What should a wedding videography contract include?

Coverage hours and deliverables, the fee with the retainer and balance, cancellation, rescheduling, what happens if the videographer cannot film, events outside anyone's control, a limit on liability, audio recording, aerial footage, music, who owns the copyright, what the couple may do with the films, the studio's own use of them, raw footage, delivery and storage, and which state's law applies. The template on this page covers all of them.

Who owns the copyright to a wedding video?

The videographer, by default. Under 17 U.S.C. 201(a), copyright belongs initially to the author of the work. The couple receives whatever license the contract gives them. Ownership only moves through a signed written transfer, an employment relationship, or a qualifying work made for hire agreement, which is why the template states that no work made for hire relationship is created.

Do wedding videographers have to give clients raw footage?

Only if the contract says so. No statute requires it. This template treats raw footage as a yes-or-no decision with its own price, delivered as recorded and without music, for the couple's personal use only.

Can a couple choose a specific song for their wedding film?

They can ask, but the contract should not promise it. Whether a commercial recording can be licensed for use in a film is up to its rights holders, who can refuse, so the template promises licensed music rather than a particular track.

Is a non-refundable retainer enforceable in a wedding video contract?

It depends on your state and on how the payment is described. Stating the reason the retainer is kept, that the date was reserved and other work turned away, is good practice, but the wording that holds up differs between states. Have a local lawyer check this clause in particular.

Wedding Videography Contract Template: A Free Agreement Written for Film, Not Borrowed From Photography

This is a free wedding videography contract, sometimes called a wedding video agreement, that you can copy or print from this page. It covers coverage and deliverables, the fee and retainer, cancellation and rescheduling, what happens if either side cannot go ahead, audio recording, aerial footage, music, copyright, what the couple can do with the films, raw footage, and delivery and storage. Every business decision is left as a [bracket] for you to fill in, because a template that fills them in has quietly made those decisions for you.

It is written for film on purpose. Studios that shoot both photo and video often reuse one contract for both, and the ownership clause does not work the same way for a film as it does for photographs. That difference is explained below the template.

The wedding videography contract template

A starting point, not legal advice. Fill in every [bracket], delete anything that does not apply, and have a lawyer licensed in your state review it before you rely on it.

1. Who this agreement is between

This agreement is between [Studio Name] ("Studio") and [Client Names] ("Client") for video coverage of the wedding described below.

Date: [Wedding Date]
Venue and address: [Venue Name and Address]
Coverage: [Start Time] to [End Time]
Videographers: [Number]
Other coverage: [for example rehearsal or getting ready, or "none"]

2. What Client receives

Highlight film: about [Length] minutes
Full ceremony edit: [Included or Not included]
Speeches and toasts edit: [Included or Not included]
Other deliverables, including aerial footage if any: [Describe, or "none"]

Film lengths are approximate. Shot selection, editing style and music are Studio's creative decisions, guided by the preferences Client shares before the wedding.

Studio will make [Number] round(s) of changes to the highlight film if Client requests them in writing within [Number] days of delivery. Further changes cost $[Hourly Rate] per hour.

3. Fee and payment

Total fee: $[Total Fee]
Retainer, due when this agreement is signed: $[Retainer Amount]
Balance, due by [Due Date]: $[Balance Amount]

The retainer reserves the date and counts toward the total fee. Studio delivers the films once the full fee has been paid.

4. If Client cancels

Client may cancel by telling Studio in writing. Because Studio reserves the date and turns away other work once this agreement is signed, the retainer is not refunded. Any payment beyond the retainer is refunded, less $[Late Cancellation Fee] if Client cancels less than [Number] days before the wedding.

5. If the date changes

If Client asks to move the wedding to a new date and Studio is available on it, Studio will move the booking and all payments to the new date, once. Client must choose the new date within [Number] days of asking. If the new date falls in a later calendar year, the fee changes to Studio's rate for that year: [Yes or No]. If Studio is not available on the new date, the change is treated as a cancellation under section 4.

6. If Studio cannot film the wedding

If illness, injury or another emergency prevents Studio from filming, Studio will try to send a qualified replacement videographer of comparable experience. If no replacement is available, Studio will refund all payments Client has made, and that refund is Client's only remedy.

