Behind the Lens: LGBTQ+ Wedding at the Maas Building in Philly
As a queer wedding videographer in Philadelphia, I have desperately wanted queer clients, but my portfolio was entirely composed of straight couples. Don’t get me wrong, I love working with my heterosexual sweetie pies, but I craved the chance to serve my community.
The Search For Queer Couples
After a few failed TikToks trying to organically reach LGBTQ+ couples looking for a wedding videographer, I decided to take my fate into my own hands. Philaqueens, a facebook group for women and non-binary people in Phillly, was my go to as those queens have never failed me. Through that group, I found two awesome girls getting married within the next two weeks of my initial post offering up a free video. I was stoked to say the least. For their privacy I will refer to them as Val and Tine, because their first date was on valentines day (so cute you could barf right?)
It is important to me to attract and serve queer wedding clients, not only because I myself am queer, but because the United States is starting to turn its back on us, some even calling to take away our rights. Now more than ever is a time to let love shine, in the various ways it does in our community. I truly believe love is stronger than any other force on this earth and I want to empower and archive as many queer love stories as possible.
Filming The Wedding
With batteries charged, SD cards ready, and lenses cleaned, I hit the road to meet my brides at their Airbnb. As I dodged the pot holes that litter the Philly roads, I blasted music, specifically The Cheetah Girls 2 soundtrack, to get pumped for the day.
When I first arrive at a venue, it is usually my first time meeting my couples and their loved ones for the first time in person. As a fly on the wall shooter I also always have to be prepared for anything, expect the unexpected as they say. These factors combined tend to give me butterflies, a combo of nerves and excitement. Once the door opened, I was greeted with smiles and my jaw was on the floor of how stunning the nearlyweds were. Val had a custom suit from Bindle & Keep, the perfect blend of feminine and masculine while Tine was dressed in a gorgeous gown from Strike Bridal Bar. Their hair and makeup team had already departed, but let me just say they killed it. Val and Tine’s wedding was quickly shaping up to be everything I dream of as an LGBTQ+ wedding videographer in Philadelphia.
We moseyed on over to the MAAS building and promptly began formal portraits. These usually entail a shot list of different groups and important loved ones, theirs included a very special guest, their pup! While formal portraits aren’t my primary focus as a videographer (people standing still and smiling doesn’t always translate well on video), I do find them to be especially helpful to know who their inner circle is so I can do my best to include them in the final film and shots throughout the day.
Aside from the obvious shots, like a first kiss, I am on the lookout for unique perspectives and personal touches in the decor. This particular event had a frame full of memorable polaroids from their journey to this day. To honor this sentimental way to archive memories, they had a blank guest book and polaroid cameras set up, encouraging guests to take pictures and decorate the pages with friendly faces! Another detail that I adored on this day was their wedding date engraved into the clasp of their pups collar.
A part of my style of videography requires the people I am filming to somewhat forget I am there. When people don’t realize they are on camera, authentic and candid moments unfold beautifully. To ensure they somewhat forget about me, I tend to walk away from my couple to gather B-roll.
Setting up shots especially as a fly on the wall is a welcomed challenge. Some of my favorite techniques are to frame my subjects with nature or decor, to let myself sink into the crowd and allow the crowd of people to elevate and highlight my couples. This particular day was challenging due to intermittent sprinkle showers, the clouds and sun taking turns, it felt like a light kept randomly getting turned off. Not to worry though, the rain timed itself almost perfectly, guests and brides alike were safely tucked away before a drop could fall on us. For the most part the sun was shining and beautiful.
An important part of the day for me is evaluating the ceremony arrangements. Not necessarily who is involved, though that is always great info, but more specifically the seating. As a solo shooter I tend to move around to capture different angles to ensure an interesting and detailed film. My focus is on where I can be without being intrusive or obstructing the view of guests. Is there space on the side of the aisle for me to move around? How big is the center aisle? How loud will my footsteps potentially be? All these questions will determine where I will be for the ceremony. For this particular ceremony, their aisle was relatively small, with no access on either side to escape or move around, so to prevent distraction I just remained in the back. Luckily they started their walk down the aisle from quite a ways away so it still turned out beautiful.
Quick side note, to get Val and Tine to where they would walk down the aisle we had to walk around the block to avoid guests. During that walk, some young and presumably queer person barreled out of a building across the street and ecstatically screamed “LETS GO LESBIANS, LETS GOOO!!!!” We all got quite the giggle out of that.
Chaotic Sprints and High Spirits
Post ceremony, I walked away to allow the newlyweds to celebrate on the dance floor ~camera free~ for a moment and intended to capture guests making s’mores outside. When suddenly I heard the photographer HOLLER my name and then take off sprinting towards the ceremony. Let me preface that I have never sprinted like I was late for a plane at a wedding before, but with no questions asked I took off after her, flying by guests with hurried “excuse me”s. Heart racing as I stumble up the stairs, I hear the music for the Horah. In the excitement of the ceremony and dinner, I almost completely forgot about it, thanks to Jessi, I didn’t miss a moment. Horahs are one of my personal favorite wedding traditions, I have a blast filming the chaotic happiness.
Picture Courtesy of Jessi from Wild June Photography
Later once my coverage ended and I wished the newlyweds a happy marriage, you may wonder how I was feeling. In one word? Elated. But in more detail, I was very tired, had a heartbeat in my feet (I need to get better work shoes) and was thrilled to start editing. Val and Tine were so kind, funny and just overall a great couple to work with. Their family and friends were a joy to meet and interact with. Working with LGBTQ+ couples like Val and Tine reminds me why I love being a wedding videographer in Philadelphia. Philly never fails to remind me that there are kind and interesting people at every turn. Ready to share stories of my day, I set off to go home and relay everything to my partner.
A part of my business motto is to under promise and over deliver. Normally I quote couples 2 weeks to see their preview, but I was so energized by Val & Tine’s wedding that I privately set a goal to get it done within 48 hours. And that I did. Tine shared snippets from her family group chat, Val and Tine showered me with kind words and compliments. It was an enjoyable experience to feel a part of excitement and celebration of two lives coming together. And I am so happy I took fate into my own hands and found an incredible LGBTQ+ couple to honor. Here is to hoping for more!
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. It truly means a lot and I am so happy you are here.
If you're planning a queer wedding in Philadelphia, New Jersey, or NYC and need a LGBTQ+ friendly wedding videographer, let me make myself clear—you are not just welcomed, you are WANTED. You can inquire here and if you’d like to keep up with me more, follow me on instagram and TikTok at @1948productions!
Check out their preview below!
