Very good question. We’ve had couples reserve their date with us 2 years in advance and in very rare cases just 1 week. Since most vendors are small boutique type business, they — and we’re one of those — can only be in one place at a time. We tell people that once you know you’re getting married – don’t beat around the bush to start interviewing the companies for the parts of your wedding that are most important to you. We also suggest that once you meet with us and we all determine that it could be a great fit, don’t wait. If you’re not sure about exactly what you want to add to your “order” – no worries – we have a solution for that, too!

Ummm… let me think… YES!  We LOVE traveling and have been many places over the years (all over Hawaii, in Europe, mainland USA, have a wedding booked in Fiji), so <ahem> yes, we can do that for you!

MAUI: If you are getting married on Maui, where we are based, then the minimum amount of time is 4 hours. While this won’t get you the  best possible story, it is still a beautiful memento of your wedding day.

ANYWHERE ELSE: we require at least a full day of coverage.

4 Hour wedding excluded, to ensure we have enough footage to draw from in the edit, we like to have 60 minutes before the wedding dress goes on to give us sufficient opportunity to get the tail end of her and make-up, detail shots (dress hanging, shoes, etc…), note reading, and anything else we find pertinent to the story. At the end of the day, we like to have at least 30 minutes of party scenes (dancing, boogy-ing, night scenes, etc…).

Additional coverage per hour outside of the package you’ve chosen is $1300 for two cinematographers.

Weddings tend to run a bit behind, so we advise potentially budgeting and extra hour of coverage (30 minutes before and 30 minutes after)

 

While Stephan is present at many of our weddings, your Lead Filmmaker could also be Chris who is well versed in the “Stephan Boeker Films Way”. It’s a very specific workflow that we’ve developed that we expect our team to follow in order to deliver consistently amazing results. In fact, the videos in our portfolio on our website feature weddings shot by both Chris and Stephan.  Can you tell a difference from film to film? Chances are, probably not.

With our reputation on the line, we make sure that the lead filmmaker will ALWAYS be equal to the task. So rest assured, you’re getting one of the best shooters around. You will know who your lead filmmaker is before your wedding. It is our goal to spend time with you before your wedding so you feel totally comfortable, please plan on meeting your lead filmmaker for a FaceTime or Skype chat a few weeks before the wedding. We will take care of coordinating that with you when it comes time.

We wish we could do that, but alas it would send our calendar and admin tasks into chaos. We try to give you all the information you need as soon as possible in order for you two to make the best decision. If you’re certain you’d like us to film your wedding, but you need a bit more time to decide which package best fits your needs, the “Save My Date” option was created for you. To lock in your date, we’ll just need a signed contact and $1,000 non-refundable deposit, applicable towards the package of your choice. Once that’s squared away, you’ll have 30 days to decide on a package, knowing your wedding date is guaranteed! We recommend that if you are not sure you want to hire us today, that you are actively setting up consultations with other studios in order to get who you want before the studio gets booked.

 

We require a 50% deposit to retain our services for your wedding date upon booking. The rest is due 2 weeks prior to wedding. If you add hours or anything before the wedding, those items will be made due before the wedding. If anything is added after the event, payment will be due immediately.

Important: a late fee of 5% of the payment in question will be added to your invoice for every month your payment is overdue. We hate to do this, so please let’s avoid awkwardness at all costs. ????

 

 

We accept all major credit cards, debit cards, paypal, and check. Credit cards, debit cards and Paypal are subject to a 3% convenience fee.

When you pay with a credit card, debit card or PayPal, we assess a 3% convenience fee to the transaction. That convenience fee is not assessed to cash or check purchases.

You will notice in our contract that it states your retainer is non-refundable. We understand that things happen and there may be an instance where your wedding is called off or you want to back out. Please understand BEFORE you book us that your retainer is not refundable under any circumstances. Please make sure you understand the entirety of our contract BEFORE you sign it (the same goes for any vendor you intend to book for your wedding). If there is anything you are not in agreement with, those things need to be addressed before you sign.

 

We will have discussed in our pre-production skype/ FaceTime chat when coverage is to begin. We will typically show up well before that (30-60 minutes prior) so that we are not rushed in setting up our cinematic tools and introducing ourselves to you in person.

 

 

If the location allows drones to be flown, we will not charge extra. If this is important to you, we need to make sure we have at least 10 unimpeded minutes with you (the photographer hangs back and would need to use a long lens during that time). If drone is important to you, please mention to your coordinator that you “would like to have about 10 minutes of dedicated drone time written into the timeline during the romantic session.”

 

 

We can promise you we will do everything we can within our power to make every part of your experience with us and your wedding videos everything you dreamed. We also need you to understand that this is event filmmaking, there are no re-dos, and our team’s focus on filming for the creative edit(s)  to make sure those are the most amazing and inspiring they can be.  That means the documentary edits (ceremony and reception edit for example) come secondary to the creative edits in our minds. If your mindset is that the documentary edits are of equal importance to the creative edits, or if you are just wanting to hire us primarily for the documentary aspect and not our storytelling capabilities, then we might not be the best fit. In any case it would be a good idea to talk to us about your expectations for the final product and what is most important to you and your families so that we are on the same page and can plan accordingly.

 

 

Great question. We go through a rigorous process to understand our clients likes and dislikes. First things first: we WILL NOT use music if we cannot attain the proper licensing. We believe each wedding film is unique and we attempt to keep our musical choices fresh while considering each couple’s style. If there’s a song you love that MUST be in the film, we’re happy to take a listen. We’ll incorporate it as long as we don’t foresee an interference with the editing process and the finished story, AND as long as it fits within our budget for licensing music. If you are able to work out a license agreement with the particular artist, that’s something we’ll consider as well. Some sites we use for music include Musicbed, and Song Freedom.

This varies depending on the volume in our post production queue. Roughly speaking, we take anywhere from 6-12 weeks after your wedding date.

Some couples have a reception or a gathering planned at home and would like to have the film earlier. To jump the edit to the front of the queue and have it finished within 1-2 weeks, we charge a rush fee. Please inquire about that.

 

 

 

We have listened to our clients, and the vast majority has stated that they prefer the downloadable files, as opposed to a DVD (low resolution only), BluRay (not many people jumped onboard) or USB drives (frequent PC/ Mac formatting issues). We create your own personal private viewing and download page where you can download your files and view them as well.

 

 

 

Yes, and yes. Our producers and editors are very good at their jobs, and we are pretty meticulous when it comes to delivering an impactful story to each and every couple who hires us. We are also very diligent about making sure the film hits all the important points we’ve discussed over the process of getting to know each other, down to the smallest of details. You will get the opportunity to request changes to your creative edit(s). We offer you 1 hour of revision time at no charge, which typically takes care of any feedback like “can you replace this shot… put more of this person in… take out this person…”  Beyond that we are more than happy to continue making revisions, and we will work out a cost estimate with you before we continue.