Ah, the wedding. It is one of the most joyous, and torturous, events you will ever face. It absolutely amazes me what we humans put ourselves through just to create that perfect celebration of “love”. The planning of a typical wedding is very difficult. I should know because I am planning my own right now!

There is so much that needs to be done and there never seems to be enough time. I have talked with literally hundreds of people who have gone through the planning of a wedding and I have found that it's the little things that cause all the stress. It's easy to plan for the obvious, but the minute details can drive you insane!

One of the most overlooked details of a wedding is what I think one of the most important details. It is making your wedding special for your guests. You see, it's easy to forget that the wedding is not just for you and your future spouse. It's also for everyone who attends your wedding. It's very important you don't forget about all the people who are special to you and who will be traveling from all over to be with you on your special day.

Picture this….the lights dim. A hush falls over the crowd. A slideshow video starts playing on the screen at the front of the room and it tells a story. What is this story, you ask? It's a love story! It is the story of you. It is the story of your future partner. It is the story of both of you. It is pictures of you both from birth to present, arranged with text, your special music, and just about anything you want to use to entertain your guests. It will leave your guests with a smile on their faces and tears in their eyes!

Most engaged couples I have spoken with love the idea of having a slideshow video in their wedding. The problem is that they think it's either very difficult or incredibly expensive. Neither of those assumptions is correct. It's actually very easy to have one made. As matter of fact there are several companies online that will make a video for you. Obviously I'm biased because I think our company is the best but I will give you some things to look for when shopping for a slideshow video production company.

Price. You have to be very careful here. Many companies advertise great prices, but they don't tell you about all the hidden costs. For example, Company “X” may say that they only charge $99.00 for a video. But if you read the fine print they charge an additional $2.00 per photo for scanning and another $1.00 for each picture enhancement. Once the video is complete, they will charge you another $50.00 just to preview it. So this $99.00 video just turned into a $500.00 video.

Previewing. Most places will not let you preview the video or, if they do allow it, they will charge extra to preview it. It's absolutely critical that you preview any slideshow video before you buy it. Previewing the slideshow video allows you to make sure you like all the titling, screen transitions and photo arrangement. You want the video to be exactly the way you want it.

Montage. Montage videos are what I refer to as “a tech heads video dream.” They involve constant panning back and forth and zooming in and out. They also feature fancy looking screen transitions where the pictures will do flips and spins and all sorts of other “cool” things. Now, these montages may look “high tech” but they are completely inappropriate for a wedding. A wedding slideshow video needs to be classy and tasteful. It doesn't need spins and twist, flips and twirls. It needs to have clean, smooth transitions. They need to flow from one picture to the next with elegance and grace.

Remember, you want your wedding to be special. You want your guests to remember your wedding with fondness. You want it to be an unforgettable experience. What better way than with a slideshow video that features your life up to that point! I hope your wedding is the best that has ever occurred. (Besides mine, that is!) I hope you decide to engage your guests by showing a beautiful, romantic slideshow video at the beginning of your ceremony. May you have the best of weddings and don't forget to have fun!