Andrew had a very good reason for not being at our very first meeting — he was nearing the end of his 18 months working abroad in Japan, but with a couple of months still to go, we sat down with Clara alone to talk about everything ranging from the wedding day, to the epic proposal atop Mt. Fuji, to more random things like trekking through Algonquin.
She told us how most of her and Andrew’s relationship had actually been long distance, since he found out about his placement after one of their first few dates. We hit on the hardships of long-distance relationships and how they managed to find ways to stay close despite of the distance between them… and then she mentioned the big box of letters. Letters that Andrew sent daily (except for Sundays in which postal service doesn’t run in Japan), each one handwritten, uniquely titled, and set to a specific theme (usually things he liked about Clara), and there was over three hundred of them. When we finally saw it in person, and saw Clara flicking through each one and battling to get just one out of the tightly-squeezed container, we were definitely amazed by the intricacy, attention to detail, and consistency of it all.
It’s rare that we find the story we want to tell and even the format of the final film just a few minutes into our first conversation with a couple, but after talking to Clara, we knew exactly what we wanted their wedding video to be, how it would all look, and how the story would play out. The letters were just so perfect because they speak directly about the past, present and future of Clara and Andrew’s relationship. They call attention to the months that Andrew was away in Japan, to their journey to finally be together on their wedding day, and the words in his final letter, delivered on the wedding day itself, speak about the excitement of the life they will soon share together.
As filmmakers, we always look to find at least one storyline that makes each couple unique; one that extends beyond the wedding day itself and really says something about the people we’re filming and celebrating with. This almost a perfect example of that mantra and we are so happy with how it all came together :)