In the world of weddings, social media is full of behind-the-scenes videos of incredible small business wedding suppliers sharing their beautiful work on a wedding day. From make-up artists to florists, to caterers, and magicians, everyone’s upped their social media game.
If you ask any social media expert, capturing BTS content is what we should all be doing, but at Keeley Wedding Films we’ve made the decision that it’s not for us.
Our couples hire us to film their wedding using professional video cameras and craft a beautiful, natural wedding film that they will treasure for the rest of their lives. In just one day, we’re tasked with capturing memories to create a family heirloom—and for us, that comes above everything else.
My name is Grace, and along with my husband Brad, I am a professional full-time wedding videographer. We put our heart and soul into our homegrown wedding videography business, Keeley Wedding Films, filming weddings across the UK and beyond. Find out more about Grace & Brad Keeley.
The BTS Trend in Wedding Videography
Back when we launched Keeley Wedding Films, social media was firmly focused on photos; sharing videos was so rare. Even when we would give a fully edited video to someone, they’d often not share it. But now, social media has been completely taken over by short-form video content: Reels and TikToks, I’m looking at you.
With the rise of short-form video everyone, from individuals to small businesses alike, has had to shift the content they’re producing and sharing. With that has come the incredible rise of wedding vendors sharing behind-the-scenes footage of them working on a wedding day. Filmed on their phones and edited to trending music with a catchy caption.
I love seeing fellow small businesses grow, evolve, and find ways to thrive in a world that is constantly changing. Small businesses often do it against the odds and it’s amazing to see! I know why BTS content works because I personally LOVE watching how others are working, seeing small business owners come to life, creating work they love and are proud of. It’s a delight!
Social media platforms actively push phone footage, it’s what everyone is used to seeing and it feels more raw. People love to see it, and so social media loves it. For our own benefit, we should be shooting some footage on our phones, and not just our main cameras. But the problem with that is, the moment I take my focus away from filming for the final wedding film, I risk missing something incredible. Could I film on both at once? Rig up my phone to attach to my main camera? Yes! But would it distract me from my work? Definitely.
Our Focus: Crafting Timeless Wedding Films
At Keeley Wedding Films, our unwavering focus is on crafting wedding films that capture every genuine moment of your special day. We believe that every smile, every tear, and every burst of laughter deserves to be remembered as a timeless keepsake. This commitment to our craft as wedding videographers means that every decision we make on your wedding day is guided solely by the desire to create a film that tells your unique love story.
Our Wedding Day Workflow
On a wedding day, we turn up early with our cameras pre-checked and geared up for a full day of filming. We film using 3 professional video cameras (with a backup at hand in case of equipment failure) as well as a professional drone. We bring upwards of 10 professional audio recorders and a full list of everything we’re looking to capture, including specific requests from the couple.
Brad and I have filmed so many weddings together now, we’re a well-oiled team. We know how to anticipate and work around each other. Our phones stay firmly in our pockets, keeping our focus on capturing the day unfolding in front of us, being present in the moment. You’ll only see us pull out our phones to ensure we’re in constant communication with each other, making sure we’ve got everything covered.
From the moment we pull out our cameras and hit record in the morning to the moment we turn them off at night, our sole focus is capturing the wedding day for the couple. We strive to do the absolute best job possible, working around non-ideal lighting, difficult room layouts, tight turnarounds, extremely limited breaks, unexpected occurrences, impractical weather, and at a fast pace. And while my mind and body are paddling at 100mph, couples often comment on my “calming presence.” It baffles me, but I’ve heard it enough times that I’m beginning to believe it. That’s how we want it to be, we’re doing all the work, so our couples can relax and enjoy their once-in-a-lifetime day.
Why We Choose Not to Do BTS
Amongst all that, I’ve always had in the back of my mind that I need to capture BTS, but this year I reached a conclusion: we should be doing it, but I’m not going to. It’s just not important enough. The priority is the couple, and it always will be.
Ultimately, shooting on our phones as well as our cameras would not only be a distraction, it would massively slow us down. Ensuring both the phone and camera were simultaneously framed well and rolling before each moment leaves too much room for error, missing the important moments, or simply disrupting the natural flow of the wedding day.
The Cost of BTS
Let me be clear: I am all for it when there is the time and space to do it! The difference it makes for small businesses is HUGE, and ultimately, to grow your business, you should be doing it. We should be doing it.
It’s the minority of cases, but there are times when we see BTS content being captured inappropriately. We don’t think anyone should be prioritising their own content when: a bride is running late for her ceremony; they’re delaying a bride’s first look with her dad, causing her to rush through it; it’s a no-phone unplugged ceremony; there is limited time for the videographer/photographer to capture the empty wedding breakfast room before guests enter.
Suppliers behaving professionally are aware and will allow a couple of minutes in their own schedules to capture what they need to, without causing any distraction to a wedding day. For many it’s more than possible in the way they work, and the schedules they allow, we’re all for them! But for us, it’s an active choice not to.
Capturing Every Precious Moment
Every single shot we capture on a wedding day is taken with the sole intention of telling the couple’s story and capturing all the joy and celebration as their day naturally unfolds. When you work in weddings, they become your every day, but for each and every couple, this is a moment they have been anticipating for their whole lives. Their favourite people from across the world are gathered in one place to celebrate them. It’s not about us, and it never should be.
“Grace and Bradley were amazing!! The teaser and full video managed to include every person at our wedding, whilst capturing all the love, magic, and happiness from the day. They made you feel so comfortable being on camera. Highly recommend!” – Abby
We take the time to capture as many of the guests as we possibly can; chasing smiles, laughter, and joy! We want to give everyone the best experience possible, and when our job gets hard or tiring, when the editing has piled up, or we’ve travelled too many hours, the thing that keeps us going is knowing that we’re creating work that matters. Our wedding films will outlast us and be treasured by generations to come. Social media clips will come and go, but our films; they’re here forever.
The True Essence of a Wedding Day
Ultimately, a wedding day isn’t, and in my opinion should never be, a content creation day. A wedding day is a sacred, deeply significant day where two people say yes to each other, for forever. It’s amazing to see the work of incredible small and independent businesses come together to create unique and beautiful wedding days again and again, but all of that is just the backdrop for what it’s really about: the couple and their love for each other.
Our Commitment to You
The most important thing is that our couples have the best day. When they’re enjoying themselves, it looks amazing on camera, and we love capturing it all! Our only priority is and always will be capturing the memories of our couple’s wedding. No one wants to see the videographer distracted by their phone instead of focusing on the proper camera.
So, we’ll be leaving our phones firmly in our pockets. We’ll be keeping our focus on the couple, always. If it means our social media is slower to grow, and we need to work harder to share our personality, so be it.
If you’d like to see some of our final films, and how we’ve captured a full wedding day, check out our portfolio. As you watch, bear in mind that those guests you’re seeing smiling and laughing are the couple’s closest family and friends. We love capturing it all!
And if you’d like to check out our slow-to-grow social media, without a BTS video in sight you can find us @keeleyweddingfilms – TikTok | Instagram
