Stefanie Ackerson, February, Wedding DVD

Hello again, everyone!  I was supposed to post yesterday but forgot...oops!  So here it is, just a day late.

My February project was to create a wedding DVD for my new sister-in-law's birthday present.  My brother got married in August and I had tons of wedding footage on my brand new digital camcorder.  My mom had recorded some of the reception with her old camcorder and copied it onto VHS, and my sister-in-law has loved watching it over and over so I knew she would love a more comprehensive DVD of her own.  Hence, my project!  

Only problem was, I had no idea where to begin!  Oh yeah, and I made the mistake of procrastinating starting the project until two days before the birthday party--bad idea!  So I had to make it up as I went, hoping it would be pretty self-explanatory onceI plugged in the camera and stuck in a blank DVD. 

First step was figuring out how to upload all of the wedding footage onto my computer.  That wasn't too hard, just connecting cables and copying them over, so I was feeling pretty good about myself!  And in the process I discovered a neat feature on my camcorder that makes a short 5-minute highlight video set to a nostalgic tune, so I added that too.  Bonus!  Technology makes me look so clever!

Second, I had to figure out what kind of DVD I needed to buy.  Turns out there are several different types and it depends on the type of laptop you have--who knew?!  After a Google search, I discovered I would need a DVD+RW, so I picked one up at Walmart and stuck it into the computer, fingers crossed that something would pop up automatically to get me started.  And it did!  Yeah for Microsoft!  The program that popped up was Windows DVD Maker and it seemed very user friendly, so I thought, great!


Unfortunately, when I tried dragging in my wedding footage and songs, the formats were not compatible.  After another Google search, I figured out how to convert the songs into the right format in iTunes, and the video into the right format using a free converter I downloaded called Freemake Video Converter.  (Though I don't know if I'd recommend it or use it again myself.  It worked great, but since then our computer's been acting a bit unreliable so Paul and I think we may have gotten a virus or something else malicious in the process....)


Once I had everything in the right format, I was able to drag in all my video footage, all the pictures their photographers had taken of their engagements, bridals, and wedding day, and some of their favorite love songs as background music for the slideshow portion of the video.  It took me quite awhile to get everything in the right order, time the songs to the pictures, and get all the little details worked out. 

But in the end, the DVD turned out so cute!  (If I do say so myself!)  The best part was watching my brother's and sister-in-law's faces when we watched it after the birthday party--priceless!  They both absolutely loved it.  Here's a preview of the final product:

I had planned on making a DVD of my own wedding this month as well, but since the process took longer than I had anticipated, I just didn't have time.  I think I want to do a little more research into other movie-maker programs and video converters too, to see what other options are out there.  So if any of you more experienced, tech-savvy ladies have suggestions, I would love them!