Love is not something that is easily earned. Love is something not everybody finds. Love is a special thing between two people, that when someone does find love, they do not let go. They hold onto it forever and ever. Taylor Swift portrays this in the music video “Love Story”. In the music video, Taylor is the narrator and an actress in the “Love Story” music video. In the establishing shot, the girl and boy are at school and when they see each other, the girl reminisces about her forbidden love. The sighting of the boy takes her back to have daydreams about their love story. The story she is telling while daydreaming is mimicry of Romeo and Juliet. The thing that really stands out in her daydream is her ball gown she is wearing throughout the story that she is trying to tell. The girl is wearing this ball gown in two main scenes of the music video that tell the most about the “Love Story”.  The dresses have a deep significance in the story. The dresses she is wearing play a vital role in the type of love being portrayed. The first dress represents a more casual love while the second dress represents more of a committed and intentional love.   

The dance is the first place in the music video that she shows the ball gown. The dance itself is held in a large mansion. The gown is extremely elegant and medieval looking. The dress fits the main theme of the “Romeo and Juliet” time period. The medieval looking dress coordinates well with the decorations in a sense that the décor is much older looking and the things set up around the dance floor have a continued medieval theme. The guests attending the dance dressed in medieval attire with the ladies are wearing elegant ball gowns.  The looks of those surrounding them and the way in which the girl and boy are dancing, reiterates the Romeo and Juliet theme. The ball gown is emphasizing the extravagant love she has towards the man as the gown also portrays the story of Romeo and Juliet. The girl is imagining this fairy tale of Romeo and Juliet (with a happy ending). The thing that is really extravagant is the dress she is wearing with the man she is so infatuated with. The different shots show her infatuation with the young man. On the dance floor, there is a bird’s eye view. The boy and girl are making it visually evident to the entire audience that they are deeply in love with each other. They also take a long shot when they are at the dance, followed by many close ups to show the same thing. With the long shot and the birds’ eye view, it is easy to see the ball gown and the fine details of it. These two different shots are meant to really show off the dress and how the boy and girl are interacting with each other. The shots that show the dress show that the dress is a gold color, which matches the color scheme of the mansion where the dance is located. With the colors on the dress, it shows the expensive taste that is going into the ball gown. The colors also show the maturity she is striving for as she tries to impress her love. A big thing that the gold dress and the rest of the color scheme are trying portray is wealth and passion. These colors are bold and want to show that they mean something bigger and greater those other typical colors.  

The scenes at the castle are the most important scenes of the story Taylor is trying to tell. In these scenes, she has changed into a different dress. The dress is just as extravagant as the previous one but looks more like a wedding dress. The dress is much whiter than the ball gown and has jewels and beads to go along with it. The dress especially stands out with the background she has in the music video. The back round is more of an “outdoor” theme with lots of dark greens from the trees and different grasses, plants, and bushes that surround her. These rich colors are complimentary of the castle and her dress. The colors chosen in this scene were used specifically to bring out the dress and the importance of it. In the lyrics, Taylor talks about her father’s approval of the wedding and as a result the wedding dress she will be able to wear (3:26). The dress is so important in so many ways. The fact that it changes from a ball gown to the white wedding dress symbolizes their future wedding plans.  At the end of the music video they do a long shot, close up and bugs eye view in order to capture all angles of their love. These shots all have different meanings. Each different type of shot has a different more specific meaning. With the long shot, it is showing their entire bodies to emphasize the affection they are showing towards each other. Their happiness is captured well in this form of shot, as they are ecstatic that they can finally be together. The long shot shows the entire background. From the castle to the woods and all the different colors, this shot portrays the entire world surrounding them and their love. The scene then changes with the close up shot. This shot is much closer to their faces and it shows the true emotion and the intimate connection they have between the two of them. The close up shows the two of them as one, without all the other pieces of the world trying to fit in to their life. With the changing of the camera angles, it is also a reminder of the story of Romeo and Juliet. The long shot is an example of how Romeo and Juliet lived a life surrounded by many people. They had to learn to deal with many different types of people for most of their life before realizing how in love they were with each other. This is where the close up comes in to play. The close up shows how Romeo and Juliet were so in love that they created their own life away from the world. This particular angle also displays how they only cared about each other.  The close up in the music video is able to show their sole devotion to one another well. This view connects the story of Romeo and Juliet and the “Love Song” music video. The bug’s eye view is also able to show the passion and intimacy that they have towards each other. 

In conclusion, “Love Story” is a powerful music video displaying young love as it develops into a more mature love. . The dress plays the greatest role in the development of their love story. The ball gown emphasized her interest in him, but that her love was young and immature. The white dress symbolizes maturity in that they are both ready to take the next step in their love story. The ball gown represents young love in a sense that it is a fantasy; it is not real life but a mere fairy tale. The ball gown represents her lack of focus on “love” as defined by experience whereas the white dress represents experience that her young love lacked. Through the use of different camera angles, color schemes and scenes the music video was able to create unique feelings that symbolized particular aspects of their love story. Marriage is the greatest symbol of love as two people vow to love one another for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, as long as they both shall live.
