Meet Dianna Nguyen | Wedding Videographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dianna Nguyen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dianna, what role has risk played in your life or career?
One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2022 has been to take more risks. As a type A perfectionist, I like to stay where I am comfortable. However, I have come to realize that there is no growth without “pain” so I have been working to push my limits and taking more risks.

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken for both my life and career was going full-time with wedding videography. I had been working as a receptionist at a dental office on the weekdays and then working weddings on the weekends. It was tough and I was exhausted all the time. I consider myself to be a very hard worker and it broke my heart to leave the office but I knew that going into videography full-time was the best decision for me and my mental health.

Don’t get me wrong – going full-time into wedding videography when I’ve spent the last five years working a 9 to 5 job was terrifying. I was so scared that I would go broke trying to do what I love. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Going full-time has been the most fulfilling and so much fun! It took me a while to get acclimated and create a structured schedule that worked for me but this is one of the best risks I’ve ever taken.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a filmmaker and storyteller, specializing in weddings and elopements. I consider myself to be a very candid shooter – I try to capture the essence of my couples’ souls. I would never want someone to look back at their wedding video and not recognize themselves. At every single wedding or elopement, I try my very best to capture who they are as individuals and who they are as a couple.

Getting to where I’m at today has not been easy. It is very different making fun little travel videos with my friends versus making videos for someone’s most important day. I have spent a lot of time being discouraged because I didn’t get the “perfect” shot because someone didn’t stand in the right place, or someone’s phone is in half of my video clip. What’s been truly difficult for me to learn is that while it’s not perfect to me, it’s perfect to my couple because it authentically shows their day. I’ll spend hours agonizing over a single clip, only to send it to my couple and have them love it. I have definitely learned that perfectionism is not human nature and that the little moments that don’t make for perfect videos are the same moments that show authenticity.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Welcome to Orange County, baby!

We’ll have to spend a couple days at the famous OC beaches, of course! We’ll also have to spend a couple days at Disneyland, AKA one of my favorite places on earth. On the other days, we can rent a duffy and go boating in the Newport bay!

It’s pretty hard to narrow down some of my favorite places to eat but we’ll definitely have to check out Nice to Meet You Hot Pot in Irvine, Star BBQ in Garden Grove, Sake 2 Me in Cerritos, Birrieria Guadalajara in Santa Ana, Nep Cafe in Fountain Valley, and Lighthouse Cafe in Newport Beach!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to dedicate this to Haley Wilde of Haley Wilde Photography and both Greta + Brandon of Bryte Moments.

I couldn’t have gone full time without Haley’s support. It is so much fun to follow a career path with one of my best friends.

Greta and Brandon have been nothing but supportive ever since I first met them back in July! They both do amazing work and I am so excited to get work with them again in the future.

Website: diannanguyenfilms.com

Instagram: @diannanguyenfilms

Facebook: facebook.com/diannanguyenfilms

Image Credits
@haleywildephotography