Is a DIY wedding video right for you?

Wedding planning huh? Wedding videos seeming very expensive? Yep. We hear you… but is a DIY wedding video right for you? Should I ask friends to film my wedding?

If you’ve ended up here, looking at this article you may have been looking into wedding videos for months now (even years). And perhaps you have found them to be prohibitively expensive or perhaps you just can’t find a style or example of a wedding video that you actually like?

Maybe after months of searching, you have come across a few companies that offer DIY wedding videos (i.e your guests do the filming and the company does the editing). Full disclaimer, we are one of those companies (edityourwedding.com) and we do exactly that. The purpose of this article is to look at some of the pros and cons of asking friends to film your wedding video. It’s not for everyone, but with the right approach, you can get great results.

There are several DIY wedding video companies in the UK. There are a few differences between them, but in essence the customer books a specific number of cameras (in our case anywhere between 2 and 6) and distributes those cameras to trusted friends and family on the wedding day. The friends and family capture the wedding day from beginning to end (this can include the prep, ceremony, speeches, cake, dancing… everything). Once the dust has settled and the hangovers have abated, the customer sends the cameras back and then the footage is edited into a wedding film!

There are several advantages to going with one of these kind of companies… Firstly, cost! It will always be significantly cheaper to get your wedding video via this route as the costs for the company are less. No videographer, no expensive camera, no sound and lighting equipment. Editing does take a lot of time and that is what you are paying for, but it will always be cheaper than having a wedding videographer at your wedding.

Secondly, intimacy. Having your friends and family capture your day can provide a uniquely intimate picture of your wedding which a videogapher might not be able to get. Not because they aren’t any good, but because they don’t know you like your friends and family do. You’ll get messages from friends, funny moments behind the scenes and often you will get to see things that you would never have been able to see otherwise, because you were busy getting married!

Now, there are some things to watch out for when considering whether to ask your friends and family to film your wedding… Firstly, you need to be sure that they will actually do it. We find the best way to do this is to involve them early so that they are expecting it and will have given some thought to how they might approach it. It doesn’t need to be a big ask, these cameras are usually tiny and your friends and family will be there anyway, but for people not used to filming, they need to do a bit of preparation. There are usually some tutorials or tips & tricks provided with the cameras and it’s vital that your chosen friends pay attention to these in order to capture material that the editor can acually use. Simple rules like “hold the shot steady for at least 6 seconds”, “capture details like the cake and the dress”, “ask people to do messages to camera” can make the difference between an amazing video and unusable footage.

The other thing to consider is the fact that the end result probably won’t be a cinematic masterpiece. If you are after something silky smooth with a high production value, then you need to be talking to professional videographers. The idea of these DIY wedding videos is that they provide a uniquely fun and personal insight into your wedding day and they also don’t break the bank. If that’s the kind of thing you’re into, then perhaps a DIY wedding video is for you!

For more info on Edit Your Wedding, just visit us here!