In Taiwan the engagement ceremony is usually held at home or in a restaurant: fewer people, a smaller room, and a mood that is closer to family than the wedding day itself. Many couples hire a videographer for the wedding and leave the engagement to relatives with phones. Those clips are worth keeping. The parents' faces and the nerves during the tea ceremony are things the wedding day never captures.
Moments worth filming
Customs vary by region and by family, so follow your own plan. A common order looks like this:
- The groom's family arriving and the two families greeting each other.
- The betrothal gifts being laid out and introduced.
- The tea ceremony, with elders giving red envelopes and blessings.
- Exchanging gifts and putting on the rings.
- Photos of both sets of parents and the whole family.
- The meal, and the conversation around the table.
The tea ceremony and the rings are the two parts everyone wants to see. If only one person can film, ask them to record these two from start to finish without stopping.
Tips for relatives filming on phones
- Agree who is filming. Everyone assuming someone else has it covered is how nothing gets recorded.
- Hold the phone sideways and step closer. In a small room, walk in rather than zooming.
- Don't film people against a window. Faces go black. Stand on the window side.
- Record a few extra seconds. Start early and stop late so the edit has room.
- Sound. The elders' blessings matter. Get close, and don't chat while filming.
How long to cut it
There usually isn't much footage, so a two-to-three-minute highlight is the natural fit: music carries the sequence, and the blessings keep their original sound with subtitles. With enough material, a longer version of the tea ceremony and the rings can be kept for the family.
Separate video, or part of the wedding video?
- Engagement and wedding some time apart: make them separately. The engagement video can be finished before the wedding and even played as part of the opening at the reception.
- Both on the same day: one video, in the order of the day.
- Showing the engagement at the reception: cut thirty seconds to a minute of it into the end of the growth video or the opening. See preparing a wedding growth video.
Before you hand it over
Put everyone's clips in one cloud folder and tell us the order of the ceremony, who is who (especially both sets of parents and senior relatives), and any words you particularly want kept. For gathering phone footage from guests, see a wedding highlight from guest footage. What is realistic can only be judged from the material.
FAQ
We only have a dozen very short phone clips. Is that enough?
Usually, especially with photos from the day mixed in.
The elders speak Taiwanese or Hakka. Can it be subtitled?
Yes, with your help checking the wording, particularly the traditional blessings.
Some clips are dark or shaky. Are they usable?
Mild cases can be improved. Very dark footage gets noisier when brightened. The darkest parts may be better replaced with photos.
