Frequently Asked Questions

6 - 8 weeks. However, it may take longer to receive your edits depending on the time of year and complexity of editing, or due to unforeseen delays that are beyond my control. Editing is a very involved and creative process and it is constantly evolving. I do appreciate your patience while I craft your wedding footage into a beautiful wedding film that you will have and cherish for the rest of your lives.

For the same reason you would choose a professional photographer, dress-maker, cake-maker, band etc… Your friends and relatives are not professional wedding videographers. It doesn’t matter how good their camera is. Just because a person can press the ‘record’ button on a camera and then point the camera in the general direction of where the action is happening doesn’t mean they are a videographer. Just because one is a videographer doesn’t mean they are a wedding videographer. Creative wedding filmmaking is a skill that takes years to hone. It is a craft that merges the creative and the technical, and it deserves respect when done well.

Hopefully, this advice will save you heartbreak in the future. The biggest mistake you can make at this stage is leaving the job of a professional wedding videographer in the hands of a friend or relative. Chances are you wouldn’t leave your wedding photographs up to your uncle Frank to take. If you want a stirring and elegant film of one of the most important days of your life, then choose a professional to capture it for you…

Be very wary of some photographers offering “the video” for a terribly low price in addition to your photographs. You’ll more than likely get what you pay for in this situation. It’s a pity than even today so many people, including other wedding professionals, still undervalue wedding films. I specialize in wedding films only. From experience, I would advise you to hire a photographer and a videographer who work separately — when one studio or person provides both services, one of the services usually drastically suffers as a result, as it’s just an after-thought, or the additional service is used merely for extra income.

If you’re looking for something quick and the best price around, then Bride & Groom Films is probably not for you. However, if you’re looking for peace of mind on your wedding day, and to know that you will have a beautiful wedding film to share with your partner and your families and friends for the rest of your lives – then you’ve come to the right place.

Richard has an “fly-on-the-wall” approach to filming a wedding occasion, a style which he has cultivated for over 16 years, so he always remains discreet and unobtrusive. This is one of the main reasons photographers enjoy working with Richard. Richard doesn’t intrude on the day. This allows the day to flow smoothly, allowing you to get your photography session out of the way as quickly as possible, giving you time to enjoy your day and mingle with your guests.

Your wedding is shot discreetly – so you, your loved ones and guests won’t notice the camera too much.  It's very much a fly-on-the-wall shooting style, capturing natural reactions, and the “real moments”, without having to pose people or ask them to do anything except enjoy the day.

Richard’s job is to capture the flavors and emotions of the day as they happen and not to direct people, or make them pose or kiss, or take over the proceedings. It is in a way a documentary style approach, with the end result being a mixture of documentary and cinematic styles. Couples are sometimes stunned by what Richard was able to capture, given his discreet, documentary style and manner, and most of the time they forget that he is even there.

We’re also aware that you want your guests to have a great day too, without being annoyed by having a camera “in their face”, as some put it. Richard utilizes small and compact cameras which have the appearance of still photography cameras. Due to the size and appearance of the body of the camera, it’s not intimidating to people who are shy or self-conscious, and usually people are totally unaware of Richard working in the background, filming the day inconspicuously.

The trick, or dare we say the “art”, is to shoot your day in a fly-on-the wall reportage/documentary style, but then fashion a cinematic wedding film from that. The shots may look staged, but they aren’t – and that’s part of the event filmmaking skill required. Richard has a talent for capturing natural, candid, raw emotions.

Your wedding is shot, edited and delivered in 4K in an online portfolio. It's a link that brings you to your own website, basically, where you can stream and download your edits. It's accessible by anyone you share the link with, at any time and on any device.

Yes, I can sign a non-disclosure agreement for you if you or other members of your wedding party feel that’s necessary. Please e-mail me at [email protected]

Yes. Richard always welcomes ideas and suggestions from couples regarding the making of their wedding films. The best way to communicate your ideas is to speak to Richard openly about what you have in mind. Sometimes, what seems like a good idea initially, may not work out without considering all of the variables of a wedding day, and the advice of a professional with experience can be highly valuable to couples.