7. Events outside anyone's control

Neither party is in breach if the wedding cannot go ahead because of severe weather, natural disaster, fire, flood, government restrictions on gatherings, venue closure, or the death or serious illness of a member of Client's or Studio's immediate family. The parties will try to agree on a new date, and payments will move to it. If no new date is agreed within [Number] months, Studio will refund [all payments, or all payments beyond the retainer].

8. Limit on liability

To the extent the law allows, Studio's total liability under this agreement is limited to the amount Client has paid. Studio is not liable for indirect or consequential losses arising from footage that is lost, damaged or incomplete.

9. On the day

Coverage ends at the contracted end time, even if the schedule runs late. Studio will stay longer at $[Overtime Rate] per hour if Studio is able to and Client agrees at the time.
For coverage longer than [Number] hours, Client will provide a meal for each videographer.
Studio may stop filming without being in breach if conditions become unsafe or a guest becomes abusive.
Client will tell Studio about any other photographer or videographer booked for the wedding.
Studio is not responsible for coverage missed because of venue restrictions, schedule changes, or guests blocking the view.

10. Audio recording

Studio will record audio of the ceremony and speeches for use in the films. Client will let the officiant and anyone giving a reading or speech know that audio is being recorded, and will tell Studio before the wedding if anyone does not want to be recorded.

11. Aerial footage

Aerial footage is included only if it is listed in section 2. On the day, Studio decides whether flying is permitted and safe, based on venue rules, weather and the regulations that apply. Refund if aerial footage cannot be captured: $[Amount, or 0].

12. Music

The films will use music Studio has licensed for use in them. Studio cannot guarantee a specific commercial song, because licensing a commercial recording for a film is up to its rights holders, who can refuse. The music license covers the delivered films only, not re-edited versions and not any commercial use.

13. Who owns the films

Studio owns the copyright in all footage and in the finished films. Nothing in this agreement is a work made for hire, and no copyright is transferred to Client.

14. What Client may do with the films

Studio gives Client a permanent, worldwide, non-exclusive license to use the delivered films for personal purposes, including to:

Watch, download and keep copies
Post them on personal social media and websites
Share them with family and friends
Show them at private events

Client may not sell or license the films, publish edited versions of them, or give them to a venue, planner or other business to use in its marketing. A business that wants to use the films can ask Studio for a separate license.

15. Studio's use of the films

Studio may use the films, and still frames from them, in its portfolio, website, social media, advertising and submissions to publications. If Client does not want the films shown publicly, Client can opt out by initialing here: __________. Opt-out fee, if any: $[Amount, or 0].

16. Raw footage

Raw footage included: [Yes or No]
Price, if sold as an add-on: $[Amount, or 0]

If included, raw footage is delivered as recorded, without color correction, audio syncing, music or editing, for Client's personal use only. Studio does not provide support for it, and Client may not publish an edited version of it as Studio's work.

17. Delivery and storage

Studio will deliver the films within [Number] weeks after the wedding date, by [Delivery Method]. Studio will keep the files for [Number] months after delivery. After that, Studio does not have to keep them, so Client should download and back up their own copies.

18. Resolving disagreements

If a dispute arises, the parties will first try to resolve it directly. If that fails, they will try mediation before going to court. The laws of [State] govern this agreement.

19. The rest of the agreement

This is the whole agreement between Studio and Client. Any change must be in writing and agreed by both.
If any part of this agreement cannot be enforced, the rest still applies.
Electronic signatures count, and a signed copy has the same effect as the original.

Studio: [Name], signature ______________________, date __________

Client: [Names], signatures ______________________, date __________

Send it together with the retainer invoice, so signing and paying happen as one step, and do not hold the date until both are done. The reasoning behind that, and the rest of the signing mechanics, are in the wedding contract guide.

Why the contract says "not a work made for hire"

In a photography contract, calling the work a work made for hire usually does nothing, because photographs are not among the nine categories of commissioned work in 17 U.S.C. 101. Film is different. One of the nine is a work commissioned for use as part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, and whether a standalone wedding film counts is an open question rather than a settled one.

