The entire premise of FIY Wedding, is that your friends film your wedding video. For some people though, this raises the question… can my friends do that? We’ve spoken to a few brides that buy into the idea of a DIY wedding video, but they’re just not entirely convinced that their friends are capable.
We’re here to tell you not to worry. Ultimately – with the right guidance – we believe (almost) anybody is capable of filming a wedding video.
Think about WHY you want someone else to film your wedding
First, think about the reasons why you want someone else to film your wedding. And by ‘someone else’, we mean someone that isn’t a professional videographer.
Usually, the first reason is to save money. Unless you have a friend that is a highly experienced videographer, there’s going to be come compromise to make here – you’re not going to get an Oscar-worthy video.
Side note: if your friend is a very experienced videographer, then we don’t recommend you ask them to film for you. Why? Well, for a couple of reasons:
- They will probably feel obliged to offer you ‘mates rates’, which isn’t really fair as it’s their full time job. If they come to you with an offer, then go for it! But if you go to them be wary that they may feel like they can’t say no
- Assuming they’re already on the guestlist, they should be there to enjoy their day, not work. Being a wedding videographer is very time consuming and stressful, and on your wedding day they should be letting their hair down and having fun
So when we talk about having your friends film it for you, we are meaning having a group of your friends share the responsibility of capturing your day. And not some high pressure responsibility where everything has to be absolutely perfect, but spending bits of time here and there with a camera (or just their phone camera!) in hand, getting some footage of what’s going on around them.
Think about WHO is filming your wedding
- Who is in charge of filming your wedding?
- How experienced are they?
- What experience do they have with weddings, and how much time have they spent filming them?
- Are they insured for the job?
- How much footage will be taken, and how long will it take to edit it into a finished product that you can watch again and again (and again)?
If you choose to have an FIY Wedding, you won’t need to worry about a lot of these questions. All you really need to do, is to select a few, reasonably responsible friends, to film all the ‘big’ moments for you.
We recommend splitting your day up into these, they’re different for each wedding, but often they’ll include:
- getting ready
- the ceremony
- the speeches
- cutting the cake
- first dance
We suggest that for these moments, as well as any others that are particularly important to you, you nominate 2 friends for each to film. That way, you know these bits are covered, and anything else you get is a bonus!
Think about WHERE your wedding is taking place
When choosing a place to hold your wedding, think about the lighting conditions. The lighting should be good enough for someone to film your wedding video. If you are planning on having your ceremony outside and the weather is unpredictable, just bear in mind this could cause complications. The bright side (pun intended), of having an outdoors wedding, is that it generally is much better for lighting… unless it’s night time!
If you wish to have an outdoor ceremony and there is no power outlet nearby, make sure that you take all necessary precautions before going ahead with this idea. It’s helpful to have some power for people to put cameras on charge (or just the spare batteries), or to charge their phones if they’re filming the wedding on them.
It’s best to speak to your venue about this, as more often than not there will be somewhere perfect for this sort of thing.
Think about WHEN in the day they will be filming
Consider the timing of their filming – if you’re asking someone to film the cake cutting, try and give them a heads up beforehand of what time this will be, so they can make sure they’re at the ready with their camera.
As mentioned previously, we recommend splitting your day up into the BIG moments. For these so-called big moments, make sure anyone nominated as a videographer has the timings noted down.
Think about HOW they will film it
When considering a friend or family member to film your wedding, think about the following:
- How many people will be filming? If it’s just one person, they may not have access to all the angles and shots you want. It could also get tiring for them if they’re doing all the work themselves so we strongly recommend you don’t go down this path.
- What equipment are they using? Will it be able to capture what you want in high quality? Are there any limitations—like only being able to shoot on 1080p resolution instead of 4K? Or lacking an external microphone jack? With FIY we offer 2 options, either you can use our HD camcorders, or guests can use their own phone cameras and send footage to us via a QR code
What would happen if they were ill?
What if your friends are ill on the day of your wedding? What if they have a family emergency and can’t make it to the ceremony? What if they get injured and can’t film, or even leave their house at all? What if they just don’t turn up, or are late and miss that all-important shot?
Hopefully it won’t come to that, but the point is it’s always good to have a back up plan!
Your friends can film your wedding! But planning is required…
With the right planning, your friends can film your wedding video for you. All our packages come with a Planning Pack, a simple guide which walks you through planning your friends filming your wedding, all in the space of just 10 minutes. It also includes handy Videography Tips cards to give to those responsible for filming, to make sure they know exactly what they need to do when it comes to shooting their moment.
If you’re interested in a DIY wedding video, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team, who can answer any questions you have and help you find a package that’s right for you.
