What should your wedding film cover?
While every couple will need to answer this question for themselves, there are certain moments during a wedding that are pretty universal. Almost every wedding will have a reciting of the vows, and toasts from family members and close friends. There’s the bride’s walk down the aisle, and the couple walking down the aisle together to end the ceremony. Then there are the first dances, throwing the bouquet, and the reception party. The vast majority of wedding videos will cover most if not all of the above. But the question is how do you want these moments covered? Do you want the vows and toasts recorded in full? Or even the entire ceremony? Or do you want something that’s shorter and faster paced? Either can result in a good finished film, and it comes down to a matter of taste. But as much as every wedding shares many of the same elements, it’s also true that every wedding is unique. Most families have certain traditions that have been passed down, and with two families coming together, it’s likely that your wedding will have a mix of traditions merged into something new. It’s these individual customs that will make your day special, and you’ll want to make sure your videographer covers them effectively. It’s important that you communicate with your videographer and clearly explain which parts of your wedding are most important. Go over you schedule and let them know what the highlights will be and what your expectations will be for the completed film. This might include poetry readings or songs performed during the ceremony or group games played during the reception. Clear communication with your videographer will ensure that nothing gets missed and you end up with a wedding video that’s just as amazing as the wedding itself.
What can you expect from a highlight film?
A highlight film is a video that’s shorter, usually between two to seven minutes, and covers your wedding like a fast-paced moving trailer. It will be similar to a music video, with a lot of cinematic shots edited to the music of your choice. Your highlight film is going to have the best moments of each event in a fast paced form. A major benefit of a highlight film is it grabs the attention of everybody watching. A longer video can sometimes get boring, but a well-made highlight film should never lag. It will take your love story and turn it into a cinematic trailer that can be shared with all your guests. Because of the length of these films they are a great choice if you would like to share them on YouTube or another social media platform. The only drawback for this style of film is the length. Because it is only including the best parts, there are many elements of the ceremony and the wedding that end up being left out. Another benefit of a highlight film is it’s more cost-effective. They tend to be easier to produce on the day of, and faster to edit. Of course, the best reason for getting a highlight film is it’s going to showcase the most stunning and cinematic parts of your wedding. Oftentimes, when people order a highlight film, they also add on a full ceremony edit at the same time. This means you’ll get a highlight reel to share with all your guests and post on social media but you also have a recording of your full ceremony from the moment the bride walks down the aisle until the newly wedded couple leaves the ceremony site. This combination is one of our most popular packages here in Portland, Oregon.
What is included in a documentary film?
Some people choose to get a full documentary edit over a highlight film. They want a deeper dive into the entire wedding. This kind of video is not as fast paced as our cinematic highlight films but offer full coverage of the ceremony from start to finish, full coverage of all the speeches, the first dances, and the dance party. The order of events will generally go in chronological order, and can even involve documentary style interviews with the bride and groom and select family and friends. The biggest downside of a doc edit is you won’t be able to share it on social media but you can still upload it to YouTube and send the link out to all your guests. It’s even possible to get a package add on with short highlight clips just for social media. Another downside of documentary films is they tend to be a lot more expensive because it’s necessary to record so much footage and you don’t want to miss anything, which usually means that we need to bring extra shooters, as well as a person to run sound. Also, when it comes to post production there is a lot more time spent editing your video and even just going through all the footage. This means the cost of this kind of video is going to be greater than with a highlights film. But for many couples, the extra expense is worth it because it means that nothing is missed. One of the bonuses is that you’ll get to see parts of the day that you never would have seen otherwise. We’ll be able to follow both the bride and groom and so you’ll get to see your wedding day from multiple perspectives. The good news is there’s no wrong answer. If you’re working with a professional videographer, you can rest assured that whichever style you pick, you’ll be happy with the results. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us and we can discuss your options and figure out which type of wedding film is best for you.
