If you Google this question then you may well get the answer that the average wedding video length is somewhere between three to five minutes for a highlights version or up to 30 minutes or longer for a full video.

This is nowhere nearly long enough in my opinion.

When I film your wedding I will be filming:

  • Your bridal preparations and if logistically possible the groom’s preparations too.
  • Scene setting clips of the venue before your guests arrive
  • Some footage of your guests arriving
  • If any special transport is involved, some film of cars, horse drawn carriages, helicopters, sleighs etc arriving. I kid you not I’ve seen them all.
  • The groom waiting (nervously perhaps) inside the venue.
  • The bride and bridal party entering.
  • The ceremony. These are often fairly short when conducted by a registrar but I have been to a service in Leeds Cathedral that lasted an hour.
  • The happy couple leaving to a standing ovation from their guests.
  • Possibly a meet and greet session outside the room where the wedding has been.
  • A confetti throwing  sequence potentially.
  • Clips of your guests enjoying drinks and nibbles while the wedding breakfast room is prepared
  • Shots of the table settings, flowers, momentous, post boxes, congratulations books etc
  • Film of the photo shoot with your photographer and family groups including a whole group shot.
  • Possibly the bride tossing her bouquet
  • The bride and groom arriving into the wedding reception and being greeted by their guests.
  • The speeches.
  • Any after dinner photo shoot if the couple with your photographer. If this is in the golden hour these could be the best shots of the whole day.
  • The cake cutting and usually straight into the first dance.
  • Some brief clips of your guests dancing and having a ball.

When editing I keep clips that are not vital to about 4 seconds each. This means that you are not watching the same piece of footage for minutes on end wondering if something is going to happen soon! It keeps the film flowing and moving along at an enjoyable pace.

Obviously sequences like the ceremony are one continuous piece of film unless there are obvious gaps in the proceedings that can be removed without losing anything important.

So for most wedding films I produce, you will receive upwards of an hours worth of film to get in all the sequences mentioned above. That is the case even for registrar conducted services. For a church service it will be longer. Please note that during editing for a church wedding I usually remove all but the first and last verse of each hymn. I was once asked for all verses of every hymn and I’m quite happy to provide that again if required.

The short highlights online video I try to keep within 20 minutes. I don’t include the speeches in the highlights video but there is no reason why they can’t be used to create a second online video just for the speeches.

So if you would like a memorable film of your special day and something you will treasure for years to come then please get in touch to check availability.