Understanding Wedding Videography - Part 2: What’s the difference between a Highlight Reel and Wedding Film?

Often, I think the term “wedding film” and wedding “highlight reel” are used interchangeably. I may even be guilty of using these two terms to mean the same thing on this website. The reality, though, is that when I think about these two terms, I think there is a fundamental difference between them. Let’s briefly discuss what I think this difference is.

In a Wedding Film – “Film” is the keyword. Think about what a film is to you. It’s a collection of scenes, dialogue, and characters that will often use a score to tell a story in a cinematic way. A wedding film, then, is not that different. In a wedding film, you will see a collection of scenes set to a score from the day organized in a specific manner using the dialogue from the day (letters, speeches, vows, etc.) to tell a story about two unique characters (the couple). For an example of what I think of when I think of a “wedding film,” please enjoy my most recent wedding film below:

Now, a wedding “highlight reel” is different in that the focus of the video is on the highlights of the day and less so on telling the story of the couple. So, it may be slightly less personal and more like a music video of your day. Your automatic inclination may be to think of this as a negative, but I think of it more like personal preference. Some couples may only want their video to showcase just the most important bits of the day with a little less focus on the story element of their day. For example, in the video you’ll see below, I would describe this more like a “highlight reel.”  While it’s true that it still includes some audio bites, the focus is on the music and the various highlights from the day – not as much about diving in deep and telling a story of who they are – which is totally fine!

While a wedding film may be focused more on the dialogue of the day and telling a story, the highlight reel is much more a musical showcase of your very special day. One isn’t better than the other – it comes down to what is important in the eyes of the couple. So, fill me in on what’s most important to you!