- says TV producer Joanne Woo.
Joanne produces daily breakfast television show in Ottawa, National Capital of Canada. The city with its suburbs totaling up to around one million inhabitants wakes up to the only local morning show named simply - A-Morning. /A\ (sic!) is the brand of the station, hence the show title.
On the photo: the weather and the best man Bill Welychka looks up as the A-Morning host Kurt Stoodley performs the ceremony.
While the station struggles through the hurdles caused by the federal regulations and current status of economy, the staff decided to take on the wedding theme and run four hour show culminating in the live on-air wedding ceremony.
JOANNE WOO: “It’s something we’ve never done… I love the challenge of new things. So we thought what the heck, let’s take a chance.”
The show propped up by the local sponsors went well as a high class wedding with the white limousine, make up artists, decorators, clothing retailers and jewelers, all focused on promoting their businesses at the same time making good television. Response was strong and positive -from the married couple, their families, sponsors and viewers as well. The station in fact has received several requests for the copies of the show.
JOANNE WOO: “It’s a big morale boost to know that our little station can put together a big production with so few resources.” The show was put on shortly after the major cuts in the industry in a whole and about 50% staff lay off at the station.
On the photo: news anchor Sandra Blaikie blows bubbles on the newly married couple Stephan and Christina leaving the TV station.
Apparently the station is keen on capitalizing on success and eager to run the sequel, and possibly to make the wedding show a regular one.
Is it going to affect local wedding video production businesses? It will definitely raise the bar in production quality challenging local videographers to catch up. Is it going to compete with the businesses? Probably not. Few occasional weddings a year won’t bite out of a big pie. On a contrary, production team wants to see wedding videographers on the show, says Joanne.
That’s all. Let me know what you think in the Comments box. I would like to hear from the videographers, marrying couples and local TV stations, what do you think of a live on-air wedding on your local morning TV show?
More photos of the live on-air wedding of Stephan and Christina.