That is why section 13 does not stay silent. If a work made for hire clause did apply to your film, the couple would be treated as its author under 17 U.S.C. 201(b), and even your own portfolio use would need their permission. Stating that nothing in the agreement is a work made for hire, and that no copyright transfers, closes that route. The full argument is in who owns a wedding video.

Why the license lists what the couple can do

Couples asking "do we own the film?" are nearly always asking what they are allowed to do with it. Section 14 answers that directly by listing the uses rather than relying on the word "personal", and draws the line at businesses. A venue or planner putting the film in its marketing is using your work commercially, and section 14 says that needs its own license.

Publishing an edited version is excluded separately, because a re-edit is a derivative work, and under 17 U.S.C. 106 the right to prepare one belongs to the copyright owner unless you grant it.

Why raw footage and music have their own clauses

No law requires you to hand over raw footage, so section 16 turns it into a yes-or-no decision with a price instead of something negotiated after delivery. If you sell it, it goes out as recorded and without music, which keeps you clear of a problem covered in our guide to wedding video music licensing: stock music is licensed for a project, and handing someone an editable timeline with the track inside is not a use your subscription contemplates.

Section 12 exists because couples ask for specific songs. Whether a commercial recording can be licensed for a film is up to its rights holders, and they can say no, so the contract promises licensed music rather than a particular track.

Why cancellation and rescheduling are separate clauses

A couple moving their date has not walked away, and it needs a different answer from a couple who cancels. Section 5 decides in advance whether payments move, how many times, and what happens if you are already booked on the new date, so you are not negotiating it on the phone. Whether you call the first payment a retainer or a deposit also affects what you can keep, and in some states whether you can keep it at all, which is explained in retainer vs deposit.

Why the audio clause asks the couple to tell people

Recording vows and speeches means recording people talking, and consent rules for audio recording differ between states, with some requiring everyone in a conversation to agree. Section 10 puts the practical step where it can actually happen: the couple tells the officiant and speakers, and tells you about anyone who does not want to be recorded. The rules, and a redundancy plan for the recording itself, are in wedding video audio.

What this template leaves out on purpose

Late payment fees. The rules on what a business may charge for late payment vary by state, so add one only after checking yours.
Mandatory arbitration. Whether an arbitration clause in a contract with a couple is fair and enforceable is a question for a local lawyer, so this template uses mediation before court instead.
Releases from guests. Using a guest's likeness in your advertising raises separate questions that vary by state, and a contract with the couple cannot give permission on a guest's behalf.
Default numbers. Every fee, deadline and film length is a blank, because each one is a decision about your business.

Common questions

What should a wedding videography contract include?: Coverage hours and deliverables, the fee with the retainer and balance, cancellation, rescheduling, what happens if the videographer cannot film, events outside anyone's control, a limit on liability, audio recording, aerial footage, music, who owns the copyright, what the couple may do with the films, the studio's own use of them, raw footage, delivery and storage, and which state's law applies. The template on this page covers all of them.
Who owns the copyright to a wedding video?: The videographer, by default. Under 17 U.S.C. 201(a), copyright belongs initially to the author of the work. The couple receives whatever license the contract gives them. Ownership only moves through a signed written transfer, an employment relationship, or a qualifying work made for hire agreement, which is why the template states that no work made for hire relationship is created.
Should a wedding video contract include a work made for hire clause?: Not if you want to keep the copyright. One of the nine work made for hire categories in 17 U.S.C. 101 covers work commissioned as part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, and whether a standalone wedding film fits it is unsettled. If it did apply, the couple would be treated as the author. State plainly that no work made for hire relationship is created.
Do wedding videographers have to give clients raw footage?: Only if the contract says so. No statute requires it. This template treats raw footage as a yes-or-no decision with its own price, delivered as recorded and without music, for the couple's personal use only.
Can a couple choose a specific song for their wedding film?: They can ask, but the contract should not promise it. Whether a commercial recording can be licensed for use in a film is up to its rights holders, who can refuse, so the template promises licensed music rather than a particular track.
Is a non-refundable retainer enforceable in a wedding video contract?: It depends on your state and on how the payment is described. Stating the reason the retainer is kept, that the date was reserved and other work turned away, is good practice, but the wording that holds up differs between states. Have a local lawyer check this clause in particular.