Why you should hire a wedding content creator for your online media

Ring bands? Check. After-party outfits? Check. Wedding content creator? Come again?

Yes, hiring a wedding content creator to capture the nuptials for social media is a most sought-after event add-on right now, according to area experts.

“Our technology has come so far, and if you’re spending so much money on your wedding in the first place, you want it documented as much as possible,” said Manhattan-based Emily Cline, owner of @weddingdaycontentcreator.

Why would you need a content creator, if you already have a photographer?

“Something I shoot will be completely different than a photographer or videographer,” said Cline. “I’m not shooting photos to hang on walls for the rest of your life, or a traditional-style video to watch each anniversary year. I’m capturing different angles, funny conversations going on as you’re getting ready, or your bridesmaid sleeping under the coffee table because she’s hungover. The in-between and behind-the-scenes moments are important to have — they really tie the day together,” she said.

Cline got hitched herself in 2021 and noticed a huge gap for social media content.

“Our video did OK online for social, but I thought, what if someone edited these clips on an iPhone for personal use?” said Cline. “I launched my business a year later on Instagram and received inquiries from all over the US,” said Cline.

Cline’s base rate for an 8-hour package starts at $1,650. For that, she’ll be looking for raw, un-posed moments and footage.

Today’s couples, “Want something cute to post on Facebook for friends and family who couldn’t make the wedding,” said Cline. “Others post on LinkedIn to announce their marital status professionally. Sharing content on platforms like Instagram and TikTok in the hopes of it going viral is not important to every couple, but there’s that capability. You need to be an expert on the platforms you want your content on. I observe content on TikTok for one to three hours every single day — I’m scrolling to keep up with trends and expect the content creators I’m hiring to be doing so as well.”

Plus, “Something I shoot will be completely different than a photographer or videographer,” said Cline. “I’m not shooting photos to hang on walls for the rest of your life, or a traditional-style video to watch each anniversary year. I’m capturing different angles, funny conversations going on as you’re getting ready, or your bridesmaid sleeping under the coffee table because she’s hungover. The in-between and behind-the-scenes moments are important to have — they really tie the day together,” she said.

Cline got hitched herself in 2021 and noticed a huge gap in her media team on the big day.

“Our video did OK online for social, but I thought, what if someone edited these clips on an iPhone for personal use?” said Cline.

Feeling that demand for such niche content was “about to explode,” “I launched my business a year later on Instagram and received inquiries from all over the US,” said Cline.

Cline’s base rate for an 8-hour package starts at $1,650.

For that, she’ll be looking for raw, un-posed moments and footage.

Once, while a couple was taking family portraits, the bride excused herself for a makeup refresh.

“The groom’s mom walked over to him, and he got so emotional – he started uncontrollably sobbing. It was beautiful. I had the video rolling and sent it to her the next day,” she said.

For 31-year-old Jessica Cohen of Massapequa, Long Island, love and knack for being a social media guru set the groundwork for her to launch into this up-and-coming line of work.

“On girls’ trips, I’d make our videos for TikTok trends and create Instagram posts for them,” said Cohen.

Upon getting married herself in 2022, “I realized I didn’t have anyone to get this content for me and that there was an opening in the wedding industry for wedding content creators,” she said.

She served in this capacity for a few friends’ bridal showers and weddings and positive reviews took off as did Cohen’s new business, @the_content_queen_ny.

“Word of mouth is everything,” she said.

When seeking out someone to document your own wedding day this way, hire someone you trust with experience in the industry, who is organized, who will show up on time, and who knows what they’re doing, said Cohen.

“Anyone with an iPhone can be a content creator, but having worked in the industry for a decade — lighting angles, shot composition, being a master in media production with a level of finesse — it’s critical,” she said.

Cohen’s pricing starts at $600 for four hours of coverage and one pre-wedding planning content session. She finds one of her most popular bridal content requests includes hair and makeup transformation videos.

These clips encapsulate “time spent in robes getting their faces put on, to snapping their fingers and wearing their dresses polished and put together,” said Cohen.

Couples also ask her to shoot the popular TikTok ‘sunglass trend,’ for which, “I go around cocktail hour putting silly glasses on as many guests as possible, edit still photos of them together to a specific song for a 30 second video,” said Cohen.

A speedy turn-around time for content is likely the top benefit for newlyweds, said Cohen.

“A lot of my brides and grooms lay in bed the day after to re-live their day instantaneously. Content creators get you hundreds of photos and video clips within 24 hours, whereas it could take weeks with a professional photographer,” said Cohen.

And, while the videographer and photographer are glued to the bride and groom the whole day, “couples get to relive their day through their guests’ perspective. I’m filming whole interactions for you – getting things from a different lens,” said Cohen.

At 23, Samantha Gentile of Northport, Long Island, started in content creation for the live event industry while attending Lehigh University and transitioned to wedding vendor clientele from there.

She’d built a team as she went along, “calling on people I trusted and knew in my day-to-day life who had an aesthetic eye, were sweet, and who could handle challenging situations with a smile on their face, as there are a million things that could go wrong on a wedding day,” said Gentile.

She hard-launched @sobridalsocial in March of 2023.

“This is supporting me fully now,” she said. “I’m getting destination weddings too — I’ve been to France, Barbados, Newport and am going to Costa Rica in 2025.”

Before contracting with a couple, “We have a conversation and walk through content creation.”

Chemistry between you and your wedding content creator is crucial.

“It’s super important to make sure that you and your couples vibe well. If there’s no synergy together, how are you going to feel comfortable on the day?” said Gentile. “If you don’t have that gut feeling — especially with vendors who will be in your personal space for hours — it will come up in your content and photos.”

To excel as a content creator, you have to have that aesthetic eye for video and an ability to work in tandem with the photographer and videographer.

“Some photographers and videographers won’t work with content creators — they feel we’re taking their client from them. My team prides ourselves on working around them — they are the priority. We’re not replacing them,” said Gentile.

Gentile, whose rates start at $2,150 for 6 hours, also serves as an unofficial bridal attendant.

“My team can tie a bow tie,” she said. “We have sewing kits just in case and we know how to properly get stains out of dresses. I’m getting my hands dirty during the day, going above and beyond to make sure brides are feeling 100% comfortable. We’re prepared for anything.”