How Long Should My Wedding Video Be?
The length of a wedding video should reflect the couple's preferences and the style of their celebration.
Some may prefer a short and sweet highlight reel that captures the biggest moments in a matter of minutes, while others may opt for a longer, more comprehensive documentary-style film that delves deeper into the intricacies of the event.
What is the average wedding video highlight reel length?
While there isn't a consistent industry standard, most wedding video highlight reels fall between five minutes and fifteen minutes with full-length documentary films ranging upwards of thirty minutes.
However, these numbers are not set in stone and can vary depending on various factors such as the length of the ceremony and speeches, the number of events throughout the day, and the pacing of the edit.
But this doesn't mean you can't ask to do things a little differently!
Let's look at what different run times will look like.
3 to 5 minutes is a common length for a short highlight reel. With this runtime, you can give your friends and family a taste of the day, but it will often lack a certain depth. We can see some of the most prominent visuals and hear a few snippets of sounds, but we're not really getting a chance to experience the flow of the day's story.
8 to 10 minutes is the best length for an immersive highlight reel. This length is enough to tell the emotional story of your wedding day in a comprehensive yet still digestible fashion.
20-30 minute documentary cut: this length tells the same story but important moments can play out, and we are able to get more shots of guests, more quotes from speeches, more beautiful shots that simply couldn't fit in the longer version. I think this is perfect runtime for the couple as well as their close friends and family.
Feature Length Films
A feature wedding film runs around 1 hour in length. This option will really allow moments to play out including the entire ceremony. I recommend this runtime if you've planned lots of specific activities. Maybe you're going to have a parade. I would definitely recommend this length of wedding video for multi-day weddings. The bride and groom and maybe some super close family members will probably be the only ones to watch this. I currently only offer this on my top package.
I don't take on a feature length wedding film lightly. I want to make sure that the couple understands what the product is and that it is, in fact, something they will use and enjoy over the years. A video that is too long is not great for revisiting often, so I offer an 8-10 minute cut to accompany it.
Maybe at this point you're saying, "Zach, I have too many choices when it comes to planning my wedding, why did you give me one more thing to think about?"
I want you to have the opportunity to make an informed decision, but if you don't want to stress over things like this... well that's why you hire a professional to help give you advice! In our conversations, before you ever book, this is a decision we'll help you make!
Length does not correlate with quality
There aren't really set rules to how long we can make your video, but longer is not always better. You don't want to be bored during your own wedding film. So take a minute to think about what duration your final film merits, and talk with your wedding videographer to make it perfect for you and your partner!