---
name: "wedding_videography"
description: "Plan, shoot, and deliver wedding films: the pre-shoot brief, ceremony audio plan, shot lists by segment, same-day edit workflow, and the delivery package. Triggers when planning or shooting a wedding video, capturing vows or toasts, running a same-day edit, or setting a wedding film delivery timeline."
---

# Wedding Videography

## Purpose
Turn a wedding booking into a shoot plan that captures the ceremony, the audio, and the moments that cannot be reshot, then deliver a film package on a date you promised in writing.

## Workflow

1. **Take the brief in writing.** Before anything else, lock: date, venue(s), full timeline, religious or cultural constraints (many churches restrict camera movement and flash during the ceremony), photographer contact, and the delivery list with dates. Ask if any is missing. Attend the rehearsal: learn entrances, positions, readings, and timing.

2. **Choreograph with the photographer.** You share the best sightlines all day. Agree who gets the aisle center during the processional, who moves during vows, and who takes the lead on the couple portraits. Never cross in front of the couple during the ceremony, and keep out of the photographer's frames. Dark clothes, honor the dress code.

3. **Plan the audio first.** Audio ruins more wedding films than framing does. The ceremony audio plan is the heart of this job, see `references/ceremony-audio.md`:
   - A wireless lav on the groom (captures the vows and I-do's).
   - A second recorder on the officiant, who is used to wearing one.
   - A shotgun on the nearest camera, or a hidden pocket recorder, as the worst-case backup.
   - Wear headphones the whole ceremony. Record 30 seconds of room tone per venue.

4. **Shoot the day by segment.** Full shot list in `references/shot-list.md`. The day runs in four blocks: prep (details, dress, candid nerves), ceremony (venue wide, processional, vows, ring exchange, first kiss, reactions, recessional), portraits (golden hour, steal the light while it lasts), reception (decor before guests sit, entrances, first dance, toasts, cake, dancing, exit). One rule per block: open with an establishing wide, then move closer, and always catch the reaction right after the moment.

5. **Run the same-day edit only if booked.** A same-day edit is decided at signing, never improvised. It needs a dedicated editor who is not also shooting, a confirmed playback screen at the reception, and a venue slot for the edit window. Details in `references/same-day-edit.md`.

6. **Edit and deliver on the promised date.** Typical package, see `references/delivery.md`: a 30-60 second teaser within a week, a 3-5 minute highlight or trailer, a longer feature or documentary edit, and full-length ceremony/reception videos. Peak season (May through October) runs 15-25 weeks for full films. Put every deadline in writing before the wedding, and send a sneak peek while the full edit is in progress.

## Output Contract
- A written brief: timeline, constraints, vendor contacts, delivery list with dates.
- A ceremony audio plan: three independent audio sources on every spoken moment.
- A shot plan by segment with shooter positions.
- The finished deliverables, named and organized, delivered on the agreed date.

## Operating Rules
1. The day cannot be reshot. When in doubt, overcover the ceremony and skip a decorative detail.
2. Every live speaking moment gets at least two independent recordings. One audio system is zero audio systems.
3. Never improvise a same-day edit. It needs its own editor, its own edit window, and a confirmed screen, all agreed in advance.
4. Use only licensed or royalty-free music in anything that will touch social platforms, since unlicensed tracks get muted.
5. Do not claim turnaround times you have not checked against your actual editing load. Peak season always runs longer.
6. No em dashes or press-release phrasing anywhere in client-facing materials. Write like a person.