At almost every wedding you can notice a diligently working photographer/videographer in a cheerful crowd. Shooting a wedding movie has become as much an obligatory attribute of the event as the first dance or fight for the bride’s bouquet. Indeed, capturing these amazing moments is important, but there is also the other side of the coin.

A wedding always costs a fortune, and the services of a videographer are far from the last place on the list of expenses. If you decide to shoot a wedding video on your own, you will receive a bright, unconventional video that reflects exactly your preferences and wishes for free. Let’s talk about this in today’s article.

#1. Preparation

A wedding film starts with a script. If you shoot at random, then the subsequent editing of the wedding film will turn into a simple merging of unrelated footage. Well, it’s quite boring, better create something of your own.

One of the funniest and cheapest wedding ideas is the ‘90s or hippie-themed wedding. Guests don’t have to worry too much about costumes, and the overall picture will be very unusual and attractive.

The final video can also be in the form of the funniest moments or dance flash mob in different locations. Or in the form of…music video. Feel free to create a mini-movie to your favourite song. Try to choose the right music for the wedding video to create a suitable atmosphere of romance and love.

And don’t forget to prepare the props and search for amazing decor ideas. Sometimes it is it that makes the wedding film honest, lively and really cool. Always have websites for planning handy so you don’t forget anything.

#2. Shooting: crucial tips

• Shoot from multiple cameras. Mount one on a tripod beforehand to shoot a static general shot (especially useful during the main ceremony), entrust the second to a friend who will be ready to spend the holiday behind the camera. Although, everyone will film your wedding ceremony anyway. So then just don’t forget to ask everyone to drop the footage for you.

• Organize 1-2 unpredictable moments at the wedding party. How to surprise everyone? It depends on the newlyweds and their sense of humor. Wake up your imagination and don’t forget to seize the moment, because genuine emotions are the basis of a wedding video, they cannot be added later in a video editor.

• If you have relatives who were unable to attend the wedding in person, be sure to call them via Skype or Zoom. And record this call with a screen recorder for PC. Insert recorded congratulations into the final version of your wedding video to make it even more touching.

• Add non-wedding footage to your wedding clip. Your wedding day is undoubtedly the most important in your life. But the events before are no less important. Shoot everything that precedes your entry into a new stage of life. Preparing for the wedding, buying a dress, choosing first dance songs, the last party with the bridesmaids, a bachelor party with the groom’s friends or an overall engagement party, a mini-interview describing your expectations, exciting and bright. Believe us, in a few years, watching these moments will cause you strong emotions.

• The wedding video timeline is limited, so don’t make “blank shots”. There is no need to film how guests eat, boring and unremarkable speeches with wishes of health and happiness. There must be interesting and original actions and events, and expressive emotions in the frame.

• If you want to insert a recording of marriage and the exchange of vows or cool wishes from friends and relatives into the film, take an external microphone.

• Make a video of the “how it all began” format. Feel like the stars of a documentary show. Interview your friends, let them remember how your love story started. How did you meet? What was the reaction of friends and mother? And of course, do not forget to talk about the main points and how you realized that you want to see this person next to you for the rest of your days.

#3. Wedding film editing

Carefully study the possibilities of the program and editing tricks in advance to understand how you will realize the moments planned in the script. Remember that you will need such programs not only to apply beautiful effects but also to stabilize shaky frames, crop the frame, correct colour, contrast, and exposure. The whole film should look as harmonious as possible, and for this, you need to try to reduce all the frames and angles to approximately the same view in terms of saturation, sharpness, and other parameters.

Choose 2-3 types of transitions that you will use for the most ergonomic scene merging and a stylish and professional final result.

Combine dialogues with fragments decorated with background music. Dialogue alone is easy to tire of, and the combined film will look more dynamic.

Finally, pick the music. It seems easy only in the beginning, but finding the right single for each frame and matching the music and action is a painstaking job, sometimes even more difficult than the editing itself. But as we know – perseverance wins.

Final thoughts on creating your perfect DIY wedding video

A creative, non-standard wedding film, filmed and edited with your own hands, may well become the most vivid and memorable.

Everything is complicated only at first glance, but in reality, you don’t need to be a professional wedding videographer and editor to go beyond boring template wedding films and make your own – with sincere emotions of newlyweds and their guests in every frame.