Over the past 10 years, having a video montage to display at your wedding reception has become an increasingly popular idea. What is a montage? A montage is a collection of pictures or video clips that show the two of you from infancy to today. But there are a few key elements that can change your montage from a home-movie slide show to a dynamic presentation.



A well done montage should give guests a window into your personalities and your lives.

Picture selection:

Selecting the right pictures to use in your montage can make all the difference in the world. If it is only a display of your school pictures from every year since kindergarten, it's going to be kind of dull. Certainly a few of your favorite school pictures ought to be included, but you want to find some of your most colorful and exciting pictures. Look for photos showing you participating sports, hobbies or perhaps standing in front of a famous landmark, or overlooking a beautiful vista. Look for photos that show that you are an interesting person.

Numbers of photos:

A good montage will be balanced in the number of photos it shows. Typically it is preferred to have about one third of the photos of the bride, about one third of the groom, and the remaining third of the couple together. It is also nice if the pictures of the bride and groom age together at about the same rate. This allows the videographer to mix the pictures of the couple (one of her, then one of him, etc.) and watch them grow up together. But it can also work well to have a section of all her pictures, all his pictures, and then them together.

Picture Quality:

Choose pictures that are of good quality. Blurry photos can detract from the quality of your montage. Also avoid very small photographs that require enlargement to use. Enlarging can diminish photo quality and make your images look slightly blurred. Also avoid photos that are over or under exposed.

Music:

Your selection of music for your montage is one of the most important elements. It is not only essential that you like the music you select, it needs to match the images in your montage. You will usually want to find something fun for the younger pictures, and end with something romantic. I recommend that clients provide me with several options that they like so I can have options to match the music with the images.

Motion:

Using the key motion feature in building a montage can allow it to go from a standard family slide show to an exciting and dynamic presentation of the couple. Motion adds emotion and feel to the images and allows them to come alive.

A well done montage will provide a nice touch to your wedding day and will help those who attend your reception to feel more connected and a part of your big event.