This is a common question asked by many Norfolk & Suffolk brides and is often asked at Race Wedding Videography Q&A sessions. Questions such as will the vicar allow filming? Will we need any licenses to be allowed to film the ceremony? When we looked online there aren’t a lot of resources or info on this subject so on that note … let’s take a look!

Firstly… talk with your vicar about Wedding Videography

We would recommend the first and simplest solution is to have a chat with your vicar at the church. Rules on filming will vary from church to church, however, to put all your minds at rest in the first instance I wouldn’t worry about whether you will be allowed to film or not but more a case of whether your church will require you to have a license (with a small fee payable) or not, again this is something your vicar can help advise on.

A lot of the time licenses are needed more so if there are live music performers performing at the wedding in the church. It is hard to pinpoint a specific cost for this as it varies from church to church depending on what Parish the church is in. Worst case if you do have to pay for a license it is usually from our experience a fairly nominal fee. Now on the other hand many churches hold a Copyright License - CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International) which includes the right to record any live music during services. if the church does not have a Church Copyright Licence, then you will probably require a Limited Manufacture Licence from PRS for Music, again don’t sweat.. chat with your vicar!

It’s not often but I did turn up at a church to film a wedding and the vicar told myself and the lovely wedding photographer we could film and shoot the bride coming down the aisle but then after that had to retreat to the back of the church! (yes back of the church!)

How Race Wedding Videography film a wedding ceremony

Although at Race Wedding Videography we will always meet with the bride and groom before the actual wedding day we may not always have visited the church or met with the vicar. However, be rest assured we always have a chat with the vicar and work together on the day. We always ask beforehand where they are happy for us to be filming and where is the best spot to set up our tripod for our second camera angle/shot. We are also conscious to make sure we are not getting in the way of the ceremony and from a safety point of view not blocking up things like fire exits, you know… that kind of thing! Vicars are always very helpful, great to work with and don’t mind us being there at all. We always work closely with the photographer on the day too! We can both get the shots we need for your wedding photos and wedding film through some top-notch teamwork between the wedding videographer, photographer and vicar.

In terms of filming, we will always have two cameras rolling at all times, at different angles. One angle comes from our main camera on a gimbal for closer shots of the bride and groom which are great for the emotions and the exchanging of rings. We also have another wider angle from a camera fixed on a tripod capturing more of the whole scene of the bride, groom, vicar, guests and church. This enables us to flick between the two angles when editing your ceremony part of the wedding film. For audio, we generally mic up the groom with a lavalier microphone which is great for picking up the vows of both the bride and groom! We also have audio rolling on both cameras as well as a backup audio recording device hidden near the vicar and ceremony. We did a really cool blog a few months back looking at recording audio in wedding films, so if you haven’t seen it click the button below!