Changing The Wedding Video Industry In Ireland - Business - Leadership


Changing The Wedding Video Industry In IrelandВ В  by Gordan Lovett

in Business / Leadership В В  (submitted 2012-02-29)

Wedding video in Ireland and beyond used to mean poor camera work, terrible sound which was often inaudible, and tons of cheesy special effects. But, not anymore.

Velvetine Studios changed all that and turned wedding video upside down with an entertaining brand of filmmaking that even complete strangers can enjoy watching. A new, high end market in glorious high definition has been born.

"I would have told you you're crazy if you tried to convince ten years ago that I would be a professional wedding videographer," says Maurice O'Carroll, owner of Velvetine Studios. But, in 2003, everything took on a different light when O'Carroll identified a massive gap in the market to offer young, discerning couples an exciting alternative to traditional wedding video. Velvetine Studios was created and he and his wife Elaine drove forward a unique brand of storytelling that couples loved all over Ireland. Their custom made films were cinematic, thoroughly engaging and they won international awards and recognition throughout the wedding industry.

"We are different because we treat each of our couples as different and we look for their unique stories," says O'Carroll. "This was not always the case. When I gave my first wedding film workshop at ReFrame in New Orleans to some industry greats in 2008, a lot of attendees disagreed and were adamant that not every wedding is different and has its own story." Today, the industry has experienced a universal shift and Velvetine Studios have revolutionalised weddings with their vision. Wedding DVD used to be last on a couples list during wedding planning but Velvetine Studios now find they they are often booked before the wedding photographer. How things have changed, indeed.

Success has led other professional wedding dvd producers to try and copy Velvetine Studios but O'Carroll welcomes their efforts. "It does not matter what our competition do. Our greatest competition is ourselves and we raise our own bar every day. Our couples deserve it!"

Maurice and Elaine have a constant, never ending improvement mantra and they attribute much of their success to this mentality and this, despite the terrible economic climate in their country. "We are thriving," says Elaine. "Most of it is down to our commitment to offering a friendly and professional service. We know that people matter most and this is definitely the corner stone to our success.

"We also push the boundaries when it comes to technology and keep our finger on the pulse of everything that's new and beneficial to the service we can offer our couples."

And with commitment like that it's no wonder that there has never been a better time to be getting married in Ireland!