Diary of a bride to be

Meet Konnie Kara - wedding journalist by day; bride-to-be by night. With insider access to the latest bridal news, trends and planning advice she’s been called a wedding guru many times, but does she have what it takes to plan her own special day? Offering honest, frank and humorous insights, this is an account of one of the most exhilarating, and rollercoaster-emotion-filled years of her life

The modern home video wedding

By Konnie Kara on 11 Mar 2011 No comments

Creating memories that will last literally a lifetime and even longer than that is what weddings are all about - aren’t they? Now since I’m a wedding junkie I have always had a secret pastime - watching other people’s wedding videos. Sometimes I watch them because I want to be engrossed in everything that is connected to love and romance and seeing a couple all sweet and slushy on their wedding day is a big fix; sometimes I want to cheer myself and laugh my bottom off at uncles who cannot dance but try to (especially at inappropriate numbers such as Pussy Cat Dolls songs as was the case at one wedding I attended a few years ago); other times it’s fashion tips, or to see my whole family together, laughing dancing and celebrating life together. Because of this, I have enlisted the help of my 16 year old cousin Rita to do a video diary of us on my new Flip Video Mino HD for the entire two weeks before the wedding! She’s a dab hand at social networking and uploading videos and also my relatives in India and the States get to see all the footage of the wedding and can feel a part of my big day even though they won’t be here in spirit.

The Flip video is a ground-breakingly simple pocket camcorder which looks like a mobile - nothing like the hefty camcorders my father used to make us lug around up until a few years ago, and the good thing is Rita has a really steady hand (unlike my mother who makes us all feel seasick with her home movie attempts!) I heard the cast of Glee did vlogs (that’s the technical name for video blogs and video diaries) when they did their promotional tour for the show, and lots of celebrities have been spotted using the Flip including Lily Allen, Beyoncé, Stella McCartney, Stephen Fry, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and JLS.

While I’m hiring a videographer for the wedding day because I want something more professional, I want Rita to catch all those behind-the-scenes moments in the run up to the wedding day, such as my make up trial, all the ladies wrapping favours, the pre wedding party and all the excitement in general. I know some copules are doing home made movies by giving the video camera to various people during the reception to film the fun, and also taking away the camcorder on honeymoon afterwards (this I intend to do!). The only thing I would suggest is to have someone really reliable, who will take proper footage and not just leave the camera lying around (I once write an article about a completely devastated bride who thought she had given her camcorder to a trustworthy friend, only for that person to get blind drunk and forget filming her entire event.)

Back to the Flip - it’s cute and girly enough but also tech savvy enough to have your groom interested in investing too as it comes with a large two inch anti-glare screen, two hours' memory capacity and features a stylish durable brushed metal finish. There’s a flip-out USB arm and built-in editing software FlipShare, which loads automatically as soon as you plug the camera into a Windows or Mac computer. The software takes users easily through the process of immediately organising, editing and sharing your videos. It also features direct upload to YouTube and MySpace and other social networks or you can send your videos to friends and family via a shared email link within seconds. I think the size is a bonus for my family members at the house before the wedding too because it’s less intrusive than a big camera.

It makes shooting and sharing of experiences in crystal clear 720p HD quality - that’s five times more detail than standard definition - simple and affordable. It also includes an HDMI jack to view videos on HD televisions. Now all I’ve got left is how to make sure Rita and I create a good enough Vlog to keep all our family entertained in the years to come. You can’t really storyboard the run up to the wedding, but I have given Rita a list of key moments such as the sing-offs we’re likely to have during the week of the wedding, she’s the only one allowed to come with me on my dress fitting too. I guess we don’t have to worry about having great technique so much - what makes home movies so much fun is capturing those completely spontaneous moments.

Check out www.theflip.com for more information on the Flip Video MinoHD, £179.99 availale online or at major retailers including Amazon, Play.com, Firebox.com, Dixons, Currys.digital and PC World.