What to Expect on Your Wedding Day with Focused Story Films

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! At Focused Story Films, making sure our couples know what to expect on their wedding day is incredibly important to us so you have a relaxed, enjoyable time and aren’t worried about if we’re capturing your day correctly. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you prepare for your wedding film shoot with Focused Story Films. With Focused Story Films, you’re always going to have lead cinematographer and business owner, Brian Elliott at your wedding. We don’t farm out our videography to less experienced videographers like some companies do. And when you purchase a multi-videographer package, we always work with other trusted and professional videographers as part of our team so you can count on a consistent quality.

1. Pre-Wedding Meeting

Before the big day, Focused Story Films will schedule a pre-wedding meeting with you. This is typically done over the phone or video chat, but can be done in person if that’s more comfortable for you. In this meeting we go over the details of your timeline, talk about important expectations for the video, discuss details like putting microphones on the groom and officiant, and anything else necessary to ensure the wedding day runs smoothly. This is also a great opportunity for you to ask any questions you have before we’re actually at your wedding and you have thousands of other things on your mind.

2. Timeline and Schedule

Often times wedding planers and photographers will work with you to build your timeline, but if needed or desired, we love looking over your timeline and offering input based on the hundreds of weddings we have captured over the years. Even if you do have other people developing the timeline, getting input from the perspective of the videographer can ensure you’ve built in enough time for specific events where it may take us a few extra moments to set up multiple cameras (such as the ceremony).

3. Arriving At the Venue

If we haven’t met in person prior to the wedding day, when we arrive, Brian and his team (on multi-videographer packages) will introduce ourselves on arrival and see where you are in the getting ready process. At this point we’ll bring in the gear we need and get set up. Typically we’ll then grab establishing shots of the venue until the bride has her makeup and hair mostly complete. We want you to look and feel your best before we start rolling.

We will also use this time to touch base with your photographer and build rapport with them if we haven’t worked together in the past – to ensure that we have a calm, smooth, and productive working relationship so we both can capture every moment in the best possible way.

4. Getting Ready

Our goal in getting ready is to capture both the beautiful details as well as the authentic moments of getting ready – both for brides and grooms. We typically work in tandem with your photographer very closely during this time to capture both the natural moments happening as well as stage you in the best light for key moments such as the final stages of the bride putting on her dress or the groom putting on his vest and jacket.

5. First Look or Pre-Ceremony

If you’ve planned a first look, Focused Story Films will be there to capture the emotional moments. If desired, we can putting a discreet lavalier mic on the groom or father of the bride for these first looks to capture any beautiful words spoken during these moments. Some couples want this, others prefer this moment to be more private. Neither way is right or wrong and we’re happy to accommodate your vision for your day and film. When possible, we always have two cameras running on this key moment (a wide angle and more artistic closeup camera) to capture the moment in the best possible way.

6. Photo Sessions

Depending on the timeline of your day, and if you do a first look or not, bridal party and couples portraits might happen before or after the ceremony. We generally find that your day is smoother when there is a first look and a lot of the photo session can be knocked out prior to the ceremony – but it is of course all up to you as a couple. During this time, we typically let the photographer take center stage, while capturing the “moments in between” the posed photos. The laughter, jokes, and authentic moments. We may also jump in on certain shots (such as walking shots or other shots with movement) to direct and create fun moments specifically for the video if time allows.

During couples portraits, we try to work in tandem with the photographer to get movement in the shots and poses. We’ll often employ having couples dance, dip, kiss, walk, or other “poses” that incorporate a little movement and look natural on video alongside the photographer’s more carefully posed stationary shots.

If time and weather allows in your timeline, a sunset session for just the couple usually yields some of the most beautiful video – as well as photos.

7. Ceremony

During the ceremony, Focused Story Films will discreetly capture the key moments, such as the processional, the exchange of vows, and the first kiss. They will use multiple cameras to ensure they don’t miss any important details. Every ceremony space is different, so there is no perfect formula here. But typically we try to have two cameras positioned at a 45 degree angle off to the sides of the alter on telephoto lenses to focus on each member of the couple throughout the ceremony. Additionally we will have a camera that starts out at the front of the ceremony space to capture everyone walking down the aisle. Then, after the processional, we will as discreetly as possible head towards the back of the ceremony space to capture the center aisle shot. We do quietly move around the edges of the ceremony space throughout the ceremony to ensure our framing and focus remain where they need to be, and we always coordinate with the photographer prior to and discreetly during the ceremony to ensure we’re both getting what we need without disrupting your ceremony.

8. Cocktail Hour

If there is a cocktail hour following the ceremony, prior to the reception, if we have a one videographer team, we will capture a few key shots of this, but typically stay with the couple for things like marriage license signing and the couple’s sunset session and other after ceremony photo sessions. If we have a two videographer team, the second videographer will capture the cocktail hour while Brian captures the couple.

9. Reception

At the reception, we will capture all the main events you have from the grand entrance till the end of our time booked with you. For all the key moments such as ceremonial dances, cake cutting, and speeches, we always have two cameras rolling. Additionally for speeches we plug into the DJ’s sound system where possible, and have backup options for capturing the audio if the DJ’s system is not able to send a feed to our recorder.

We typically recommend that couples book us till about 30 minutes after all the key events of the night are scheduled to end. This allows time if the schedule falls behind as well as captures enough of the dance floor for the video without it being excessive. Unless you and your bridal party are professional dancers, you probably don’t really want to see a ton of your guests’ moves on the dance floor after they’ve had a few drinks! 

We also encourage couples who want to have a grand exit filmed and photographed to do a “fake exit” earlier on in the evening. It not only allows you to save money by not booking us several hours that are just open dancing, but it also ensures you’ll have a healthy crowd to “send you off” in the photos and video. There have been several weddings in my career where couples waited too long to do a grand exit and most of the guests were gone and the video did not have the grand feel that a fake exit could have offered.

10. Speeches and Toasts

For the speeches, depending on the venue, we often like to set where the speech giver will stand and light them. Some people are walkers and talkers, but where possible we like to coach them to keep their feet planted so they look the best with the lighting and we’re not playing a tricky game of trying to follow them all over the reception venue. As mentioned above, we do record high quality audio of the speeches to put into the highlight video, as well as if your package includes a full length edit of the speeches.

11. Breaks and Downtime

While we are typically with you almost the entire time from when we arrive to when we leave your wedding day, we are human so we might need to duck away to grab a quick snack or use the restroom. We may also need to switch batteries, grab different lenses, or generally change our equipment setup between different sections of the day. The only time during the day we typically actually take a full break is during dinner. We do ask that you allow at least a 30 minute gap from the start of dinner until your next event so we have a chance to eat so we can keep functioning at high efficiency.

13. Post-Wedding

After the wedding, Focused Story Films will edit the footage to create a beautiful and emotional wedding film. We work to balance efficiency of delivering the film with giving it the time and attention it deserves to be the best it can be. Our official delivery time on our wedding films is 12 weeks after your wedding date, but we do our best to deliver before this date. During our busiest months (June – October) in rare cases we might fall a bit behind, but rest assured, your wedding video is on the way!

Tips for a Successful Wedding Film Shoot

  • Communicate Openly: Always feel free to ask us any questions, share your vision, and let us know any concerns.
  • Trust the Professionals: We’ve been capturing weddings since 2016, so we’ve done it a few times. Rest assured we’ll make sure you get a beautiful end product and have a good time working with us on your wedding day.
  • Relax and Enjoy: Your wedding day is about celebrating your love. Relax, enjoy the moments, and trust that Focused Story Films will create a stunning film to cherish forever.