From SMP blogger bride, Whitney B… I once wrote a paper on the human senses. I know you are thinking, where in the heck is Whitney going with this?! But truly, senses are really a powerful thing. A person’s senses are so intertwined with an experience. You struggle tasting without smell, it’s difficult to see without touching and can be hard to speak without hearing. But the most valuable thing senses bring are the intangible, the nostalgia, the memories, but importantly the feelings.
I’ve said on many occasions, the biggest thief we will face in our lifetime is time itself. In 2004, my mother’s Christmas gift to my sister and I was a video interview she recorded of my grandmother “Mamaw” about her childhood, our ancestry, her relationship with my grandfather, their childhood, their memories. When my sister and I opened it on 12/25/04 it was so meaningful, but admittedly I didn’t understand the importance at the time. If you know the worrier I am, I was alarmed. Did this mean that Mamaw wasn’t going to be with us much longer? I wasn’t ready for that. I packed the CDs (with transcript) in a safe place. I wasn’t ready to listen.
A short 5 months later, my mother tragically and unexpectedly passed away. I’ll never forget going in search for the CDs I had tucked away so unexpectedly just a few short months earlier. I had them, but I still wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready to hear her voice. 6 weeks later was my 20th my birthday. When I opened up my gift from my sister, was a series of DVDS of home videos she had transferred from VHS as well as a roll of undeveloped film she found in my mom’s safety deposit box. Once developed we were astonished to see it was photos from the day I was born in 1985.
Oh my word, were my senses in full effect! The sight of the photos, the sound of stillness and sadness, the grasp/touch of my sister and grandmother, the taste of salty tears and the smell of my mom, everywhere.
Again, you may wonder where on earth I’m going with this. But if there is one thing a picture can’t capture it is a sound, a mannerism, a personality. I listened to my mom’s interview for the first time with Mamaw (Who just celebrated her 90th!) and the only second time I could listen was with Ricky. I wanted him to get to know her more than a face a camera captured. Her humor, her voice (yes, I think we sound alike), but, also, the dynamic we had as a family that unfortunately he will never, nor will our children ever get to experience firsthand.
Because of this experience, having a wedding videographer was a non-negotiable for us. Not just for Ricky and I, but for the simple fact that there is a circle of life and I want our day to forever be captured. This is our wedding day, our life, our moments. I want to remember them. And our video is not only for ourselves, but also for those around us and our future legacy – to me it’s such a beautiful gift to cherish!
I want to share so many thanks to Brighter Lights Media for tackling this task head on and with such grace. It was hard to find someone that I could trust to capture our day perfectly, because for me it is one of the most important aspects to our wedding. I am so confident this video will be passed down through the generations, hopefully many. Thank you, Brighter Lights Media, for capturing our families as we are in 2017 so those in 2100 can look back and reminisce at how amazing we were!
Until next time!
xo,
Whit
Photography: Carly Michelle Photography | Cinematography: Brighter Lights Media | Event Planning + Design: Always Yours Events | Floral Design: The Wild Dahlia | Makeup: Natalie Lelless | Bride: Whitney Bischoff | Hair Artistry: Jennifer Tawa | Rentals: Kadeema Rentals
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