Same-Sex Wedding Videographer.
The same craft, the same rate, and a few things we have learned filming these weddings that might be useful while you plan.
No template, and no assumptions about who does what.
We have filmed a lot of these weddings, and the thing we would want you to know first is that they are not a category to us. The approach is identical to every other film we make: get to know you properly beforehand, stay out of the way on the day, record the words carefully, and cut the film around what actually happened rather than around a running order copied from the last one. The rate is identical too. It always has been.
What is genuinely different is the planning, and not for the reasons people assume. Almost every wedding convention was built around one bride and one groom, so a lot of small decisions that other couples never think about land on your desk: who walks in, whether there is a first look, what the officiant calls you at the end, whether you get ready together or apart. None of these is difficult. There are just more of them, and nobody hands you a default.
We are based in San Francisco, which is a good place to do this work and a city where none of it is remarkable. Below are some of the films we have made and some notes on the decisions we see couples working through. If any of it is useful, take it. Collections start at $5,750, elopements at $2,500.
Watch our films.
A few of the weddings we have filmed for same-sex couples, across the coast, the redwoods and wine country.
Decisions nobody makes a default for.
Getting ready together, or apart
Both work and they produce very different films. Apart gives you the two parallel mornings and the charge that builds toward a first look, which is the structure most wedding films are built on. Together is calmer and often more honest, and it makes a lovely opening. What matters for us is knowing which you have chosen, because two separate locations is the main reason we would suggest a second cinematographer.
Who walks in, and whether anyone does
Some couples both process, from opposite sides or together down the same aisle. Some are already standing at the front and the guests come to them. Some skip the entrance entirely. All of it is fine. Tell your officiant and your film team the plan, because the entrance is the one moment we genuinely cannot re-stage.
What the officiant says at the end
The traditional pronouncement assumes titles you may not want. Married couple, partners for life, or simply your two names, all of it works, and it is your call rather than the officiant's. It is worth settling early, because it is the last line of the ceremony and it usually ends up being the last line of the film too.
Keep the traditions you actually like
Parent dances, toasts, a bouquet, a first look, all of these are available and none is obligatory. The couples who seem happiest are the ones who went through the list deliberately and kept perhaps half of it, rather than either performing all of it or rejecting all of it on principle.
Two people getting ready means twice the coverage
This is the one practical thing that genuinely differs on a budget. If you are both being photographed and filmed in the morning in different places, one crew cannot be in two of them. It is the most common reason we suggest adding a second cinematographer, and it is worth pricing early rather than discovering late.
The parts that are harder to ask about.
Ask vendors a specific question, not a general one
Everyone says they welcome all couples. A more useful question is simply: how many same-sex weddings have you worked, and can we see one? A vendor who can send you a full gallery has answered properly. A vendor who has not done one is not necessarily wrong for you, but you now know what you are choosing.
Check the venue's contract language and its staff
Standard wedding contracts and run sheets are full of bride-and-groom fields, which is usually just an old template rather than a signal. Worth asking for it to be corrected anyway, because those documents are what the day-of staff read out, and being announced incorrectly at your own reception is a small thing that stings.
Decide in advance how you want family handled
Not every family arrives at a wedding in the same place, and some couples have relatives who are present but awkward, or absent and painful. Tell us if there is someone you would rather we did not feature, or a relationship you would rather the film did not dwell on. We will simply do it, and we will not ask you to explain.
The film is a good place for people who could not come
If someone important is not there, for whatever reason, a film gives you options a photograph does not: a message recorded beforehand, a letter read aloud, a live stream so they can watch in real time. Several of our couples have used all three.
Write your own vows if you possibly can
We suggest this to everyone, and it matters more when the standard script was not written with you in mind. Personal vows give a film its spine, because they are the only part of the day where the two of you say plainly what this is. Five honest sentences beat five polished paragraphs every time.
Questions we hear.
How much does a same-sex wedding videographer cost?
The same as any other wedding we film. Collections start at $5,750, elopements at $2,500, and live streaming at $2,000. There is no different rate and there never has been. The only thing that commonly changes the price is adding a second cinematographer, which we suggest when you are both getting ready in different places.
Do you film same-sex weddings?
Yes, gladly and often, and we have for as long as the studio has existed. Every couple gets the same care, the same craft and the same story-first approach, wherever and however you are getting married.
How do you approach our film?
We build it around your story rather than a running order. We start by getting to know you, we record the vows and toasts properly, and we cut the film around the words and moments that actually mattered on the day. We do not put couples into set poses, because the resulting footage looks like everyone else's.
Should we get ready together or separately?
Whichever suits you. Separately gives the film two parallel mornings building toward a first look, which is a lovely structure. Together is calmer and often more genuine. The only practical consequence is coverage: two locations at the same time needs two cinematographers, so tell us early and we will price it properly.
Can you help us think through the ceremony order?
Yes, and we are happy to. We have filmed enough of these to know which sequences tend to work and which create dead time, and we can tell you what other couples have done about entrances, first looks and the pronouncement. It is your ceremony and we have no stake in the outcome, but the input is free.
How do we know a vendor is genuinely comfortable?
Ask how many same-sex weddings they have worked and to see a full one, not a single image. It is a fair question and a good vendor will answer it without any awkwardness. It is also worth checking that contracts and run sheets do not default to bride and groom, since those documents are what the staff read from on the day.
Where do you film?
Across San Francisco and the Bay Area, down the coast to Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur, up into Napa and Sonoma, and anywhere else your wedding takes you, including destination weddings. Travel within Northern and Central California is generally included; further afield is quoted per trip.
How far ahead should we book?
Nine to fourteen months is typical, and peak autumn Saturdays go first. We film one wedding a day, so once you have a date and a venue it is worth settling the rest of the team. If your date is closer than that, ask anyway, as we sometimes have it open.