The only truly important thing is that you like the videographer’s work itself. Price is also important, but you’re not going to feel very good in 20 years time that you saved a few hundred Euro, when you’re stuck with a terrible wedding video that you won’t want to look at. You can’t go back and do the day again. As the saying goes “The bittnerness of poor quality remains, long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”. This isn’t always the case, but again, check the work first.

Yes. All Richard needs to know at the booking stage is the date of the wedding to see if he’s available, the location and a few other details. See the online booking form for details. All you need to do to secure your date as a booking is to pay a deposit of 500 Euro, and submit the online booking form. If you haven't decided on a package yet, that's fine -- we can discuss it closer to the wedding day and you can decide then.

Once we receive your deposit and booking form, a booking confirmation e-receipt will be sent to you, and we will discuss the finer details before the wedding day.

Checking availability and booking couldn’t be easier. You can contact Richard by phoning him on 086-3704098, 01-4420071, or e-mailing [email protected] . Alternatively, you can check his availability by filling out the ‘check availability’ form on the contact page. After you have checked Richard’s availability, and if he is available, you can then book online (no credit card required). Alternatively, you can book over the phone while having a chat about your requirements.

I can’t hold provisional bookings, but I’ll certainly try my best to accommodate you. It’s first come, first served. Only the payment of a deposit and the submission of a booking form, with our acknowledgement, will secure a date as a definite booking.

A wedding date cannot be considered booked until a deposit of €500 is received and acknowledged. You will be provided with a booking confirmation e-receipt when your deposit and booking form have been received. You can pay by cash, cheque, bank draft, postal order, or online bank transfer. Please make your form of payment payable to ‘Bride & Groom Films’. The balance is payable on or before the day of the wedding. Please contact us for our postal address. We don’t publish our postal address on this website for security reasons.

We use wireless mics and audio recorders. The best and most appropriate audio equipment is used to capture the sounds of the day including the wedding ceremony, the speeches and the dancing. These are the three main sections of a wedding day where sound acquisition is absolutely crucial. We promise that the sound on your finished wedding video is just as important to us as the image quality.

Any professional wedding videographer will carry some lighting in case the lighting conditions are so low that it would be impossible to capture a good image. In most low lighting conditions it is not necessary to use any light, because of the quality of the professional camera being used. It is only at the reception (again, depending on how the light is) that sometimes a small on-camera light is necessary.

A light is never used in a church. Richard’s aim is to make your wedding film the best it can look, but also understands that a couple might be hesitant about “big bright lights”. The use of a small on-camera light always goes unnoticed, and when you sit down to watch your wedding video you will be amazed at the image quality. Richard shoots with the best of low-light cameras, but remember, “low-light” doesn’t necessarily mean “no-light”. All equipment used is small, discrete, compact and very mobile. There are no cables running along the floor, or lights on stands needed.

In order to maintain a low profile, work fast, and be as unobtrusive and discreet as possible on the day of your wedding, Richard prefers to work alone.

Yes, back-up equipment is carried at all times in the unlikely event of equipment malfunction. Richard carries two or three of everything: cameras, lenses, memory cards, batteries, tripods, microphones etc.

Richard lives in Dublin and films weddings all over Ireland. There is no travel fee, unless shooting destination weddings.

Not unless you ask me to. If it’s a religious ceremony in a church, I normally only film and include the parts that are relevant to the couple and the wedding itself (the “wedding specific moments”), leaving out mostly what you would hear at a regular Sunday mass. There are certain parts of a wedding mass that would be considered by a lot of priests to be impolite or disrespectful to film, like The Eucharist and The Consecration for example. And this is perfect, because during these parts of the mass I'm focused on getting some creative shots in the church or of the venue, guests etc. If you’re having a different kind of ceremony, like a civil ceremony/humanist ceremony, this obviously does not apply, but I wouldn't say that the "entire" ceremony will be shot and included.

No, it’s really really not. Some videographers who work in teams of two or three might tell you that you’re getting more coverage or more value for money by booking them. It makes no logical sense, in my view.

It may just be a matter of an individual videographer’s preferred shooting style. I shot weddings with other wedding videographers early in my career, and I feel that a second shooter slows me down. I work much better and faster alone. If I felt that the addition of a second wedding videographer would make better wedding videos — I’d do that.

