AWARD-WINNING WEDDING FILMMAKERS · los angelesDocumentary Wedding Videographer in Los Angeles
Luxury Cinematic Wedding Photography & Films, capture your wedding day with an award-winning wedding videographer in Los Angeles
FEATURED FILM · los angelesMeet the documentary filmmakers behind your LA wedding
We make documentary wedding films in Los Angeles: the day followed as it happens, real sound, no shot list, cut in the order things occurred. Editorial and cinematic layers go on top, but documentary is what everything sits on. We are Andrew and Roma, the founders of Arrakis Films and the two people who show up on your date. Not an associate you meet that morning. We film across Los Angeles and Southern California and cut every film ourselves.
Award-Winning Wedding Cinematographer Los Angeles
THE FORMATWhat does documentary wedding videography mean?
No shot list. The camera goes where the day goes. We stay close during vows, pull back during toasts, and keep moving with the room. Sound is recorded live from two independent sources. Where the venue has a sound board we take a feed off it for the ceremony and speeches, with a directional mic on camera as the second. Where there is no board, most outdoor ceremonies here, lavalier mics go on instead. The edit is built around the shape the day had, with the audio setting the pace. What comes back sounds and feels like your wedding. If you want the full record rather than a highlight, the entire ceremony and every toast can be delivered uncut alongside the main film.
SHOOT AND LAB How do we shoot documentary weddings in Los Angeles?
Sony FX3 cameras with fast lenses for available light. Two independent audio sources on every ceremony and speech. Everything records to two cards at once, so no card failure can take a ceremony with it. Drone coverage where FAA rules and the venue allow. Much of the LA basin sits under controlled airspace, so that gets checked before the day, not on it.
Los Angeles adds its own conditions. From late May into July the coast sits under a marine layer, and Malibu, Santa Monica and Palos Verdes can stay overcast past noon. Flat diffused light is often kinder to faces than hard sun, so that is a planning condition, not a problem. The warm evening cast the city is known for comes from haze in the basin, the same haze people complain about, working as a diffuser. A portrait window is arithmetic: a courtyard that reads golden at 6 p.m. in June is in flat shade at 4 p.m. in November, so we count backwards from sunset at your venue on your date, and scout venues we have not filmed at.
LOS ANGELES LIGHT Why add Super 8 to a documentary LA wedding film?
Super 8 reads as archival: warmer, softer, real grain, the slight instability of a mechanical camera. That counts for more on documentary coverage than anywhere else, because your ceremony or first dance on Super 8 looks like footage somebody shot decades ago, not footage made to look old. It is film, not a filter, and it ages in the opposite direction from digital. Super 8 is included in the ten-hour package and costs $900 on the six and eight hour ones. It goes on the moments we know are coming: the ceremony, the first dance, the toasts. See our Super 8 wedding video in LA.
TimelineWhat we need from your timeline
Very little, but it matters. Documentary coverage needs the day to have air in it. If the schedule is packed end to end, the quiet moments between the scheduled events never happen. So we are mostly checking your timeline for gaps. Twenty unscheduled minutes after the ceremony usually produces more film than an hour of arranged photos. If you have no planner, we build the shooting timeline with you.
wedding video packages los angelesArrakis Films wedding video packages in Los Angeles run from $3,200 for six hours with one videographer to $5,890 for ten hours with two videographers, drone and Super 8. Aerial drone footage, the full ceremony and speeches edit, and the music license are included in every package rather than sold as add-ons, which is where most Los Angeles quotes grow by $1,500 or more after the headline price.
6-Hour Wedding Video Package
WhisperedVows
$3,200
Up to 6 hours · 1 videographer · Los AngelesWhat's included
Up to 6 hours of coverage with one videographer
A 4–5 minute cinematic highlight film
A 1 minute teaser trailer
Aerial drone footage, where weather and venue permit
Professional multi-mic audio recording with backup on every source
Cinematic color grading
Licensed music, cleared for sharing anywhere
Private online gallery for six months, unlimited downloads
8-Hour Wedding Video Package
Endlessly Yours
$4,800
Up to 8 hours · 2 videographers · Los AngelesWhat's included
Up to 8 hours of coverage with two videographers
A 6–8 minute cinematic highlight film
A 1–2 minute teaser trailer
Aerial drone footage, where weather and venue permit
Professional multi-mic audio recording with backup on every source
Cinematic color grading
Licensed music, cleared for sharing anywhere
Private online gallery for six months , unlimited downloads
10-Hour Wedding Video Package
Moving Symphony
$5,890
Up to 10 hours · 2 videographers · Los AngelesWhat's included
Up to 10 hours of coverage with two videographers
A 7–10 minute cinematic highlight film
A 1–2 minute teaser trailer
Full ceremony and speeches edit
Aerial drone footage, where weather and venue permit
Vintage Super 8 film, shot alongside digital and cut into the final film
Professional multi-mic audio recording with backup on every source
Cinematic color grading
Licensed music, cleared for sharing anywhere
Private online gallery for six months, unlimited downloads
“Beyond and forever grateful I chose Arrakis Films for my special day. They provided a comforting and reassuring energy, open to my vision and preferences, executed and delivered exceptionally. The edited photos were authentic yet professionally and gracefully polished. I look forward to booking them again.”
“Arrakis Films delivered both stunning photography and an incredible wedding film for our NYC elopement. Roma and Andrew work seamlessly as a photo and video team—the photos are beautifully composed and emotional, and the film is cinematic and heartfelt. What sets them apart is that both services feel equally important and equally beautiful. We love rewatching our film and cherishing our photos in equal measure. Highly recommend for any couple wanting artistic, professional work in both photo and video.”
