Timeless Memories

A wedding day can come and go so quickly. Being the center of attention for the day can really make you miss out on a lot of the little moments. Sometimes, the little moments can be the most beautiful.

The most beautiful moments happen when you least expect it. The gold is really found in children though, they always pull off something so cute such as being shy to go down the aisle or waving around in a field with their puffy dress. Grandma and Grandpa can surprise you as well, but it's hard to catch them swing dancing their behinds off in a crowd. Your family pet is probably wandering around wondering what's going on-- in a very cute way!

So even though your eyes might not catch everything, luckily there's a wedding videographer who can kind of act as your second pair of eyes to catch these moments. Otherwise, how will you ever know what happened? We tell him to specifically focus on the timeless memories and emotions, which actually show through the most in nice closeups.

That's how we define our style of shooting, close shots defined by the right action. It's not about how much money you spent or the decorations even so much as the people you love and capturing them to hold onto forever.

The most important thing? Smile! Emotion is what we look out for. The tears behind the smiles, we try to catch those too. How many of these timeless memories can you catch in this film?

Timeless memories Wedding Film from Jon Gangwer on Vimeo.

The "Perfect Wedding" may not exist

What is your relationship based on? Is it fun and games, or maybe more sentimental? What if the couple is more fun and laid back? Then they won't fit into the traditional wedding theme, right? Weddings are many times elegant, serious, and classy.

Sometimes while editing our wedding films, we come across some really unusual couples that OBVIOUSLY are far from traditional. So what if their idea of a beautiful wedding is the equivalent of a 13 year old boy's bar mitzvah party- complete with funny glasses, games, funny dancing, etc. This just represents their personalities; more power to them!

A wedding is a day you can proclaim your love and share your love with your families. Why try to mask that love with the old stereotypical ways if that's not who you are?

Sometimes brides focus on the perfection of the wedding day. They have to remember, their wedding day will never be perfect. In my opinion, they should focus more on bringing their personalities to the table than the idea of perfection. A wedding day is just another day in life, and life isn't perfect! Have fun and enjoy, rain or shine!

Untitled from Jon Gangwer on Vimeo.

Asian Tea Ceremony During a Wedding

One of the most mesmerizing moments to watch is an Asian tea ceremony. There are very particular customs the bride and groom do and it's completely surrounded by a family oriented philosophy-- something I really respect.

So what exactly is the meaning of a ceremony, what does it achieve? Generally, what happens is a low table is set up with prepared tea, and before the groom arrives, the bride serves her parents tea to thank them for raising her, as a sign of respect. In a way, the parents accepting the tea is a sign of them accepting the daughter's decision and that they are ready to embrace her new life.

Next, the groom enters and they both kneel on pillows, holding a cup of ready tea with particular seeds called Lotus seeds, which the ancients believed would help the bride and groom have children early in their marriage. It is a very sweet tasting tea, which portrays an embracing future and sweet relations between the families.


Next to them is someone called a Lucky woman, who knows the customs in and out and helps them serve the tea, and helps them if they forget their positioning or any of the steps. She is also there to wish them luck and happiness.

Typically, the bride is in front of her father in law and the groom is in front of his mother. They are addressed by their formal names. After the groom's parents, the ceremony proceeds in order of the oldest family members to the youngest. These typically can include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings.

At the end of the ceremony, the bride and groom are offered money and other valuables in red envelopes.

The vintage wedding film below is of a Korean tea ceremony, where the bride and groom wear outfits of the noble class. The groom's outfit represents fidelity and faithfulness to the bride, showing her parents that he will stay with her until the end. The bride's outfit is to ward off evil spirits.

Untitled from Jon Gangwer on Vimeo.

Enter with a bang!

One of the things that's always fun to see in the wedding videos we edit is a grand entrance. Some of the bridal parties simply walk in with a wave and kind of hang their head till they get to their seat. The BEST bridal parties are the ones that get a kick out of doing something goofy (probably after a drink or two). We've seen a lot of crazy entrances! The below are descriptions of the goofiest.

In one weddings in particular, the bridal party was masssive. If I remember correctly, like 10 couples or something like that. Well, the entrances in themselves seemed to take up most of the reception as they did this grand entrance on a stage with a spotlight following them as they leaped, threw stuff in the air, did funny dances, etc.

This couple came out, and at first attempted to trick everyone because they were walking like any standard entrance. Suddenly, the girl in front threw up what looked like pixie dust in the air. Then her guy came behind her and did the same thing.

Another couple came up behind them and the guy whipped out what looked like a magician's cloth and waved it around. Then the couple after that played leapfrog. It was a riot!

In a different wedding, the bride and groom made what was quite possibly the craziest, most unique entrance I think I've ever seen. They dressed up like Aladdin and the girl rode in on a magic carpet ON WHEELS that lit up neon colors. If that doesn't grab anyone's attention, what will?

In my opinion, the fun entrances are the best. They really pump up the guests and set the tone that everyone there should let loose and have a ball!



Take a look at the film below to witness all the goofy entrances for yourself!

Joanna's Wedding Film from Jon Gangwer on Vimeo.

Traditional Jewish Wedding

Below are two traditional Jewish wedding films that we filmed and edited. There are so many different traditions in a Jewish wedding that really make for an exciting film. For example, there's the:


Ketubah- A document the bride, groom, and their families sign which display the responsibilities of the groom to the bride. It is traditionally read out under the chupah (canopy the couple gets married under), but many times it is signed privately in a room away from the wedding madness. Many times, the document is decorated with a neat illustration that mean something to the bride or groom. For more traditional couples, however, it remains plain and in Hebrew.


Next there is something called the Bedeken, which happens after the Ketubah. The groom and his parents, as well as the rabbi approach the bride and veil her face. Many times during this ceremony, there is joyous singing. Music is taken very seriously in orthodox Jewish weddings. The musicians are not just there for a paid gig, they play spiritually and sway to the rhythm, really becoming part of the couple's emotions.


The chupah is a canopy held up by 4 poles. In traditional Jewish faith, it represents a roof where directly above is clear skies, depicting a soaring future for the couple. The entire ceremony takes place under this chupah, including exchanging of the rings and the breaking of the glass, which can represent many symbols. One of the symbols is that the couple's old world is broken and now they're entering a new world, where they are married and have new responsibilities.



And the best part of the Jewish wedding (in my opinion), the hora! This is a family dance where everyone holds hands and spin clockwise. This depicts the two families coming together and celebrating the marriage. It is custom to play musical instruments and drink during a Jewish reception.

Rebecca's Wedding video from Jon Gangwer on Vimeo.

Alison's Wedding Film from Jon Gangwer on Vimeo.

Southern Belle Wedding

This Philadelphia wedding video we filmed/edited really struck a artistic chord with me. It really brought me back to the good old days of simplicity and life outdoors where everyone knew they're neighbor. This couple had a close-knit family, all the bridesmaids looked like southern bells, the guys wore suspenders and looked carefree, and there was even a cute dog there that I decided to name "Rover." I think the idea to have a "southern" or "old time-y" wedding theme is so humble. You can even refer to it as a vintage wedding. I can't imagine any guest who didn't feel like they can be themselves and relaxed with good family and friends. It really gets away from all the politics of weddings.

Robin's Wedding Film from Jon Gangwer on Vimeo.