I’ve been filming weddings professionally in Cheshire, Liverpool and the Wirral since 2007, and I must have filmed around a thousand of them by now! Time flies when you’re having fun. So I thought it was about time I distilled some of this experience into some helpful tips for prospective couples. So here we go:
Why Would You Want a Wedding Video
Most weddings last just one day, whereas your wedding video last forever. That’s pretty obvious, but there’s more to it than that.
Firstly, of course, a wedding film is a great way to relive all the joyful memories of your big day. Not just for you, but for your children or future children, grandchildren, and extended family. Over the years many previous clients have told me they watch their wedding film every year on their wedding anniversary. It brings the memories and emotions flooding back much more than just looking at photographs from the day.
Additionally, your wedding video will feature many of your guests, providing a snapshot of family and friends, old and young. A wedding is a rare occasion where families are all together and hopefully on their best behaviour. So it’s a unique opportunity to capture that occasion people at that particular stage in their lives.
Finally, one thing that many people might not have considered, a wedding video can actually form part of the entertainment for you and your guests on your wedding day. One of our most popular options is our Same Day Edit films. These are short 4-5 minute highlight films, that are filmed and edited on the day, and shown in the evening on our big projector screen and PA system. There is no better time to watch your wedding film and it’ll bring back all the memories and emotions for the day, as well as getting the evening guests up-to-speed with what has happened so far. Here’s an example:
Types of Wedding Video
There’s a variety of wedding video types and styles, and it can get a bit confusing. Here’s a summary:
Highlights – This is a fairly short film, typically 3-5 minutes, usually covering the main parts of the wedding day including getting ready, guests arriving, ceremony and clips from after the ceremony. Highlights films are very watchable and great for sharing online with friends.
Short Form – Similar to a Highlights film, but a bit longer, typically 15-20 minutes. A Short Form film can condense the whole day into a watchable film that is great for viewing with friends and family.
Long Form – Also known as Documentary Edit, Full Length Film or Traditional Wedding Film. This covers the whole day including the full ceremony, speeches and first dance. Other parts of the film will be edited with clips typically accompanied by backing tracks. The length go the film can vary greatly depending on the length of the ceremony and speeches, but 45-90 minutes is typical. Long Form Films can also be combined with Highlights or Short Form options to give a variety of viewing options.
Same Day Edit – This is a Highlights film that’s edited on the day of the wedding, and usually shown in the evening before the first dance. It’s a very popular option in the USA, but very few videographers in Liverpool or Cheshire offer this option (we do though). Same Day Edits can be combined with longer films that are edited after the wedding.
Ceremony/Speeches – A simpler film covering just the ceremony, or speeches, or both. This can be a very economical way to add some video coverage to your wedding photography package.
Streaming – It’s possible to have parts of your wedding (such as the ceremony) streamed over the internet. This allows people to watch the ceremony live even if they cannot get to the wedding for practical or health reasons.
Cinematic – This is a word many wedding videographers (or wedding cinematographers) use to describe the production value of the finished film. It’s a combination of many factors, including the wedding itself, the shots that were captured on the day, and the editing. This is easier to achieve with Highlights and Short Form films.
Finding the Right Videographer for You
Here’s some things you might want to consider when looking for a videographer. Many of our clients are referred by a friend who has used us in the past. I think this is great, as getting an honest opinion from a previous client is very helpful in understanding if that videographer will be right for you. It’s also worth checking reviews, Facebook reviews are particularly useful I think, as they are actually quite hard to fake, and you can easily check if the reviewers are real people. You can see our Facebook Reviews here.
The next thing to think about is the style of their films and if like it or not. Videographers generally have websites with plenty of examples of their work available. If they don’t, that’s really a red flag in my opinion. Also worth checking, are the videos from weddings at local venues? If not, then they could be someone else’s work! You can see plenty of examples of our work on the blog by the way.
Also, have a think about how their work has been filmed. If it appears that many of the shots have been planned and setup (rather than real genuine moments from the wedding), you might want to consider how much time during the wedding day you might have to set aside for this. For example, I film almost completely unobtrusively, and maybe spend 1-2 minutes during the day getting some shots with the happy couple.
Are they established? Over the years I have seen several cases where clients have booked me at very short notice as their original videographer had disappeared. In most cases it’s where a new videographer has started up, taken on clients at a loss making rate, and later realised they’re making a loss, disappearing and ghosting their clients. Obviously an experienced videographer with a good reputation isn’t going to do that sort of thing.
One more thing to mention, does your videographer also offer wedding photography? This can be much more convenient for you, and also better value for money than hiring two separate suppliers. We have a team of two, Sarah’s a photographer, and I’m both a videographer and a photographer, so we provide both video and photography for many of our couples.
What to Expect
The first thing many people wonder is, “how much should a wedding videographer cost?“. Of course, it very much depends on the videographer. Typically filming a wedding involves on long day of filming, plus some preparation the day before, getting equipment ready, batteries charged etc. This is followed by several days of editing work, plus all the overheads of running a small business. so you should expect the cost to reflect all that effort, and to cost of equipment required. If the cost sounds too good to be true, there’s probably a catch.
When you book a videographer, they will generally require a deposit or booking fee payment to secure the date. In our case we require 20% for this. Generally the remaining payment is required at some date before the wedding, in our case 2 weeks before.
Editing timescales is another thing many people ask about. Wedding videographers are obviously busy from around May to October, so an editing backlog tends to build up over time. We usually edit our films within 2-3 months from the wedding, up to 4 months at busy times.
Most wedding films will include musical backing tracks at various points in the film. It is possible to licence commercial music (typical pop songs etc.) for use in wedding films via PRS. We do this in order to allow our clients to choose their preferred songs. This does not necessarily allow the video to be shared on social media however. If that’s a must, you might want to consider having ‘copyright free’ music tracks (still good, if less familiar).
Get in Touch
I hope this post has been helpful for you. If you have any questions or would like to enquire about videography for your wedding please get in touch.
Stu