One wedding. Three different edits.

Choose a purpose rather than only a runtime

A short wedding film and a long wedding film are not automatically different stories. If you are commissioning an editing package, describe what each output is for. A teaser may introduce the atmosphere, a highlight may build an emotional arc, and a documentary film may preserve fuller sequences.

The terminology varies between studios. Before handing over footage, agree what “documentary” and “highlight” mean in your own offer. A documentary film might include more of the ceremony and speeches, but the exact content should be stated rather than assumed from the name.

How the three formats differ

There is no single runtime that suits every studio. Set the duration around your package and the available material. Also confirm whether the deliverable is a separate film, a chaptered version or an additional cut of the same story.

Audio changes the editorial task

For a highlight, a short passage from vows or a speech can provide a narrative connection between images. For a documentary film, the client may expect longer stretches of audible ceremony or speeches. The editor needs the relevant recordings and instructions for how much of them to include.

Send separate audio, camera references and any notes about missing or problematic recordings. Make important people and moments identifiable. An editor can make better choices with a brief that says what must remain rather than only asking for the wedding to feel cinematic.

Keep platform versions deliberate

A film intended for a client’s full-screen viewing and a teaser intended for a vertical feed may need different compositions. Titles, framing and the opening seconds should be checked in the destination format. A vertical version is not necessarily just a crop of the horizontal film.

List aspect ratios, sound requirements and destinations before the edit begins. Review the actual exported versions rather than judging them only inside the editing timeline. Additional platform cuts are part of the agreed deliverables, not an automatic consequence of having one finished film.

Brief the package together

At Delsity, a documentary film, highlight and teaser ordered as one package cost less than three separate orders. The package price is quoted around the requested durations and scope. No universal percentage discount is stated.

A five-minute finished edit is $270; the published duration rule runs up to ten minutes. Longer films are discussed separately. See the editing price guide for the exact table and which details to include in a quote request.

• List the three outputs and their purpose.
• Name the events and people that must appear.
• Provide audio and a reference to the studio’s style.
• Agree review stages and platform versions.