EN 
ES Definitive Guide to Wedding Videography Styles
Mastering Formats and Techniques to Capture Unique Moments
Choose the Perfect Style
Are you planning your wedding and feeling overwhelmed by the variety of video styles available? Don’t worry! We are here to help you understand the differences and find the perfect style that captures the essence of your big day.
When it comes to wedding videos, there is a wide range of formats, durations, and visual styles to choose from. Each videographer has their own approach and preferences, from classic to cutting-edge. But how do you know which one is right for you?
You've probably heard terms like "highlight", "cinematic", "portrait" and "documentary" when researching wedding videography. These terms can be confusing, but don't worry, personally sometimes I struggle to understand where one format starts and another one ends.
Teaser
The teaser is a brief wedding video serving as a very quick initial glimpse into the wedding. Its main purpose is to generate interest and anticipation for the full video or a longer trailer that will be published later.
Content: The teaser tends to be very short and can consist of one or a few striking shots or particularly emotional or meaningful moments, without providing much context or narrative development. It is essentially a "hook" that quickly captures attention.
Duration: The duration of a teaser is typically less than 1 minute, often around 30 seconds. It is designed to be extremely short and easy to consume and share, especially on social media platforms.
An example that we can understand are shorts, reels, but focused on the bride and groom, their wedding
ANA & PEDRO | SAN ANTONIO POYO | 2019
JESSICA & FEDE | THIS COUPLE | 2019
WEDDING TRAILER
Purpose: A wedding trailer is not just a video; it's a window to the soul of a unique day, an invitation to experience the joy, love, and union two people share in the most meaningful moment of their lives. This is not merely a summary of events; it's an emotionally charged masterpiece, designed to touch the heart of whoever watches it, whether they are family, friends or strangers. By viewing it, you should feel a wholesome envy, a deep longing to have shared those moments, to have been part of that day filled with love and happiness.
Content: It includes various key moments of the wedding, from preparations, ceremony, to reception, edited in such a way that reflects the tone and atmosphere of the event. The selection of scenes and music are carefully chosen to evoke emotions and display a representative summary of the day.
Duration: Generally, a wedding trailer is 1 to 3 minutes long (though for me it lies in the 3 to 5 minutes zone), long enough to develop an emotional narrative without revealing too much detail.
Conclusion: An effective wedding trailer goes beyond the beauty of the images or the perfection of the editing; it captures the very essence of the couple, their laughs, their tears of happiness, and those small instances that could go unnoticed in any other context but that, in the scope of their union, become priceless memories. It should be able to transport you, to make you feel as if you were there, living every hug, every dance, every loving gaze.
EMOTIONAL IMPACT | NO NEED TO COVER EVERYTHING | EVOCATIVE | TEASER | LEAVES YOU WANTING MORE | POWERFUL MEMORY
MARTA & CARLOS | KUKALA | 26 08 2023
ANA & TONI | L'HORT DE LA VILLA | 24 06 2023
Wedding Highlight:
Purpose: The aim of the highlight is to capture the essence of the wedding, a complete vision of it, focusing on the most significant and emotional moments of the day. It's about creating an emotional summary that tells the story of the wedding in a short and moving way. It is longer than a trailer and serves as a detailed memory.
Structure: Highlights don't necessarily follow a linear narrative structure. They can begin with standout moments and alternate between different parts of the wedding, such as the ceremony, the reception, and the dances, to convey the atmosphere and emotions of the day.
Duration: Generally, highlight videos have a duration of 3 to 10 minutes, allowing for easy and shareable viewing on social media without sacrificing emotional depth.
In summary, while the trailer is an exciting and brief glimpse designed to capture attention and provoke intense emotions, the highlight is a more extensive and detailed chronicle of the wedding, intended to preserve and share the memories of the day more fully. The trailer can play with emotion without the need to show all the important events, while the highlight strives to encapsulate the entirety of the wedding experience, ensuring that key moments are remembered and celebrated.