“I couldn’t have asked for better photographers and videographers. They did an amazing job of capturing my wedding day. My wedding day was on May 17,2025. Not only were they supportive throughout the day, but they also made me feel special and beautiful. I’m grateful to have met Andrew and Roma. They helped me with everything, from the smallest details to the biggest ones. When you showed me the pictures and then the videography, I was blown away. The quality of the photos was stunning, and the passion and warmth in them were incredible. The video was even more impressive. I couldn’t believe you could create such a piece that we would laugh, cry, and watch over and over again. Thank you so much, Roma and Andrew, for being the team who captured my wedding day. I was blessed to meet you both.”
“Andrew was an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish. He has an incredible creative eye and artistic flair that truly sets his work apart. Every photo is beautifully composed and captures not just the moments, but the emotions of the day. Our gallery exceeded every expectation and perfectly tells the story of us. If you're looking for a talented photographer who creates timeless, artistic images, we highly recommend Andre. We will cherish these memories forever.”
“We couldn’t be happier with our wedding photos and video—they came out absolutely amazing. They captured so many intimate, beautiful moments that we’ll cherish forever. Also such wonderful people to have around on our wedding day! They made us feel comfortable, were a joy to work with, it felt like we’ve known them for forever!! We’re so happy we chose them to create these memories for us. Thank you for giving us something we’ll treasure for a lifetime!”
“I could not imagine my wedding day without Arrakis Films. They are without a doubt the most transparent, organized, and determined team to tell your love story, the way you want it, in a way that's beautifully authentic and heartfelt, including everyone present for such a classic wedding day. It's a little nerve racking picking a vendor as a bride. We thought that since they were both Photo + Video/ Super8 Film, it was a no brainer we wanted them to be our photographer. They go above and beyond to get the perfect shot when it matters most, and still when you're not looking, capturing the most perfect moments. It’s been such a gift from them to us to be able to relive a day for that flew by in the blink of an eye. The photos and the videos—are absolutely incredible. I am so in love with every single moment they have captured, and grateful for their guidance and ability to move from one part of the day to the next. I had absolutely no worries!! Especially with everything else going on. I find myself watching our Wedding Film, remembering each moment more and more as it was, and each time I realize that I’m smiling from beginning to end, every. single. time. These memories mean more to us than I can say (especially cause it went by too fast!). The team is truly amazing. They kept us laughing and easing all of our nerves, made me and all of the girls feel so beautiful, while capturing everything and everyone so thoughtfully and meaningfully. Words truly can’t express how grateful I am for Arrakis Films. With love, The Bride”
THE PROCESSWhat Happens After You Book
5The wedding day.
6Post-production. Every clip reviewed, the story cut around the shape of the day, graded and mixed by us.
2A call. You describe the day, we tell you which coverage fits, including when a smaller one is enough.
1You send an inquiry through the site.
4Preparation. A venue scout if we have not filmed there, permits filed in advance where needed, timeline help if you have no planner.
3Proposal and contract. A 50% non-refundable retainer reserves your date.
7Delivery. Your film, and any ceremony or speeches edits, are delivered within six months. Most go out sooner.
ABOUT ARRAKIS FILMSAbout us
Andrew
Founder, award-winning film directorAward-winning documentary and short-film work.
Roma
co-founder, film producer.Runs the second camera and keeps the day organized around it.
Arrakis Films is Andrew and Roma, who came to weddings from documentary and independent cinema. Andrew directs and shoots. Roma produces every wedding and runs the second camera. Andrew is an award-winning film director. His short films have taken Best Short Documentary at Venezia Shorts Italy, Best Editing at the New York Indie Shorts Awards and Grand Jury Winner at the FFTG Awards. Documentary and editing are not adjacent skills to this job, they are the job. Roma spent ten years on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre before moving into film. Between them: festival-awarded short films, commercials for Adidas, Nutella and Mercedes, music videos. They film in Los Angeles and New York, cut every film themselves, and follow one idea: True.Fierce.Beauty, real beauty caught, not staged.
Ready to see what your
Los Angeles Wedding Film
could look like?
We take a limited number of weddings each year. Tell us your date and we will check availability.
FAQSCommon Questions
About LA DocumentaryWedding Videographers
-
$3,200 for six hours with one filmmaker, $4,800 for eight hours with two, and $5,890 for ten hours with two plus Super 8 film. Most couples in Los Angeles spend $4,000 to $8,000 on wedding video, so a full documentary day with two filmmakers sits at the lower end of that range.
-
Documentary runs on sound and story: real ceremony audio, speeches, candid moments, cut in the order the day happened. Cinematic leads with visuals on a music track. Most of our couples get a blend: documentary underneath, cinematic camera work and grading on top.
-
Four to ten minutes depending on the package, plus a one to two minute trailer. The full ceremony and speeches come as separate uncut edits, included from eight hours up and available as add-ons below.
-
Two independent sources, always. Where the venue has a sound board we take a feed off it and run a directional mic on camera as the second. Where there is no board, which is most outdoor ceremonies, lavalier mics go on. Wind and traffic kill a camera mic thirty feet back, and vows cannot be re-recorded.
-
Yes. Super 8 is included in the ten-hour package and costs $900 on the six and eight hour ones. It goes on the ceremony, the first dance and other moments we know are coming, since each cartridge holds only a few minutes.
-
Yes. Travel within 60 miles of Los Angeles is included, which covers Malibu, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Calabasas, Palos Verdes, Long Beach and most of Orange County. Santa Barbara, Montecito, Ojai, Temecula, Palm Springs and San Diego sit beyond that line, and travel there, along with destination weddings anywhere else, is agreed in the contract in advance. This style works well when the place itself is part of what you will remember.
