Tuscan Castle Wedding
Joanna and charles’s WEDDING VIDEO FEATURE
The Venue
Castle of Mugnana
Joanna and Charles Teaser Film
The Castle of Mugnana, located in the picturesque region of Tuscany, Italy, carries a rich and storied history that dates back to the medieval times. Nestled amidst rolling hills and lush vineyards, the castle stands as a testament to the architectural and cultural heritage of the region, offering a glimpse into a bygone era.
The origins of the Castle of Mugnana can be traced to the 11th century when it was constructed as a defensive fortress. Its robust stone walls, fortified towers, and imposing gatehouse were designed to withstand sieges and attacks. I love shooting at historical venues like this because I think it only enriches my films.
Today, the Castle of Mugnana stands as a well-preserved example of medieval and Renaissance architecture and serves as a venue for weddings as well as art exhibitions, and music festivals. Its timeless charm and romantic setting make it an ideal location for couples seeking a fairytale wedding in the heart of Tuscany. The castle's rich history, combined with its stunning surroundings, creates an unforgettable backdrop for special occasions.
Joanna and Charles’s Wedding Day Plans
Joanne and Charles clearly have immaculate taste and their wedding day was a testament to this- from the choice of location to the design of the ceremony and dinner locations, everything was designed down to the smallest detail, which is always great for a wedding videographer as it means whereever I point my camera I am capturing something beautiful.
Joanna and her bridesmaids got ready for the day up in the Castle’s high tower, a breathtaking room overlooking the Tuscan countryside. The tower also gave a great view of both the ceremony and dinner locations for me to capture while there.
Their ceremony took place outside the castle’s old chapel with great moments from friends singing songs by Florence and the Machine and readings from family members, some of which are included in the couples feature film.
Their drinks reception then took pace outside the great tower, with champagne and canapés in full flow. It was during this time that Sandra from Divine Day Photography and me took the couple off for some portraits.
As the sun set over the Tuscan hills the couple moved to their al fresco dinner area where wine was drunk and some heartfelt speeches were given.
After dinner the couple moved down to the cellar under the main house to cut their cake and party the nights away, with a great live band keeping everyone’s energy up until late into the night.
It was a great day, providing me with many cinematic moments to produce one of my favourite films of the year, enjoy!
Wedding Videography Approach
My main aim as a wedding videographer is to produce cinematic, yet authentic, mementos of a wedding day. I want them to be stylish, filled with all the emotions of the day while being infused with a classic cinema flair, which I always have in the back of my mind when choosing which lens to use in a certain moment, how to frame a shot, the sounds and music I will use to tell that part of the story and thinking always about the edit.
Me filming a wedding in Portugal with my minimalist set up.
As Joanna and Charles’ day was filled with so many stylistic flourishes and a frenetic party I knew i wanted their teaser film to be filled with drama and energy and a black tie wedding always looks great in black and white. I slowed things down for their feature film, bringing in elements of the speeches and performances from the ceremony to create a more romantic film, but still filled with cinematic moments and I then ramp up the energy for the party sequence at the end.
Once I have these all story telling elements in place I make sure my films are as cinematic as possible, and what I mean by that is I use every tool and technique at my disposal, from the filming style on the wedding day, to the editing and colour grading techniques afterwards, to create a piece of work that feels like a mini-movie, like a short piece of classic cinema, with a proper beginning middle and end, establishing people, place and story as elegantly as possible, woven together with music I choose carefully for each project.
Most importantly though, I use equipment and a filming style on the day that allows me to capture these moments without leaving a heavy footprint on the day- I use very minimal equipment, similar to a photographer, and avoid stage managing the day in any way because the most important element of making a great film is authentic moments and emotions and the only way to achieve these is allow them to happen naturally, unhindered by over posing/staging and manufacturing the events.
