A wedding weekend is often also a family reunion. It can be a time of recording treasured fond memories and the personalities to expressively share them.
But it will only happen if arranged in advance. Dave Savage has the experience and materials to help make it happen.
But it will only happen if arranged in advance. Dave Savage has the experience and materials to help make it happen.
"Why didn't you tell me?" "I didn't think you cared because you never asked me about that time in my life."
"Our relationship and conversations would have been different if I had only known."
Recording Family Personalities and Stories is a Legacy gift to the extended family and future generations.
When families are gathered, fond memories are usually shared; yet, so often, those stories are relegated to memory only. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is worth a thousand pictures. If you are considering recording, don’t put it off. Recording family personalities and stories provides a priceless legacy and there may not be another opportunity due to mental or physical decline or even death.
And a wedding weekend is a great time to do it. A wedding is most often a family reunion caused by a wedding.
Don’t you wish you had recordings of your loved ones sharing the stories of your family?
Weddings, graduations, memorial services, and other lifecycle events are, in essence, family reunions around a special occasion.
Take advantage of planned and unplanned gatherings to set aside intentional time to share and record the fond memories of and about your loved ones. This is a priceless gift to your immediate and extended family to pass on the history, personal anecdotes, and personality of family members at this point in time.
Recordings can:
· Celebrate and honor the sheer joy of storytelling.
· Honor the past and pay tribute to people who have shaped your life.
· Created a priceless legacy of memories and stories for generations.
· Explain your actions and decisions, providing insight and perspective.
· Communicate your values, beliefs, and ethics.
· Offer advice to your children (or anyone else!) based on your mistakes, successes, and observations.
· Set the record straight and help you and others achieve peace of mind.
Ways to Share Your Stories, Heritage, Legacy and Talents
· Grandpa reads the favorite stories of his own kids while they were growing up so that the future children will hear the stories read by him.
· Grandma explains the meaning of special words and phrases from her heritage to strengthen the ethnic identity of the grandchildren.
· Grandpa does a “show and tell” of items in his toolbox that the grandchildren will inherit one day.
· Mom displays the Ellis Island documents and heirlooms she inherited.
· A family talent show is fun and showcases traditional strange talents. The Johnson family sings, niece Emily plays the violin, cousin Mike shows off magic
tricks, brother Sid shows how he makes paper hats, and you do the tap dance you learned as a child.
· Everyone joins in to fill in the missing parts of a large family tree. People bring documents and pictures for “show and tell” about the items.
· Individuals or groups share the backstories of old family photos.
· If you will be downsizing, do a “show and tell” about memorabilia that you need to let go of as you prepare to move to a smaller place. Give a walking tour
of your home and share the experiences and fond memories of each area of the house and yard.
· Be interviewed by a loved one to create an in-depth video memoir.
· Share “An Ethical Will” that offers a personal sharing of your values, wisdom, regrets, lessons learned, and confessions that you hope will heal relationship
pain, provide insights into your actions, and share wisdom that you hope will be an inspiration and guide for the next generation. This is a meaningful
and powerful inheritance that only you can give. The Ethical Will video is a sharing of the ideas and concepts that you hold as valued and important.
There are many articles, online videos, and books with ideas and materials for writing or recording your ethical will. Ethical Wills can be recorded by
people of any age; it is amazing what you will hear from children and young people.
· Cook together to share stories, fond memory dishes and the personalities that make your family unique and memorable.
AND... Ask Dave
Prepare the Participants
· Provide a list of questions ahead of time to help participants prepare for the interview. This can jog their memories about events or people the person had
nearly forgotten.
· Have participants make notes of names, dates, and places to better recall them during recorded conversations.
· Using websites like Ancestry.com, conduct advance research on your family genealogy to help stimulate the conversation.
· Discuss what is most interesting and worth preserving. It’s easy to get sidetracked with unexpected “just-thought-of-it” remembrances. You may decide
to just go with the natural flow of the conversation or redirect participants to get back on track with the original train of thought.
Prompt Lively and Informative Conversations·
Ask open-ended questions that go beyond the facts and yes-or-no answers.
Avoid asking questions that include “the best,” “the most,” or “your favorite.” Most people freeze up trying to think of and prioritize all of their options.
· Plan conversations and recordings around a loved one’s schedule and the time of day. Will he be taking medication that will make him drowsy?
· If you are interviewing a frail or elderly individual, start with questions about their memories or knowledge of their parents, grandparents, and siblings.
Make sure their energy is up as they are recalling this priceless information. They are often the last ones with personal experiences of their elders.
· When asking about other people, establish the basic information such as dates and places and where they were born, died, or grew up. Capture
addresses if possible.
· Gather family folklore and stories to get another experience and point of view: “My father said he was…”
· Bring out the high school yearbook to share the messages friends wrote and let the memories flood back.
