A Guide to Wedding Video Lengths & Turnaround Times

Editing a wedding video to give your clients the amount of content they want within their expected timeframe can be a challenge. Many wedding videographers are unsure about how long their final cuts and turnaround times should be. 

From backing up the raw footage through sorting and editing to exporting the final cut, many variables impact how long post-production takes. Timing becomes even more complex during peak season when you’re managing a backlog from all the other weddings you’ve shot.

This article will help you manage client expectations for wedding video lengths and turnaround times while streamlining your process for faster results.

How Long Does a Wedding Video Take to Edit?

Although a videographer can edit a typical wedding film in about two weeks, two to three months is the normal turnaround time from the wedding day to exporting the final product. The difference between the actual editing time and the total turnaround time typically comes from backlogs that wedding videographers must work through from the previous season’s weddings.

Factors Influencing Turnaround Time

Though the average turnaround time for wedding videos is two to three months, several factors can impact how long it takes you to edit and return a given video. These include:

• Backlog: The longer your queue of videos to edit is, the longer it will take you to turn the latest one around.
• Wedding timing: Your backlog will likely be smallest in Spring and largest in Fall, so videos you shoot during or shortly after Fall will take longer to finish editing.
• Amount of footage: More footage can ensure you have the shots you need but may take more time to sort through.
• Quality of footage: Better raw footage needs less work in post-production. For example, if you find lighting issues in shots you need to use, you’ll spend extra time fixing these.
• Equipment and software: The capabilities of your camera, lenses, computer and editing software can all impact how long editing takes you.
• Video duration: The length of the final wedding video helps determine how long the editing process will take. Longer videos take more time to edit, though choosing the right footage for short ones can also be time-intensive.
• Video style: Some stylistic effects clients request take longer to edit. Your personal wedding videography style may also be more or less editing intensive.
• Personal circumstances: Wedding videographers are human, too! Life happens, and sometimes personal situations cause delays in your workflow.

How Long Should a Wedding Video Be?

Common wedding video lengths range from less than a minute to around 90 minutes. The range is so broad because there are different styles of wedding videos, each with a different average length. It’s important to be clear about the types of videos you offer and the duration your clients can expect from each.

Here’s a quick guide to the main types of wedding videos and how long the average final cuts are for each type. Some wedding videographers offer other options like full footage of the ceremony, speeches, reception, or multiple lengths of highlight films for clients to choose from. Different brands also describe these video types with different names. The following list will give you a good idea of how to structure your offerings and where to set client expectations:

• Teaser: A teaser or trailer video usually lasts for a minute or less. Some videographers release this early to get the couple excited for a longer video in the works. You could also present this as a social media edit.
• Highlight film: A typical wedding highlights film lasts two to six minutes. Some videographers break this category into two to four and four to six-minute options. It condenses the day’s key moments and most beautiful shots into a compact package.
• Extended or narrative highlights: Many videographers present an option between their standard highlight video and their feature film edit. This could be an extended or narrative highlight film. An edit in this category will likely run for six to 10 minutes.
• Feature film: A feature film is a cinematic edit that tells the wedding day’s story. Shots may or may not be in chronological order. The standard duration for these films is 16 to 20 minutes.
• Documentary edit: This is a long edit that includes at least the entire ceremony and main events from the reception from start to finish. Often, shots of the bridal preparations are also shown. A documentary edit could be anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes.

Five Tips to Balance Turnaround Time, Length and Quality

As a wedding videographer, your business grows when you complete as many high-quality videos as possible that meet or exceed your client’s expectations. But it can be tricky to balance faster turnaround times and expected video durations with your high standards as a creator. Here are five tips to give customers what they want, when they want, while preserving your work’s quality:

• Standardize offerings: Have a few standard wedding film types with set durations for clients to choose from. You’ll know what to deliver and your clients will know how long your wedding videos are.
• Communicate timelines: Communicate your turnaround times clearly on your website and during your client onboarding process. If you run into any delays, be proactive about letting your client know. 
• Pad your turnaround: Set slightly longer turnaround times than you think you’ll need to avoid over-promising.
• Consider seasonality: You’ll be much busier and have more of a backlog at some times of year than others. You can manage this by offering shorter turnaround times in quieter months or setting higher prices for your busiest months.
• Outsource editing: Outsource some or all of your video editing to a professional editing partner. This can clear your backlog so you can complete more videos with shorter turnaround times or charge more for returning videos faster than other wedding videographers. Outsourcing is especially effective when you’re trying to keep up and maximize your earnings during peak wedding season.

Achieve Faster Turnarounds With Uncut Gems

Outsourcing your editing is a top strategy for accelerating your turnarounds, streamlining your workflow and scaling your wedding videography business. Choose Uncut Gems to carve out the diamonds from your raw footage while you move on to more clients, more earnings and better work-life flexibility.

The professional wedding video editors at Uncut Gems are dedicated to delivering fast, quality edits from your wedding footage. We pay attention to your editing style requests and focus on upholding your quality standards while speeding up your turnarounds so you can focus on filming and growing your business.

Our standard edits include:

• Instagram edits (1 minute)
• Highlight edits (2-3 or 4-6 minutes)
• Narrative highlight edits (6-8 minutes)
• Feature film edits (16-20 minutes)
• Documentary edits

Join our Carat Club for an exclusive annual membership to save up to 40% on all your orders.