Behind the Scenes of a Wedding at The Rivers Retreat | Eden & Taylor
In January of 2022, I was hired as a 2nd videographer to document the wedding of Eden & Taylor at The River's Retreat. The Rivers Retreat is a nice event space located in Covington, La. It’s a little tucked away on Highway 190, but once you get there it’s actually quite nice.
As someone who is continually working on getting better, I decided to bring along my Canon G7x III and take some behind-the-scenes shots of the day.
Taken with my DJI Mavic Mini 2
The Venue
The ceremony and reception took place in the same location. It was basically a large screened-in porch. There were large space heaters set up to keep the place warm. There was a brick fireplace along one of the walls. There are fans on the ceiling for events that take place in warmer months. Overall this venue gives couples the best of both an outside wedding and a covered space.
The Decorations
The vibe for this wedding was very boho and the venue decorations showed that. There were sofas placed near the fireplace. The arch was shaped like a triangle, and there were rugs set up as the aisle. There were a lot of wildflower arrangements placed near the altar and on the tables. The decorations also featured earthy-toned vases and antique-looking candles.
The picture frames were mismatched and many things with words looked like they were written by hand. As a guest book, the couple had an old record player and a record for guests to sign. Rounding out the modern touch, there was a QR code for guests to scan and contribute to the couple’s honeymoon fund.
The Groom & His Gun
As the second videographer at the wedding, I was responsible for getting footage of the groom and his groomsmen. The guys were wearing white button-down shirts, blue slacks, dress shoes, and suspenders. The groom, Taylor, was the only one wearing a bow tie.
Like most groomsen at weddings, I walked into drinking, loud music, and guys trying to figure out how to wear the dress clothes. These guys were great and everyone was ready to support Taylor on his big day.
As his best man was helping him tie his bow tie, Taylor asked if he could take a picture with his gun. I told him that I was doing video that day and that the photographer would be taking that picture, but when the time came, I had to snap one.
During his vows, Taylor mentioned that he was prepared to be gentle to and fierce for his bride. After the wedding, I sent Taylor the photos I took and he posted the gun photo with the caption along the lines of “Gentle to you and fierce for you”.
Going the Extra Mile
Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to take extra photos of Eden. I also was not able to capture any extra photos once the wedding started because I was focused on documenting with video.
Eden and Taylor had no idea that I was taking behind the scenes photos for the first half of the day. They were excited and surprised to find out that I had given them extra service and a different view of their day. Photo and video are my passion and whenever I can go the extra mile to provide great service to clients, I try my hardest.
This couple will have the photos from their photographer. They will have the video that I helped film. And now they will have these photos of moments as well.