EMOTIONAL IMPACT | COVERS THE ENTIRE CEREMONY | LONGER | CHRONICLE | DOESN'T NEED TO BE LINEAR
VANESA & DAVID | Highlight | 2021
DOCUMENTARY VIDEO
Purpose: "journalistic style" or "reportage", focuses on capturing the wedding day as it happens, without interventions or staging. It is edited linearly or not, covering from morning preparations to dinner. In some cases, the documentary video includes interviews with the couple or their loved ones, whose sound extracts are used to enrich the day's narrative. Videographers working in this style usually remain discreet in the background, not interacting much with the bride and groom or the guests during the event.
Structure: the structure does not necessarily follow a timeline as in a traditional film. Instead, it can be enriched with interviews with the couple and relatives, which can be recorded before or after the wedding. These interviews add depth to the video by providing insights into the relationship, the challenges overcome together, and the expectations for the future. Thus, the documentary may start with the bride's preparation, then jump to the ceremony, followed by key moments of the reception, and finally close with post-wedding reflections of the couple and their loved ones. This non-linear approach allows capturing the emotional and narrative essence of the wedding day from different perspectives, enriching the visual and emotional experience for the viewers.
Duration: On average, they usually last about 20 to 30 minutes. It is important that the duration is long enough to capture all the important aspects of the event, but also short enough to keep the viewer's attention and prevent it from becoming tedious..
JOURNALISTIC | COVERS ENTIRE WEDDING | LONGER | INTERVIEWS | DOES NOT NEED TO BE LINEAR
MOVIE VIDEO
Purpose: The wedding film video is characterized by its more linear and traditional focus, preserving the wedding day to the fullest and mainly focusing on the ceremony as the central point. Unlike the documentary video, which may incorporate interviews and content recorded on subsequent days, the film video is limited to capturing the events as they happen on the wedding day.
The purpose of the film video is to create a cinematic and exciting narrative of the wedding day, similar to a movie, highlighting the most important moments in a more elaborate and artistic way.
Structure: Its structure follows a clear, linear sequence with all details
Duration: As for the duration, the film video may vary more widely, generally between thirty minutes and one hour. This is because more time is allowed to develop the story in a cinematic way
TRADITIONAL | COVERS ENTIRE WEDDING| LONGER | CHRONICLE | LINEAR
ELENA & ANTONIO | MOVIE | 2 7 2023
WEDDING MUSIC VIDEO
This wedding video style focuses on creating a visual narrative that fits a song or a mix of songs. It stands out for combining various captures of the wedding, highlighting the most important moments with an emphasis on dynamic editing and synchronization with the music.
This type of wedding video is reduced to 1 song or theme so the duration does not exceed 5 minutes.
VERO & LUCAS | MUSIC VIDEO | 4 7 2018
Stop Motion Wedding Video
This style, known as stop motion, employs the technique of capturing frame by frame to create a unique and original visual narrative that simulates the movement of static objects. Each clip is meticulously handcrafted, photographing each frame individually to then join them in a fluid sequence. This technique allows for greater flexibility in terms of dynamic range and resolution compared to a standard video camera. In this way, it offers a creative and distinctive perspective on the wedding day, capturing moments in a way that captivates and surprises those who see it.
VERO & LUCAS | MUSIC VIDEO | 4 7 2018
Same Day Edit Video
Quick and creative editing that takes place on the wedding day itself, allowing guests to catch a brief but impactful preview of the ongoing events. It's often projected during the meal or the party, adding an extra touch of excitement to the celebration.
Although similar to a movie trailer in terms of duration and focus on the highlights, the Same Day Edit doesn't need to cover the whole wedding. Instead, it centers on the most memorable and emotional moments, like the ceremony, the vows, the first dance, and special moments between the couple and their loved ones.
It's important to note that while much of the content is shot on the wedding day, portions filmed during the pre-wedding session can also be included to add depth and variety to the final video.
ETERNAL LOVE 🤍 destination wedding shooting
In a universe full of fleeting moments, there is the magic of finding someone with whom to share a love that transcends time. Every moment at their side is a promise, a whisper of fate that unites us beyond seasons and reasons.
ETERNAL LOVE | SHOOTING | VALENCIA
