Nick and I married on the solstice at a family property in South Hero, Vermont. My friend and very talented photographer, Jacquelyn Potter documented the day beautifully, but when it came to videography we decided to take a tip from our friends Jordan & Sarah Youngbuck and strap a GoPro to our dog!

You may have seen this published on Insider.

GoPro Wedding Video Filmed by Our Dog

Zhivago is a 13lb rescue dog from Costa Rica – he is incredibly friendly, energetic, and adventurous! We found him through Long Trail Canine Rescue in Vermont. We borrowed a GoPro from my cousins Stephen & Alix Bower along with a dog harness. As Zhivago is very small, so we did have to tighten the straps all the way, and even then the camera was some version of sideways, but we weren’t looking for perfection in terms of the quality of video he would record. We did a few test runs around our apartment and let him run around outside with the GoPro running and found them charming!

My best woman, Sara, walked Zhivago down the aisle and he spent most of the ceremony either sniffing our guests or sleeping on my cousin Lily’s lap! We figured the video he would record could really be anything – I might mess up the settings, everything could be upside down or be a video of someone’s shoes, etc – but we were totally blown away by the fantastic and hilarious footage he captured!

How We Set the GoPro Up

In our tests, we made sure we got a memory card and battery that could record for around 1.5hrs. For those of you who are considering doing something similar, the settings I used were:

• Video Record, Audio On
• Res 1080 or less
• FPS 60 for video stabilization
• FOV Wide
• Auto for exposure/color balance

I hadn’t used a GoPro before this, but there was plenty of information on youtube and in the manual. When editing the footage in iMovie, I decided not to include a voiceover of our vows, but the audio was actually pretty decent. We turned the GoPro on about 30 mins before the ceremony and the battery lasted through the cocktail hour!

Vendors:

Videographer: Go Pro strapped to our dog, Zhivago // GoPro Provided by: Stephen & Alix Bower // Music: “Tenderness” by Jay Som // Wedding Planner: Randi Nonni Events // Photographer: Jacquelyn Potter // Florist: Fast Pony Flowers // // Event Design: Julia Luckett Photography  // Invitations & Signs: Julia Luckett Photography // Table Numbers: Casey Blanchard Studios // Venue: Private Residences // Tent: Vermont Tent Company // Catering: Cloud 9 // Cake: Sweet Babu  // Chocolate Sculpture: Lake Champlain Chocolates // Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream // Bar: Deli 126 // Band: DC Project Band // Stamps: Artisaire // Julia’s Rings: Perrywinkles Fine Jewelry // Nick’s Ring: Castro Smith // Dress Boutique: Everthine Bridal // Dress Designer: Rue De Seine // Shoes: Korkease // Hair & Make-up: Jackie Maria // Julia’s Wedding Party Rings: Local Eclectic // Groom Suit: Suit Supply

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