautiful venues! Here is Rebecca & Tims trailer from Cain Manor in July 2019: https://vimeo.com/353404499

I could go on and on about so many of the beautiful weddings and venues that I have filmed at this year but that could get quite boring, but if you are on the search for a wedding venue hopefully some of these suggestions might help!

I can’t finish this blog post before mentioning some of the incredible suppliers I have had the pleasure of working with this year, particularly a few photographers I am lucky to regularly work alongside. The first big mention goes to Alisa Roberts Photography who I am looking forward to working with a lot in 2020 and we both took part in our first ever styled shoot together this year which I will link below! Check out her Instagram, her photos are incredible but more than that she is an infectious personality that will fill every wedding guests day with joy. Also a very very big shout out to Angela Ward Brown much the same can be said about her and her photos continue to blow me away and I love any chance I get to work with her. I can also list so many other amazing photographers I have worked with in 2019 such as Murray Freestone Photography, Nicky Hill Photography, Lydia Stamps, Annamarie Stepney, Rebecca Frost , Joe Short Photography, Anneli Marinovich Photography and many many more!

My first ever styled shoot:

I also actually filmed two wedding right in the centre of Salisbury this year too, despite being based in Salisbury I so rarely ever film weddings here (or at least right in the centre of the city!), but this year that all changed with Abi & Nathans wedding at St Johns Place and Chloe & Henry’s wedding at The Red Lion.

In 2020 I have so many exciting weddings lined up and I feel more than ever that I have a clear vision on what I try to offer to each couple that books me. I hope to provide more value, better wedding videos, more amazing moments and a smile as I do my job every time. Thank you so much to everyone that has booked me in 2020 and at this time I still have some spaces available for anyone that is considering it. I look forward to meeting you all and being a part of your special day.

Thank you for allowing me to do what I do for a living, in return I will work as hard as possible to create unique, creative and special wedding films for you :)

To finish, here is my showreel for 2020 featuring a little snippet of all of the amazing weddings I was lucky enough to film in 2019:

Rachel & Jamie | Owl Lodge, Lacock

3rd September 2016

Quite possibly the happiest couple EVER! Rachel & Jamies wedding at The Owl Lodge in Lacock could not have been a rainier more miserable day... BUT it did not matter whatsoever. Rachel & Jamie just smiled their way through the day and adapted without a stress in the world. They just enjoyed themselves and so did every single guest. The rain meant I had to adapt my filming and it really does test your skills as a wedding videographer when you have to find unique couple shots indoors. I fortunately worked with a fantastic photographer in James Green Photographer to come up with some unique shots throughout the day.

I love filming weddings and every time the couple come back overjoyed at what you have produced for them you just know it was all worth it. Rachel & Jamie were so happy with their final package. The wedding trailer below captures the constant joy on their faces throughout their wedding day: 

Ashleigh & Stephen | Rhinefield House

7th August 2016

I was fortunate enough to film two weddings in two days in the New Forest and Rhinefield House is just a dream venue for any wedding videographer. Ashleigh & Steves wedding was another beautifully sunny day and they had their ceremony outside in the grounds of Rhinefield House. Outdoor ceremonies are so nice when the weather is just right! 

The day went perfectly and everyone was so chilled out as they enjoyed games on the lawn with great views of the New Forest all around, so much to film and so many nice shots to put into the final film. One of the highlights of the day was Stephens poem during the ceremony, I immediately knew it would becoming the backing track to their film trailer. I love when something like this just stands out and I can see immediately how I am going to piece the trailer and film together in my head. Everyone danced the way into the night with Rhinefield House looking fantastic. You can view their wedding video trailer below: 

Harriet & Ollie | New Forest Showground

6th August 2016

Harriet & Ollies wedding at the New Forest Showground was such a special day and so perfectly organised. Living right next to the New Forest affords me the absolute luxury of having many spectacular wedding venues in the area. New Forest Showground is a particularly unique one and Harriet & Ollies day with a giant marquee was just beautiful. I love filming weddings in the New Forest, especially when it was a boiling hot day and everyone was outside enjoying the sunshine whilst the various bands played throughout the day. 

In the morning Harriet prepared for the day at Burley Rails Cottage, I filmed her make up prep and some lovely shots of the wedding dress with the sun coming through the window. I then headed over to film Ollie before setting up at the church. From then on the day went incredibly smoothly and they just could not have wished for better New Forest weather! 

It truly was an incredible wedding to film and Harriet & Ollie were so pleased with their final film. The wedding ended up featuring in Hampshire & Dorset Wedding Magazine where I received a little wedding videographer credit :) 

Below you can see the trailer for the film as well as Harriet & Ollies wonderful feedback: 

Feedback:

Ben was an absolutely wonderful videographer for our wedding! This was something we were "umm'ing and arr'ing" about having for our big day but we are so so glad we decided to go for it! One of the best things about Ben is that you felt like you never saw him, he was just there in the background capturing everything without being in the way...well even being seen. He really got to know us and found out what we wanted from the video and the final product is just amazing! Thank you so much Ben!

2016, an exciting time ahead.

I haven't written a blog in a while... and really have only written one very short one since revamping my wedding film website. So here we go.

2016 is shaping up to be a great year of wedding films, each and every one in a fantastic location, with great couples. On top of that, 2017 is already starting to look like a very busy one as well. 

Wedding videography and filmmaking in general is my ultimate passion. It sounds cliche to say but I really do love what I do. For some people & companies it is seen as a job and/or just a way to make money, for me its a lot more than that. I have a constant need to create things, make films and put my work in front of people that it matters to.

There is no work I do that matters more than a wedding video. There is pressure to get it right, there is a lot of rushing around on the day, a lot of editing, but ultimately, the joy of knowing you have nailed it makes up for all of that. When the couple come back to you saying how much they love their wedding film, that feeling of knowing you have made a difference and put a smile on peoples faces really is brilliant. 

Filmmaking is an art, and wedding videography for me is part of that art. Each film I make I want to be better than the last. Constantly improving and constantly finding new ways to do things is important in the pursuit of filming great weddings both in the UK from my base in Salisbury and all around the world. 

This year I have the pleasure of filming some great wedding videos in Salisbury, my hometown as well as many other various places around the UK. Remember, I LOVE to travel, particularly for a GREAT wedding venue and the opportunity to make a great wedding film. This year I will be filming weddings in venues such as The Clock Barn in Whitchurch, The Italian Villa in Poole, The Manor Barn in Salisbury. I will also be filming at some fantastic wedding venue in Winchester, Dorset, Bath, Lacock, among others. I am looking forward to travelling around, meeting these great couples and filming some fantastic weddings.

I will have some great wedding videos to show off at the end of 2016 as well as in 2017. If you want to be part of that collection head to my Contact page and fill out the form. I still have some spaces on a few weekends in 2016 so feel free to speak to me and see if I am still available. 

Ben Radley Wedding Films really is all about creating the best, most unique wedding films and wedding videos to suit you. I don't believe any wedding is the same, every couple is different. So lets sit, have a coffee and see how we can create the best one for you :)

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