Santa Barbara Wedding Style recently welcomed Golden Glow Weddings to our roster of highly skilled videography members. Golden Glow provides couples with a memory preserved in gold through 100% personalized stories that truly capture their unique love.

Jake Douglas, the team’s Head of Production, shared additional information with us about Golden Glow’s past work, their favorite places to shoot, and tips for couples to get the most out of their wedding day film.

Q - What is your favorite location to work? What is the style that makes this location special for couples?

A - Our favorite locations to work with are open natural landscapes, such as, open fields, beaches and forests. We specialize in shooting in natural light and open landscapes allow us to create cinematic imagery. The landscape around you in your photos says more about who you are and where you come from than you would think. From a city scape background to light rays shining through the forest’s branches, it tells a story and tells the viewers about who you are as a couple. We have shot in almost every environment you could think of. So, ultimately, the location YOU choose is our favorite. Our goal is to capture your unique personalities and the location you choose says so much about the type of people you are.

Q - What is your #1 top piece of advice you give to couples before they hire you?

A - Our top piece of advice for couples is to talk to us. Tell us who you are, how you met, what makes you tick. We want to get to know you so we can capture and curate your photos and videos to flaunt your unique personalities and relationship to the world. Everyone on the Golden Glow team is outgoing and loves to get to know new people. Personally, we believe that sets us apart from other production companies. We want to sit down and grab a coffee or chat on a zoom call. We want to feel like your friend when we are capturing your special day.

Being in front of a camera for a full day can be nerve-racking - trust us, we've all tried our hand at being in front of the camera from time to time and it is SCARY! But, as soon as you become comfortable with your photographer or videographer, that’s when the magic truly begins. The smiles are bigger, the emotions are more authentic; and that all starts with getting to know each other.

Q - What is trending with your couples?

A - Film photography, especially 35mm film photography, is trending with our couples right now. We recently invested in a Contax G1 35mm film camera and so far everyone has loved the natural grain and tones it captures. The Contax G1 is a very special camera; as it is the first automatic mechanical film camera and in our opinion captures some of the best film photos you will ever see. Our favorite part about shooting with film is the unique film burns some photos acquire during the process, it gives photos a look you will never see anywhere else!

Q - What are 2 things you wish couples would do for every wedding?

A - Two things I wish couples would do for every wedding is a sunset session and a grand entrance/exit. The sunset sessions allow us to get really creative with the shots and display your personality through the imagery. You get dynamic lighting that makes your wedding photos stand out from the crowd; and who doesn't love shooting in the flattering golden hour light? Skin tones become soft and give off an incredible glow. That is actually where our name ‘Golden Glow’ comes from, so you know we will excel in a sunset session.

Grand entrances and exits are incredibly special to capture for us as well. Emotions and excitement are running high and we've found that we can capture some extremely sentimental moments of couples being surrounded by their loved ones, celebrating their new union together. Sparkler and firework exit/entrances are a plus!

Q - To date, what wedding have you done that has made the top of your favorite list, and why?

A - The last wedding we had the honor to capture was a South Asian/American wedding in Cabo San Lucas. We were immersed in the South Asian culture, surrounded by bright vibrant colors contrasting with the white sand beaches in Cabo. Learing about their culture was something we will cherish forever. The couple was breaking tremendous century long walls having an interracial wedding that was just incredible to be part of and capture for them. It also meant we got to shoot both the Indian ceremony and and an American ceremony while we were there, so we got the best of both worlds.

FOLLOW US: @SANTABARBARAWEDDING