DIY weddings

I love the wedding videos post on “the knot” but unfortunately our budget can’t stretch enough to incorporate a professional wedding video. I am wondering if any other DIY savvy brides have some advice on going about doing our own wedding video? I have a little bit of training in this area and am thinking of just hiring the equipment and quickly teaching a friend how to use it. I could do the editing later possibly. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Honestly I personally would not do this for two reasons:

1. You couldn’t be sure of the quality of the footage and might end up with nothing usable

2. You would be asking a guest to effectively work on your wedding day and they will not really enjoy the ceremony as they will be trying to make sure they are getting the footage for you.

Why not try a local Tafe or Art school to see if there are any students willing to do it cheap or even for nothing in exchange for use in their portfolio. At least the student will have had some training!

personally i didnt really care about a wedding video, all the people i know who’ve got one, watched it once and now its in the back of some cupboard collecting dust, but everyone keeps telling me how i really NEED one, and i guess it couldnt hurt, but im on a tight budget already and so it wasnt on the top of my list and now that im over the budget its not going back on the list, but ive actually had a few friends who have really good video camera’s who have offered to video the important bits for me, i think if you want just the ceremony and speaches and maybe a few bits here and there people shouldnt feel like its a job, and if you ask a few people to do it, over all you should get some good footage, but if you want someone to go around to all the guest ect then you are better off hiring a professional, it just depends what your happy with

I wouldn’t mind doing it at all if I was asked! They still see the ceremony, they’re still there for the whole thing, and they get the best views in the house! And as for the reception, well after the formalities are over with, you’ll want the fun ameture footage! My cousin asked her cousin to film it for her and he didn’t seem to mind at all. It all depends on the individual. But I think it’s a great idea.

Hi cowgirl,

I recently did a wedding video for my brothers wedding. I was a bridesmaid so I didnt do the filming, but I did do the editing. This said I am training to be a multimedia teacher so it was prob a little easier for me. If you do decide to do it, it is important to remember that editing will only go so far, it is more about the quality of the footage. For the video I did, we got three cameras and had them set up prechosen locations in the church aswell as someone filming the getting ready process and the reception. It is best if you have a few different angle of the ceremony so that you can cut between long shots, close up etc. Also check if you can use your wedding photos in your video as well (note that some photographers do not allow this as they maintain copy right over your images).

If you dont want to fork out cash for editing software, windows live movie maker is pretty good. When you finish your video you can then format it and use Windows DVD maker to add a menu.

But make sure the file type which your camera outputs is compatible with whatever software you use, otherwise it can be a MASSIVE headache.

All this said and even though it is quite a bit of work, you can save HEAPS of money doing it this way. The quality may not be as high, as professional video crews usually use high-tech equipment rather than handycams.

Hope that is some help!

Jo x

Hi cowgirl,

I recently did a wedding video for my brothers wedding. I was a bridesmaid so I didnt do the filming, but I did do the editing. This said I am training to be a multimedia teacher so it was prob a little easier for me. If you do decide to do it, it is important to remember that editing will only go so far, it is more about the quality of the footage. For the video I did, we got three cameras and had them set up prechosen locations in the church aswell as someone filming the getting ready process and the reception. It is best if you have a few different angle of the ceremony so that you can cut between long shots, close up etc. Also check if you can use your wedding photos in your video as well (note that some photographers do not allow this as they maintain copy right over your images).

If you dont want to fork out cash for editing software, windows live movie maker is pretty good. When you finish your video you can then format it and use Windows DVD maker to add a menu.

But make sure the file type which your camera outputs is compatible with whatever software you use, otherwise it can be a MASSIVE headache.

All this said and even though it is quite a bit of work, you can save HEAPS of money doing it this way. The quality may not be as high, as professional video crews usually use high-tech equipment rather than handycams.

Hope that is some help!

Jo x