Dave Savage - I Remember Video Services 2024
VariousEnterprises.com Jacksonville Florida
404 323-8686 dave@davesavage.com
VariousEnterprises.com
"Our relationship and conversations would have been different if I had only known."
Recording Family Personalities and Stories is a Legacy gift to the extended family and future generations.
When families are gathered, fond memories are usually shared; yet, so often, those stories are relegated to memory only. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is worth a thousand pictures. If you are considering recording, don’t put it off. Recording family personalities and stories provides a priceless legacy and there may not be another opportunity due to mental or physical decline or even death.
And a wedding weekend is a great time to do it. A wedding is most often a family reunion caused by a wedding.
Don’t you wish you had recordings of your loved ones sharing the stories of your family?
Weddings, graduations, memorial services, and other lifecycle events are, in essence, family reunions around a special occasion.
Take advantage of planned and unplanned gatherings to set aside intentional time to share and record the fond memories of and about your loved ones. This is a priceless gift to your immediate and extended family to pass on the history, personal anecdotes, and personality of family members at this point in time.
Recordings can:
· Celebrate and honor the sheer joy of storytelling.
· Honor the past and pay tribute to people who have shaped your life.
· Created a priceless legacy of memories and stories for generations.
· Explain your actions and decisions, providing insight and perspective.
· Communicate your values, beliefs, and ethics.
· Offer advice to your children (or anyone else!) based on your mistakes, successes, and observations.
· Set the record straight and help you and others achieve peace of mind.
Ways to Share Your Stories, Heritage, Legacy and Talents
· Grandpa reads the favorite stories of his own kids while they were growing up so that the future children will hear the stories read by him.
· Grandma explains the meaning of special words and phrases from her heritage to strengthen the ethnic identity of the grandchildren.
· Grandpa does a “show and tell” of items in his toolbox that the grandchildren will inherit one day.
· Mom displays the Ellis Island documents and heirlooms she inherited.
· A family talent show is fun and showcases traditional strange talents. The Johnson family sings, niece Emily plays the violin, cousin Mike shows off magic
tricks, brother Sid shows how he makes paper hats, and you do the tap dance you learned as a child.
· Everyone joins in to fill in the missing parts of a large family tree. People bring documents and pictures for “show and tell” about the items.
· Individuals or groups share the backstories of old family photos.
· If you will be downsizing, do a “show and tell” about memorabilia that you need to let go of as you prepare to move to a smaller place. Give a walking tour
of your home and share the experiences and fond memories of each area of the house and yard.
· Be interviewed by a loved one to create an in-depth video memoir.
· Share “An Ethical Will” that offers a personal sharing of your values, wisdom, regrets, lessons learned, and confessions that you hope will heal relationship
pain, provide insights into your actions, and share wisdom that you hope will be an inspiration and guide for the next generation. This is a meaningful
and powerful inheritance that only you can give. The Ethical Will video is a sharing of the ideas and concepts that you hold as valued and important.
There are many articles, online videos, and books with ideas and materials for writing or recording your ethical will. Ethical Wills can be recorded by
people of any age; it is amazing what you will hear from children and young people.
· Cook together to share stories, fond memory dishes and the personalities that make your family unique and memorable.
AND... Ask Dave
Prepare the Participants
· Provide a list of questions ahead of time to help participants prepare for the interview. This can jog their memories about events or people the person had
nearly forgotten.
· Have participants make notes of names, dates, and places to better recall them during recorded conversations.
· Using websites like Ancestry.com, conduct advance research on your family genealogy to help stimulate the conversation.
· Discuss what is most interesting and worth preserving. It’s easy to get sidetracked with unexpected “just-thought-of-it” remembrances. You may decide
to just go with the natural flow of the conversation or redirect participants to get back on track with the original train of thought.
Prompt Lively and Informative Conversations·
Ask open-ended questions that go beyond the facts and yes-or-no answers.
Avoid asking questions that include “the best,” “the most,” or “your favorite.” Most people freeze up trying to think of and prioritize all of their options.
· Plan conversations and recordings around a loved one’s schedule and the time of day. Will he be taking medication that will make him drowsy?
· If you are interviewing a frail or elderly individual, start with questions about their memories or knowledge of their parents, grandparents, and siblings.
Make sure their energy is up as they are recalling this priceless information. They are often the last ones with personal experiences of their elders.
· When asking about other people, establish the basic information such as dates and places and where they were born, died, or grew up. Capture
addresses if possible.
· Gather family folklore and stories to get another experience and point of view: “My father said he was…”
· Bring out the high school yearbook to share the messages friends wrote and let the memories flood back.
Dave Savage - I Remember Video Services 2024
VariousEnterprises.com Jacksonville Florida
404 323-8686 dave@davesavage.com
VariousEnterprises.com