Today I got some very depressing news.

Without going into it much, a documentary idea I had been researching and working on for nearly a year was crushed.

A production company with several documentaries under their belt had the same idea (Even the same title I had come up with) and produced a trailer long before I even started a single interview.

I went on a drive, called a good friend, moaned and groaned, angrily wondered aloud “Are wedding films all I will ever make?!?!” …and got it out of my system.

After my long and contemplative drive, God put something in my heart that I had to share.

I’m often blinded by editing, scheduling, making money, and spending money to realize what my wedding films are actually “doing”.

Then, 3 “What If” thoughts kept going through my head about what my films actually “accomplish.”

1) What if wedding films lower divorce rates?

The truth is, after most people are married for 5 or 6 years, the “spark” is gone.

Not to say the love is gone, but the butterflies and the excitement of the honeymoon phase is often replaced with duties of career, kids, and just life in general.

It’s no wonder that most divorces occur within the first 10 years of marriage and it’s where the term “7 year itch” comes from. After 7 years, some start looking around for that “spark” again.

When editing a wedding video, I sometimes think “What if, 6 or 7 years from now, this couple is struggling and has forgotten that feeling they had on their wedding day?”

I then imagine that one of them decides to re-watch their wedding video and they see that “spark” again and the excitement.

It’s like me with my kids; Sometimes they drive me and my wife nuts. Then, for whatever reason, I stumble across a home movie I made of them when they were 3 or 4 years old and suddenly that feeling of newness, and love, and adoration flood my emotions. By the time I’m done watching them learn to ride a bike or say “dada” for the first time in the videos, I’ve forgotten whatever was causing me and my wife so much stress.  I want to wake them up from their sleep and tell them how much I love them.

2) What if this wedding film changes the definition of “Love” for future generations?

I have been doing this long enough now to have couples email me saying that they showed their wedding video to their toddler.  They LOVED it and continually ask to watch it over and over. I think about these kids as they get into their tweens and teens. These kids will see something that most of us never saw growing up; our parents being crazy in love with each other. These kids will hear their parents say words that they may never hear them say to each other on a typical day.

These kids will grow up having an idea of what “love” is implanted in their subconscious. A definition of love created by their parents, not a TV show, a movie, or a book.

A daughter might now grow up looking for a man who reminds her of how her father spoke to her mother in their wedding video, and vice versa for the son who sees his mother’s love for his father as the quality he should seek in a mate.

3) What if my wedding films, and ALL wedding films made, change the way women and men choose a partner?

This may be a stretch, but I’m pouring out my thoughts here so bear with me (Plus, 3 points are always better than 2 points!)
20 years ago, we didn’t have social media, we didn’t see wedding films pop up on an Instagram or Facebook feed.

Girls today see more weddings of strangers now than in any time in history.

Brides are hearing men say some of the most sincere, and powerful words of love to their chosen mate.

The idea of what “The perfect husband or wife” is, could begin to shift just based upon the fact that people see “The best” of what an ideal bride or groom can be.

Once I started contemplating how my wedding films, or any wedding film, has the potential to reshape the future of relationships, I began to feel more rewarded by the opportunities I have to be a part of a couple’s most important day.