Wedding Film Memories From 1966

wpid448996 1966 super8 wedding video stills 21

I have something lovely and very special to share today. Today is a little study on wedding films – a concept that from my own personal observations at least, has come such a long way since the cheesy wedding videography of the 1980’s we all cringe at now – all heart and star showers vomiting across the screen as terrible love balads play out  in the background. Today, wedding films can be like mini works of art – the wedding films we share on Love My Dress are timeless, beautiful mini movies that sensitively craft together a set of moving memories.

This film you see below you was taken in 1966. That’s fifty whole years ago.  How far has technology advanced in this time? How different culturally are our lives now compared to how they must have been back then? There were no mobile phones, no laptops, not even any desktop computers. Social media as we know it today didn’t exist. In every sense of the phrase, it truly was a ‘lifetime ago’. Imagine then being able to take a step back to this period in time and feel like you’re there, walking alongside the subjects of the film, smiling with them – sending their emotion. Imagine, if the people in the film were your own family, your own parents, maybe even loved ones you have lost.

This gorgeous little super8 mm movie was remastered by Eileen O’Rourke of  Sugar8 Films, and I’m going to hand over to Eileen now so that she can tell you the story her Mum and Dad’s 50th anniversary wedding film.

“As it was my parents 50th wedding anniversary this year I decided to dust off their old film reel from their wedding that has always sat on top of the wardrobe and get it digitised for them. I remember for their 25th or 30th Anniversary that we had done something similar and got it transferred to VHS but that is long since unwatchable as no one has a VHS player anymore.”

Film remastered by Sugar8 Films




“That’s the beauty of real film you can get it transferred from the original to whatever is the current format time and again and it won’t lose any quality. I aways tell my couples this when they book but I don’t think they realise that their future generations might want to do that.”

Stills from a super8 wedding film from 1966.

Image 1

“I was a late addition to the family, my parents had me in their 40’s, so I only ever remember them as being (slightly) older. It was funny to see them as young people with all the same mannerisms and expressions as now just much much younger.”

“You can forget that your parents were once as young as you and even looked like you. My Dad looks so like my brother and nephew do now and my Mum just like my niece.”

Stills from a super8 wedding film from 1966.

Image 2

“It’s also really interesting to see how differently people treated a camera then compared with now. There is much more reverential air to it.

People stare right at it like it’s a foreign object, not something that everyone has in their pocket everyday and easily accessible on their mobile phone.”

Stills from a super8 wedding film from 1966.

Image 3

“My mum’s memory isn’t as good these days as it was and it was back then, but observing her watch this film, it’s heartening to witness memories flooding back into her mind – old familiar faces light up her face as she hums along to her favourite, Nat King Cole song.”

Stills from a super8 wedding film from 1966.

Image 4

“She said she thinks she bought her wedding dress in Glasgow, but my sister and I are pretty sure it was homemade as so many things were back then.”

Stills from a super8 wedding film from 1966.

Image 5

“A few of the people in the video  are no longer with us – this includes all of my grandparents and even a few of my aunts and uncles. Their partners were at the Golden Wedding celebrations and loved seeing the footage of themselves again.”

Stills from a super8 wedding film from 1966.

Image 6

“To finish the film off, I got some footage of all my brothers and sisters and their children at a recent family party and added it at the end, to show how the family has grown over the last 50 years. My parents loved it.”

You might think that wedding films are cheesy or not your thing, or might not feel too comfortable with the idea of being filmed, but in 50 years time, I promise you hand on heart, you will be glad you did it.”

Stills from a super8 wedding film from 1966.

“Your children won’t care a jot over the things you might have worried about; how your chin looks bad at that angle, how your hair could have looked better – they’ll simply love to be able to see what you were like when you were young, what the fashions were, who your friends were. Being able to step back in time through film this way is magical and can be incredibly moving for family members.”

Stills from a super8 wedding film from 1966.

“I think my sister’s response to seeing the film sums up perfectly how I feel about it too – this is the message I am keen to convey to others considering having their wedding filmed…”

I was instantly overcome with emotion when I saw my mum and dad as young, fit and healthy 20 somethings enjoying their wedding day. It made me realise him much we take film and instant viewing for granted today. There was something special about seeing the emotional reaction of people who haven’t seen a moving film of their family or friends for decades. I go back to look at it from time to time and it feels like there I’m there on that day.

Stills from a super8 wedding film from 1966.

I’ve been so excited about sharing this film with you today and really hope that the sentiment behind this feature might have given you something to think about.  The topic of wedding films is an ongoing discussion amongst our brides (and particularly within our private Facebook group for brides to be and newlyweds).

Do you regret not having your wedding filmed?

Did you have your wedding filmed? How does it make you feel looking back over it now?

Do you have any precious family wedding memories from years ago caught on film like this?

Might this feature have encouraged you to reconsider having your wedding filmed where you might not have been planning to?

One thing I hear often is ‘we can’t afford to have our wedding filmed’. Have you assessed where you might be able to make some cutbacks in other areas of your wedding, so to help raise enough money to cover the costs of a wedding film?

I have the darling photographer Emma Case to thank for this feature today, and drawing my attention to this Facebook post. But most of all, I wish to thank the wonderfully lovely Eileen O’Rourke of Sugar8 Films for very kindly seeking the permission of her parents and family to share this film with you all. I feel very humbled and privileged that we are able to share such precious memories with you.

Please take a moment to explore Eileen’s website and especially so if you’d like to have your wedding documented in super8 mm style film format. If not, I encourage you to browse the Wedding Film Makers and Videographers category of our lovely wedding directory, Little Book For Brides.

Have a lovely Sunday,

Annabel x

 

Image 1 –  Aunt Eileen, Gran O’Rourke, Dad, Mum, Gran Cooke, Grandad Cook, Uncle James, Anne McLaren, Sandra Smillie (my cousins)
Image 2 – ‘Some of my Dad’s friends looking like The Kray’s. Haha!’
Image 3 – My Aunt Margaret in some fabulous fashion.
Image 4 – Mum exiting the bridal car
Image 5 – My cousins Anne and Sandra as flowergirls
Image 6 – A family lineup
Image 7 – My Grandad O’Rourke was in hospital and couldn’t make it so they visited him
Image 8 – Mum and Dad’s crazy wedding cake

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If you are interested in era/vintage inspired weddings, you might want to purchase a copy of my book, Style Me Vintage Weddings, sold via Amazon and in all good book stores. There is a lovely chapter on the 1960’s.

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

6 thoughts on “Wedding Film Memories From 1966

  1. Ah, I love this! We have booked Eileen to film our wedding next year. I’m so excited about the video. We don’t have any old family video footage at all and I wish we did, which is partly why I wanted a wedding video so much – it’s not just a memento of the day but will be a real heirloom and so wonderful to look back on!

    1. Totally agree with your sentiment here Eve. All of my grandparents’ photographs were destroyed in a fire, there’s not one single photo of them on their big day and, as their family, I would have loved to have seen what they looked like! Nowadays that would never happen, as we all have cameras, however the sentiment of your future generations seeing how you looked is just as important xx

  2. Thanks for sharing this Annabel and for your lovely words about it. I hope it encourages more people to think again about getting their wedding filmed. It really is such a precious thing for our family to have now. x

  3. How lovely was this? Totally teared up watching the families at the end. And Eileen, your mum looks absolutely adorable on the day, it’s amazing how well some of those 60s fashions and haircuts hold up. This made my morning, thanks so much guys.

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