To drone or not to drone at your wedding, that is the question! Drone photography is quickly rising in popularity which is absolutely no surprise. The footage that a drone is able to capture is like no-other. If you still feel a little puzzled or skeptical about aerial photography, how is works and what the pro and cons are, keep reading! This week I have put together an article filled with everything you need to know about hiring a drone to fly on your special day!
I thought we should start with the less glamourous information, and then move on to the fun stuff! As you probably know, safety is the most important thing to keep in mind if you are planning to hire a drone. Drones essentially are mini helicopters with cameras, so if the drone pilot is not properly trained or doesn’t have experience in this field, you will be at risk for an accident happening (this is definitely something we want to avoid on your wedding day). To make sure this doesn’t happen, be sure to ask for examples of previous work produced and ask about their experience with handling these pieces of equipment. As long as you have a professional behind the drone remote that you adore the work of and trust, you are good to go!
Drones really are the new way to capture memories. You will hire a professional drone pilot to shoot your destination wedding day just like you would hire your wedding photographer – to make sure you have your memories captured in the highest quality possible! After all, weddings only happen once, there are no re-takes!
In addition to capturing your love from above, take advantage of having a drone present and capture your venue. Drones offer unique and grand perspectives of locations, so this is an amazing way to take full advantage of the gorgeous space you have chosen to tie the knot at. I may be slightly biased, but if you are having a beach wedding (such as on the beaches in Riviera Maya) your breath really will be taken away by the footage captured, it is exceptional!
Since drones are so versatile, if you want to be creative, this is definitely the time to do it! Maybe you want to gather all your guests on the beach and spell out words or organize them in other fun ways – have a think and you are sure to come up with something that will make your day even more memorable to you and all your guests.
As you can see, drones have many pros but they also come with factors that need to be taken into account. Although pretty tough, they are still electronic devices so they cannot be flown in heavy rain or crazy winds. Here in Riviera Maya, the wind especially by the beach can get pretty wild, so always make sure your pilot has a backup plan or a refund policy if weather was to get in the way of the drone flying.
Your drone pilot may suggest flying inside if the weather was to turn and although this is possible, I would not recommend this unless the venue has high ceilings and the team controlling the drone proceeds with caution. Also remember, space will not be the only issue inside. Noise will be another factor you need to take into account as the noise from the drone can be pretty strong. If you have upbeat loud music playing this will be no problem but at the time of speeches or your first dance, this may be slightly annoying for you and your guests so it would be best to turn the drone off at this point.
Personally I also recommend not flying the drone for the whole ceremony. Not only would this mean a constant bee noise being captured on all the microphones but it can be very distracting for both you, your guests and the minister. The way to resolve this issue is to ask your drone pilot to fly at the beginning of the ceremony, the end and a couple of key moments during.
My last point is one which may seem obvious, but I have come across this numerous of times so I thought it would be best to add in. Drones are NOT for selfies. This is a big no no and all guests should know the drone is not to go anywhere near any bodies face (if you have seen the video of what happened to Enrique Inglesias on stage you will know why!!)
If all safety measures are kept in mind, and you hire a company that is professionally trained and experienced in drone flying, it really will be one of the best additional extras you could add to your photography/videography package, I can assure you!