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What You Get From Your Wedding Videographer, and When

By Wedding Video Ireland

"Highlight film", "feature", "documentary edit", "full ceremony", "raw footage": every videographer's package list uses these words, and almost nobody explains them. This is what each one is, roughly how long it runs, when you can expect it, and what to check before you sign.

A couple on a sofa watching their wedding film on TV

The deliverables, from shortest to longest

Teaser (60 to 90 seconds). A short, fast cut set to music, usually delivered within a week or two. Its job is sharing. Some videographers deliver it within 48 hours as a "next-day edit", which is worth asking about if you're also considering a content creator.

Highlight film (5 to 10 minutes). The main event at most price points. A crafted short film that tells the day's story in order, usually using your vows, readings and pieces of speeches as the narration. This is the film you'll rewatch, show visitors and send to relatives abroad. The length varies by studio; seven to eight minutes is the most common.

Feature film (15 to 40 minutes). A longer version that has room for more of the speeches, more guests, more of the getting ready. Not every videographer offers one, and where they do it's often a premium add-on. If you want the speeches to play out in full within a shaped film, this is the format.

Documentary edit (45 to 90 minutes). A chronological record of the day with minimal stylistic editing: the ceremony, speeches and first dance largely in real time, joined by the day's events between them. Some couples prefer this to a highlight film; many packages include both. Our guide to cinematic vs documentary styles covers the difference in approach.

Ceremony and speeches in full. Multi-camera edits of the complete ceremony and the complete speeches, with properly recorded audio. These are the files with the most long-term value, because they're the words. Most professional packages include them; check that yours does, and check how many cameras cover them.

Raw footage. Every clip, unedited, usually on a hard drive. It's large (hundreds of gigabytes), ungraded, and has no synced audio, so it's less useful than it sounds. Some videographers include it, some charge a few hundred euro, some don't offer it. Ask if it matters to you.

Social cuts. Vertical versions of the teaser or highlights for Instagram and TikTok. Increasingly standard.

How long it takes

Expect 8 to 16 weeks for the highlight film in peak season (May to October), sometimes less in winter. The teaser comes first; the full ceremony and speeches often come with or just after the highlight; a feature or documentary edit may follow a few weeks later.

Why so long? A seven-minute highlight film can take 40 to 60 hours to edit: syncing multiple cameras and audio sources, selecting from ten hours of footage, structuring the story, colour grading, mixing sound, and revisions. Videographers in peak season are also filming every weekend. A studio promising two weeks is either very quiet or cutting corners; a studio taking six months should have told you so when you booked.

Get the delivery timeline in your contract, with a date rather than "when it's ready".

How it's delivered

  • Online gallery or private link (Vimeo, a studio's own platform). Easy to share, streams anywhere. Check how long it stays online; some expire after a year or two.
  • Download. You should always receive downloadable files, not just a stream. Keep two copies.
  • USB drive. Many studios include a branded drive, sometimes in a presentation box. Nice to have; not a substitute for your own backup.
  • Resolution. 4K delivery is now common. 1080p (Full HD) still looks fine on most televisions. Ask what you'll get.

Back the files up yourself: a cloud account and a drive in a different building. Studios don't keep wedding footage forever.

Music licensing, and why your film might not go on YouTube

Wedding videographers license music from libraries built for the purpose (Musicbed, Artlist, Soundstripe and others). Those licences allow the film to be made and shared privately and, in most cases, posted online by you. What they don't allow is the use of commercial chart music: a videographer can't legally cut your film to Ed Sheeran, and if they do, YouTube and Instagram will often mute or block it.

So when a videographer says they can't use "your song", it's the law, not laziness. Most will find something close in feel, and the full first dance with your actual song is usually included in the documentary or feature edit, where it's recorded live rather than licensed.

Revisions

One round of revisions on the highlight film is standard; two is generous. Structural changes ("can you put the speeches before the ceremony?") usually cost extra. Watch the film twice before sending notes, and send them in one list.

What to check before you book

  • Which of the deliverables above are included, and which are add-ons.
  • Length of the highlight film, and whether the full ceremony and speeches are included.
  • Delivery date in writing.
  • Download and resolution, not just a link.
  • Music policy: licensed library music, and whether you can request a style.
  • Revisions included.
  • Whether raw footage is available, and at what cost.

All of this, alongside pricing, is covered in our videographer price guide and ten tips for picking your videographer. For how the day itself is captured, see how vows and speeches get recorded and why a second videographer helps.