Several weeks ago, Jordan and I were asked by some close friends to film their wedding. Because of the pandemic they had recently cancelled their original plan and decided to elope on top of a mountain in Colorado (pretty awesome!). We hike almost every weekend (just look at Jordan’s Instagram page or check out her new hiking blog if you don’t believe me), have the skills and equipment, and, cheese alert, are a “really beautiful example of marriage” according to our friends. Weak from all the flattering, I agreed.
[Insert joke about taking ‘social distancing’ too seriously by getting married on top of a mountain]
The wedding was wonderful, the scenery was beautiful, and the filming itself was, well, intense. Without further ado, it’s my pleasure to present to you for the first time: Here’s what we learned filming a wedding on top of a mountain.
[The biggest of props to my lovely wife for having her photos used in an article from a little news outlet you might have heard of called the New York Times in their coverage of the wedding.]
Pre-Wedding
This was like pre-production on any of our other video productions (or wedding video projects) - we talked with the client extensively about their wants, needs, wishes, concerns, and favorite post-mountain-wedding adult beverage. You will want to get a LOT of details if you’re filming a wedding somewhere remote. Filming in your community or even in a different town provides a bit of a safety net, filming halfway across the country on top of a remote mountain hours from anything does not. Get all the details you can - detailed schedules of everyone involved; timelines for arrivals, filming, departures, etc.; expected weather; backup plans; food and water availability or access; and so on.
Packing for a remote project, like on top of a mountain, means you need to pack light, keep efficiency at the forefront, and also allow for backups. Packing light is not easy for me, I’m the guy who does day hikes with enough water, food, and supplies for a week, just in case. I’m also the kind of person who packs every lens he owns for a shoot, just in case. Regardless of where your shoot is, pack as much as you NEED, and then maybe a tiny bit more, and nothing else. I like having a backup camera but opted to just have my Samsung Galaxy S10 on hand in case I needed it. And instead of a second tripod for my wide shot I saved weight by just going with a SmallRig Nanoclamp and articulating arm that I put on the front leg of my tripod. Rethink this entire packing list once or twice and see where you can save weight or space.
Keep in mind for a remote wedding you’ll also likely be going on a trip to get there. In our case this was in Colorado, so we had a 2 day trip to get there, day 3 was the planned date for the wedding, and day 4 was there as a backup in case weather took a nasty turn, and then days 5 and 6 were heading back home. Consider what clothes you’ll need for the entire trip, and get details on things like washer/dryer access - you can save a lot of space if you’re willing to wear the same shorts for an entire trip (even if it makes your wife roll her eyes and plug her nose).
And then there’s the hiking. If you’re filming a remote wedding you might not have a lot of hiking to do, but remote weddings don’t tend to have the climate controlled stable temps that a church or traditional wedding venue has. We needed our clothes to be lightweight, functional, and comfortable. We also needed to be warm in the early morning when we set out, cool during mid-morning when we started getting heated up from all the hiking, and then warm again once we got to the snow-capped top of the mountain. Wherever your project is, be sure you dress appropriately for the weather.
During this time you might want to consider prepping physically for whatever you might need to do for the remote shoot. We knew it was going to be over 3 miles UP the mountain, and then we had to get back down, so essentially a 7 mile hike. Luckily Jordan, Emmy, and I go hiking pretty much every Saturday, so we figured that we’d be OK there, but might struggle with the elevation a bit. We did treat it like one of our half marathons though so the week before we made sure to drink a ton of water, get tons of rest, and lay off the alcohol as much as we could. I cannot attest to following all of those rules.
Quadruple check your equipment again, confirm all the details with the couple one more time, kiss your cats goodbye, and you should be good to head out. One last tip prior to the wedding: the night before lay everything out for the shoot day so you can just get up and go without having to worry about anything.
Wedding / Shoot Day
One of the biggest unknowns we faced, and one you’ll likely face when filming remotely, is the weather. If you noticed we actually accounted for an entire extra day in case the weather got nasty and we couldn’t make it up the mountain. This might not be possible in your circumstances but if possible see if it would be allowed. Arrive early if you can, this way you have ample time to get your gear loaded and allows for some additional stopping or rest times during your trip or hike to the location.
If you’re going with the couple, which I would recommend, plan on capturing some moments on the way up the mountain (or into a cave or along the beach or wherever your project is). After all, a remote wedding project is unique and an adventure in its own right, so be sure to capture that experience if you can.
If you’re hiking or spelunking or swimming to a destination, make sure you’ve planned out some snack breaks and/or water breaks along the way. We actually packed a simple, but adorable, charcuterie tray of to enjoy at a lake on the route up the mountain. It ended up being a much needed rest point and provided some great photos for the couple as another reminder of their entire adventure up the mountain.
Once you have enough ‘couple walking up the mountain’ shots I would suggest putting on a boost of speed so you can get to the top of the mountain, or ceremony location, earlier than the couple. This will give you time to scout the location, set up equipment, adjust settings if needed, and hopefully give you a little bit of time for a breather before you need to begin filming or photographing again. We also found this provided some good shots of the couple coming up the mountain together, and since it was the last little bit they were excited and happy and those emotions are always great to capture in photos or on video.
Once the couple is up you’ll likely want to capture first looks or whatever other pre-ceremony activities they have planned. Then it’s time to shoot the damn thing. Film the wedding ceremony, grab some killer glamour shots (like rings perched on rocks among the snow, the bride alone on the mountain, the groom looking off into the distance, wedding bouquet on the top of the mountain sign, that sort of thing), give everyone a high five, maybe celebrate with a small bottle of champagne, take one last little break, and then head back down. You might also be tasked with filming a reception, so cover that just like you would any other - lots of shots of people having fun, drinking, enjoying the event, and if you have to feel free to stop traffic for a few minutes to get some final once-in-a-lifetime shots for them.
Post-Wedding
Jordan had a few awesome social-media worthy photos in mind while photographing, so the minute we got back to the hotel she edited several of those and sent them to the couple so they could share their accomplishment on social media with friends and family. This sort of customer service is a) why I love my wife so much, and b) an absolute must if you want to stand out from the competition. We try and send over a handful of edited photos the day of a wedding (or the day after if it gets done really late) for the couple to use immediately, and then we try and finish the rest and have them sent over within a week. I like to have the ceremony video finished within 48 hrs, and if we’re doing a recap film or something I will try and finish that within a week. All of these things should be communicated with the couple, regardless of what your timeline is. They are likely going to not respond or respond sporadically since, you know, they literally just got married, and in this case just finished a several mile hike up and down a mountain. Clarify with them as well if it’s OK for you to share photos on your social media or website, and if they are OK with you writing a blog post about the entire experience.
Those are some of the things we learned filming a wedding on top of a mountain. Have you filmed a remote or destination wedding before? And if so, any tips to add to this list?