For most couples, yes, and the reason often shows up years after the wedding, in a part of the day nobody planned around. For one couple I filmed, it was the groom’s dad.
The message his dad left
A few years ago I filmed a wedding where I also interviewed the family and close friends. Each of them got a few minutes to talk about the couple, and to talk to them.
A few months after the wedding, the groom’s dad passed away. I was still editing their film when it happened.
I still had his interview. So before the film was even finished, I was able to send them his final messages, in his own voice.
From that day on, I try to get a few minutes with close family and friends at every wedding I film, even when the couple didn’t ask for it. I just like to have it.
That couple didn’t book a film for that reason, and most couples don’t. When someone asks me whether a film is worth it, that family is still my answer.
What couples worry about on the call
On discovery calls I hear the same worry in different words. One bride told me the full film didn’t feel important right now, but she was scared that ten years from now she’d want to see the whole thing. Another couple told me they regretted not filming their engagement reception, because there were so many things they missed or didn’t see.
You’re at your own wedding, so you’ll miss most of it, like your mom’s face during the vows or your friends during the toasts. You see those for the first time when you watch the film.
Who the film is for
I’ve filmed weddings here for 9 years, 300+ of them now, and I still think about every film the same way. It’s something that gets watched thirty or forty years from now. I picture the couple as grandparents, with their grandkids right there watching it.
I doubt the grandkids will care much about the cake or the dress. They’ll watch how their grandparents looked at each other and listen to how they sounded. So I build the edit around your voices: the vows, the toasts, the interviews, your dad at the microphone. We edit every Nashville wedding film that way.
What couples say after they watch
These are from our Google reviews, word for word.
“We just watched our videos and were in tears, laughing, and smiling from ear to ear. We just relived the best day of our lives, no exaggeration.”
Selvana
“It feels like we get to relive the day every time we watch it.”
Jessica
“I cry every time I watch my wedding video.”
Daniella
“Every moment felt natural, comfortable, and just overall fun.”
Aisha
On our reviews page you can watch couples see their films for the first time.
“We already have a photographer”
Keep them. Photos are what you’ll hang on the wall and send to your family. In a film you get the minutes in between, with sound, like his voice cracking on the second line of his vows or the whole room laughing at the best man. We work next to your photographer all day and share the timeline with them, so neither of us costs the other a shot.
When it’s a harder call
A film is only worth it if those voices are in it. If the only option in your budget is a short hourly block, it’s a harder call. Short blocks tend to end around the toasts and the dancing, which are the parts with the most voices in them. If a few hours is all you can do, spend them on the ceremony and the toasts.
I’m glad when a guest films on their phone, and you should keep those clips. They usually miss clean audio of the vows, though, and nobody edits them into something you’d sit down and watch on your anniversary.
Before you decide
Make a short list of the people whose voices you’d want your kids to hear someday. Maybe a grandparent, your parents, the friend who’s giving the toast. Give that list to your videographer and ask them to get a few minutes with each one.
Then take these four questions to every videographer you talk to, including us. Save this for the week you start making those calls.
- Do you cover the whole day, or is there a clock? With full-day coverage and no hourly limits, nobody decides at nine o’clock that the rest of your night isn’t in the film.
- How do you record the vows and toasts? Look for microphones on the people speaking, with a backup recording running.
- Do you keep our raw footage? Some studios delete it after delivery. We keep yours forever. Not long ago a couple reached out for their fifth anniversary, and we re-edited their wedding film from it.
- When does the film arrive? Ours takes about six weeks on average, and the contract caps it in writing at under three months.
What I’d tell a friend
You won’t know which part of the film you’ll need most until years from now, and by then nobody can go back and film it.
If someone is planning this with you, send this to them and talk it through together.
Bebo
