Even though I'm not going to be working on wedding videos, I'm interested in knowing how you edit yours. Do you have the full ceremony plus reception covering a 2 hour DVD with audio from the day (speeches, dialogue etc) and a ten or so minute highlights video with some music or do you have an hour video of stylised editing detailing the day against a musical backdrop? The same question can kind of apply to smaller scale events like birthday parties, anniversaries etc...Do you try keep it as a true memory of the day with a realistic look and a lot of the sound from the event, or do you make it a stylised, polished video that is really more "cinematic" than an actual representation?

i guess it would depend on the B&G. Some couples want to see EVERYTHING. Some prefer the stylized editing style.

Even though I'm not going to be working on wedding videos, I'm interested in knowing how you edit yours. Do you have the full ceremony plus reception covering a 2 hour DVD with audio from the day (speeches, dialogue etc) and a ten or so minute highlights video with some music or do you have an hour video of stylised editing detailing the day against a musical backdrop? The same question can kind of apply to smaller scale events like birthday parties, anniversaries etc...Do you try keep it as a true memory of the day with a realistic look and a lot of the sound from the event, or do you make it a stylised, polished video that is really more "cinematic" than an actual representation?


I have been providing a full edit of the entire day. So far that is what the customers want the most. The wedding I am working on now will include a highlight video. This is purely experimental because I have not released one before. I expect that highlight clips will be popular as a quick over view. I also provide chapter marks in the video so that the B&G can skip through the video to the "important" parts if they like.

So far, the decision to produce a full edit (~30-40 minutes total length) is based on my price. Longer video means more editing time which means higher cost to me. I only use music where it does not take away from the scene. For example, the first dance and processional scenes usually have music with them so I just record exactly as it happened, with no additional mixing. This (might be legal) helps simplify editing, and allows the B&G to hear the music that was associated with that event, rather than my choice for mood music.

The few places I do use music are the setup and establishing shots of the venue and for the posed pictures.

jason