We were lucky to catch up with Scott Vandenberg recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Scott, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The wedding industry revolves around the wedding, and rightfully so. Officiants, florals, caterers, and even photographers don’t have much interest in what occurs outside of the “big day”. As such, it’s temptingly easy as a wedding filmmaker, to follow suit and provide a video to your couple that shows them what happened on the day they got married. In fact, this is the status quo for filmmakers and the most frequent thing you’ll see. Getting ready, first look, ceremony, reception, done. It’s easy money and light work.

I’m not disparaging this approach – many couples are looking for this, and if you want to film a lot of weddings and turn around edits quickly, it’s the way to go

But what if a wedding film could be more? What if it could be a story about your couple’s lives *outside* of the wedding day, how the first volume of their lives culminates in this incredible wedding, and how there’s a lifetime of adventures ahead of them.

But what does that look like? How can you expand your films to tackle a wider scope and tell more meaningful and long-lasting stories?

It starts with a documentary approach. Documentarians do hours, days, and weeks of research before they even think about filming. Talk to your couple. Learn about what’s important to them. Do they have a tightly-knit family? Have they or their family overcome any struggles to get where they are today? How do they spend their time together?

The question you’re really trying to answer is: What truly defines their relationship?

What makes them unique is exactly what will make your film unique. If you find this before the wedding, you can use it to your advantage on the wedding day, focusing on important people and using visual storytelling techniques that will bring this story you’re making to life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Scott, and I like to feel things. Sadness, joy, excitement anxiety- they’re all vital ingredients in the soup of the human experience. Emotions are the lens through which we experience life, and there is no lens as beautiful as true, unconditional love.

The Vandenberg Visuals brand is all about family (biological or chosen), powerful stories, and the unconditional love shared by two people who are ready to spend the rest of their lives together. Making films for people in love has been one of the greatest honors of my life.

At the moment, though, filmmaking is only a part-time commitment while I teach at a school here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s a difficult, but fulfilling job as I get to make a difference in the lives of over 600 crazy kids. As I learn more about myself and work with couples that share a passion for their stories, I plan to transition to being a full time filmmaker so I have more mental and emotional resources to devote to my work.

When I’m not buried in my Premiere Pro timelines, I spend time with my incredible wife, Sam, who has encouraged me to follow my passions and has supported me through everything.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

As a professional in the wedding industry, I unfortunately have to charge for my work. Money isn’t an unlimited resource for most folks, and I’m truly of the mind that wealth does not indicate that someone is interesting or noteworthy (in fact, it’s often the opposite).

In 2023, I met Abbey & Mike. Their wedding was at Planterra Conservatory in Michigan, and they posted on a local Facebook group looking for a videographer. I was very interested in filming a wedding there, so I reached out.

We instantly hit it off and I was blown away by their chemistry and their story, as they had met in March 2020 and quarantined together after knowing each other for a couple weeks. They were so obviously in love that I could feel it there on that zoom call within about 5 minutes.

The kicker- they had dried up their budget by booking this incredible venue and didn’t have the money to offer my usual rate. In fact, they could afford less than have of my starting rate.

I thought about it, and thought about the future of my business, and how a story like this absolutely needed to be told. I met them at their budget and we went ahead with the film.

When I say it’s my favorite film of all time- I’m not just talking about wedding films. I like it more than Lord of the Rings.

That leap of faith has given me an incredible portfolio piece, dozens of new inquiries from likeminded couples, and two new friends for life.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I’m in a unique position to answer this question – I consider myself a success-story-in-progress in this regard. I have a wife, a dog, a cat, and a house. I can’t simply quit my day job and hope to make up the difference with weddings. For the last 2-3 years, I’ve been running this on the side, developing the brand, and spending late nights at the computer editing. It’s hard work, and I can’t say it’s for everyone. Hell, I sometimes need to go out of my way to find inspiration to keep going. Looking forward, Vandenberg Visuals will have to build a presence that goes beyond videos of weddings. Telling unique stories and looking for interesting people across the globe are the mission. Improving branding, social media, and website effectiveness are all on the docket for 2024.

Contact Info:

• Website: vandenbergvisuals.com
• Instagram: @Vandenberg_Visuals

Image Credits
Sierra Marie Photography (for the images of my wife and I in Zion National Park)