If you feel you need a second videographer, that option is always there for you – we can talk about it and explore it further. However, I use a second camera, if appropriate, necessary and possible, at certain parts of your wedding day (like during the ceremony/speeches/dancing).

“I’m writing you a long letter because I don’t have the time to write you a short one”.

You can never tell what the running time of a wedding video will be until the editing is finished. You and I have no idea how long your ceremony or speeches will be, or how long the dancing and other elements of your day will be. Some wedding videos are one hour in duration, while others can be 45 minutes or between 90 mins and 2 hours. It depends on various factors. Typically, our feature length films are approx 1 hour, and the short film is approx 3 - 5 minutes in duration. An extended short is usually approx 10 - 15 minutes, and a teaser trailer is approx 60 - 90 seconds.

The emphasis is on providing you with a tightly constructed work, that you will be happy to watch again and again (and proud to show to others), without having to ‘fast-forward’ through hours of unedited footage to get to the part you want to see. One of our brides said in her e-mail to us: “Just love the way you captured the days best bits without intruding on people, and kept the video short and to the point.” When it comes to wedding films, less is more (more often than not), and it will serve you better upon viewing.

So the answer is “It will be as long as it needs to be.” It’s totally not the case that you’re getting more value for money by getting a longer wedding film – if anything, it’s more than likely the opposite!

There is no travel fee, and we film weddings anywhere in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Richard remains as discreet as possible throughout the day, but is always professional, approachable and open to conversation. Usually by dinner time, the guests are aware of the fact that Richard wants to remain in the background, shooting away, so they get on with enjoying themselves and just forget about the camera. Richard has received many compliments at weddings throughout the years from guests who commented on the fact that they were able to relax and enjoy themselves and not really notice the camera.

Yes, your wedding film is shot, edited and delivered in 4K in an online portfolio. You can download your edits from here.

Absolutely, yes.

Check out our Optional Extras to enhance your wedding video experience.

Yes, filming of the bride’s and/or groom’s preparations is included in our Tarantino Package and also in our Scorsese Package. Also check out our Coppola Package. We can film both preparations if the bride and groom are leaving within close enough proximity of one another, otherwise distance and time may become an obstacle. Most couples opt to just have the bride’s preparations captured, from about 90 mins prior to the ceremony start time. These days a lot of couples are getting ready at a hotel, so it’s easy to go from room to room in this case. We can have a chat about it and see how it works out logistically. It’s usually not a problem.

Yes. Richard will eat a meal while you and your guests eat. You have enough planning to worry about already, so a sit-down meal with the guests is certainly not required or expected. Since Richard will be working for the entire day, he will sit and have a meal at the bar or restaurant, or the room nearest to the main function room while the guests are eating, so he can keep an eye on what is happening (when the cake is about to be cut, when the speeches are starting etc).

It would be very much appreciated if you could tell your contact at your hotel that there will be a videographer present for the evening (this is so Richard will be able to get fed as quickly as possible). A lot of wedding venues are already accustomed to providing a meal to the wedding videographer when you are being served your meal.

I use (and pay for) licensed music that I have a legal right to use, and so videos won't be removed from your online portfolio etc, and I won't get copyright strikes, which jeopardize my accounts.  When I sit down to edit, I'll choose the music that fits with what I'm editing.  If you don't like a track, I can change it.  Aesthetically speaking, it's better than using songs you know, in my view, as it makes them a part of your wedding film, and you grow to love them over time and associate them with your wedding film, rather than just slapping a greatest hits list of songs over everything that probably won't suit the pace and rhythm of what's being cut. We did that for too long in the wedding industry.

When I shoot a wedding, I need certain material for my edits. I usually shoot the first few dances, a little more fun on the dance floor, and then leave. This is all I need of the dancing for my edits. Although it can vary, 95% of the time at weddings in Ireland, a first dance will start between 10pm and 11pm (more on the later side). The Scorsese has a package cut-off time. This means that you pay per hour after the package cut-off time, if you want me to stay later. The Tarantino doesn't have a cut-off time. This doesn't mean that I'm staying for the entire night - it means you don't have to think about time or paying anything extra. It's also great if you have entertainment in the evening, like fireworks, dancers, etc etc.