A wedding film is usually several films. Most couples receive a short highlight film of a few minutes, plus the ceremony and speeches in full, and sometimes a longer feature film that tells the whole day. So how long is a wedding video? Anything from two minutes to over an hour, depending on which edits you choose.
This guide explains each type of edit, how long each one usually runs, how the sound is recorded, and why the music in your film is chosen the way it is. It is part of our guide to choosing a wedding photographer and videographer.
The short answer: According to Bridebook, wedding highlight films usually run three to ten minutes and full feature films 30 to 90 minutes. Ours are a three to five minute highlight film, the ceremony in full and the speeches uncut, with an optional 15 to 20 minute feature film. A same-day edit is shown at your reception.
How long is a wedding video?
| Edit | Typical length | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Highlight film | 3–5 minutes with us; 3–10 minutes across the UK (Bridebook) | The film you watch on anniversaries and send to everyone |
| Feature film | 15–20 minutes with us; 30–90 minutes for a full feature (Bridebook) | The whole story of the day, at a slower pace |
| Ceremony in full | As long as your ceremony | Every word of the vows, readings and blessings |
| Speeches, uncut | As long as your speeches | Nobody’s words lost, nothing trimmed |
| Same-day edit | A few minutes | Shown to your guests at the reception, the same night |
| Lovestory | A few minutes | A pre-wedding film of the two of you, anywhere you choose |
| Simple film highlight | 2–3 minutes | Part of our simple film: one filmmaker, up to four hours |
What is the difference between a highlight film and a full wedding film?
The highlight film
A highlight film is short, set to music and built around your own words: a line from the vows, a laugh in the speeches, a grandparent’s blessing. It doesn’t follow the day in strict order; it follows the feeling of it. This is the edit most couples share, and the one family members ask to see again. Ours run three to five minutes.
The feature film
A feature film tells the story of the whole day, from preparations to the dance floor, with room for the in-between moments that a highlight film has to leave out. We make ours 15 to 20 minutes, long enough to include the people who matter and short enough to watch in one sitting. Bridebook describes full feature films running up to 90 minutes, which is closer to a documentary edit.
The ceremony in full and the speeches uncut
These are documentary edits: the important parts of the day in real time, with clean audio and the best camera angles cut together. Nothing is trimmed for pace. They are the edits people watch less often but value most, because they hold every word. At a Sikh wedding that means all four laavan; at a church wedding, the readings and the hymns as well as the vows.
The same-day edit
A short film of the day so far, edited during the day and shown to your guests at the reception the same night. It needs a screen or projector and sound through the venue’s system, so tell your venue early.
The Lovestory
A pre-wedding film of the two of you, made before the day at a place that means something to you. Our Lovestory in Marrakech is one example.
Drone aerials and guest video messages
Drone aerials are an optional extra where the venue and the airspace allow; some venues, especially in central London, are not suitable. Guest video messages are short recordings of friends and family talking to you on the day, kept as their own film.
A social cut
Some couples ask for a very short, vertical edit for Instagram or TikTok. If that matters to you, ask your filmmaker whether it is included or can be added, and which music it will use (see below).
How long should a wedding video be?
As long as your day needs. A two-hour register office wedding followed by lunch doesn’t need a 20-minute feature film. A three-day Hindu or Sikh wedding might want a highlight film for the wedding day and the ceremony in full, with the mehndi and other pre-wedding events folded into the feature.
If you are not sure, the core set covers most couples: a highlight film to share, the ceremony in full and the speeches uncut. You can watch real examples on our wedding films page, including a Sikh wedding in London, a Hindu wedding in Cheshire and a Hindu and Jewish wedding in London. If you are still deciding whether film is right for you at all, read do you need a wedding videographer?
For couples who want the words kept safe without a full production, our simple wedding film is one filmmaker for up to four hours, with a two to three minute highlight film, the ceremony in full and the speeches uncut.
How is the sound recorded in a wedding film?
The heart of a wedding film is what people say, so sound gets as much planning as picture. A typical setup includes:
- A small lapel microphone on one of you or on the officiant, hidden under a jacket or clipped discreetly, for the vows.
- A small recorder near the lectern or reading desk, for readings and blessings.
- A feed from the DJ or venue sound system, so the speeches are recorded straight from the microphone the speaker uses.
- Microphones on the cameras, for the room: laughter, applause, music, the dhol at a baraat.
Each source is recorded separately and synced in the edit, so if one fails, another covers it. In places of worship we always follow the officiant’s guidance on where we can stand and what we can record. Speeches deserve their own planning, and our guide to filming wedding speeches covers microphones, light and timing.
Can you use any song in your wedding video?
Not if you want to share the film. Putting a commercial song into a film needs two permissions: one for the composition, from the publisher, and one for the recording, from the record label. An instrumental cover still needs the first.
The PRS for Music Limited Manufacture Licence covers a small number of physical copies, such as a USB, but it does not cover posting the film online. Films with commercial tracks posted to YouTube, Facebook or Instagram are often muted, blocked or taken down. This is why most UK filmmakers, us included, cut highlight films to licensed music from a library that covers wedding films. Some single-song wedding licences let the couple share their film on social media, but not use it in paid promotion.
What about music in the ceremony?
Live music performed at your wedding is not the issue; recording and distributing it is. In a Church of England church, the Church of England’s filming guidance says the vicar has the final say on filming, and that recorded hymns and organ music may need the church’s copyright licence or a separate one. Organists and choirs can charge an extra fee to be recorded, so check their terms. Your vows and speeches are your own words and need no music licence.
From behind the camera
The question I am asked most about wedding films is which song we will use. The question I think matters more is whose voices will be in it. A highlight film works when it is built on what people actually said: the moment a voice breaks during the vows, the line in the best man’s speech that made the room go quiet. That is why I spend as much time on microphones as on cameras, and why the ceremony and speeches are always delivered in full. The highlight film is the one you will share. The full edits are the ones your children will want one day.
Your questions, answered
How long should a wedding video be?
There is no right length, but most couples receive a highlight film of a few minutes plus longer edits. Bridebook puts highlight films at three to ten minutes and feature films at 30 to 90 minutes. Ours are a three to five minute highlight film, the ceremony in full and the speeches uncut, with an optional 15 to 20 minute feature film.
What is the difference between a highlight film and a full wedding film?
A highlight film is a short edit set to music, built around your own words, and made to be watched again and shared. A full wedding film keeps the important parts in real time: the ceremony from start to finish and every speech uncut. A feature film sits between the two, telling the story of the whole day at a slower pace.
Can you use any song in your wedding video?
Not if you want to share it. A commercial song needs permission for both the composition and the recording, and films with unlicensed tracks are often muted or removed by YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Most UK filmmakers use licensed music libraries instead. Your vows and speeches are your own words, so they need no music licence.
How long does it take to get your wedding video back?
It varies by studio and season. A same-day edit is shown at your reception the same night. Our simple film arrives within four weeks, and our full wedding films usually follow within two to three months, because each one is edited, graded and mixed by hand.
Keep reading
- Do you need a wedding videographer?: what film gives you that photographs can’t, and when you can do without it.
- Wedding speeches: making sure they’re filmed and heard properly: the planning behind the edit most families value.
- How long until we get our wedding photos and film?: what happens between the wedding and your films arriving.
If you know which films you would like, get a price for your date and see what each collection includes.
