Wedding teaser reels: a guide to vertical wedding films

In this guide

1. 01Framing wedding video for vertical5 min read
2. 0230 or 60 seconds? Choosing a teaser length5 min read
3. 03Captions for wedding films and teasers5 min read
4. 04Sending a teaser days after the wedding5 min read

A wedding teaser reel is a short vertical film, usually 30 or 60 seconds long, that gives the couple and their guests a first look at the day while the full film is still in the edit. It’s made to be watched on a phone, in the feeds of Reels, TikTok and Shorts, so it works differently from a highlight film. This guide covers what a teaser is for, how to frame, time, caption and score one, and how to get it to the couple within days.

What is a wedding teaser reel?

A teaser is a trailer for the wedding film. It takes a handful of the day’s strongest moments, sets them to music, cuts them tightly and stops while people still want more. The whole story of the day belongs to the highlight film, which follows later and is usually several minutes long.

A teaser does three jobs at once:

• For the couple, it’s the first time they see their wedding as a film, and something to share with family and friends while the day is fresh.
• For their guests, it’s a reminder of the day and a reason to comment and share.
• For you, it’s a public example of your work, seen by the couple’s friends, some of whom will be planning weddings of their own.

Most teasers are cut from the same footage as the highlight film. That saves time, but it means shooting with both films in mind. Film horizontal for the main film, and leave enough room around the moments that matter to cut a vertical frame from them later.

Why make a vertical wedding video?

People hold their phones upright, and Reels, TikTok and Shorts are all built around full-screen 9:16 video. A horizontal film posted to those feeds appears as a narrow strip with empty space above and below it, which is easy to scroll past. A vertical wedding video fills the screen, and it’s just as easy for the couple to send to relatives in a message.

Vertical also changes how a shot reads. A 9:16 frame is tall and narrow, so it suits faces, single figures, the full length of a dress, confetti falling and a couple walking up the aisle towards the camera. Wide shots of the venue and long rows of guests lose most of what made them worth filming. For that reason a teaser leans on close and medium shots, and the wide views stay in the highlight film.

How do you frame faces for 9:16?

You can crop a vertical frame from horizontal footage or shoot vertical on the day, and each has a cost. Cropping keeps one set of footage for both films, but a 9:16 crop from a 1920×1080 frame is only about 608×1080 pixels, so it has to be scaled up to 1080×1920 and looks softer. From 3840×2160 (4K) the crop is about 1215×2160, more than enough. Shooting vertical on a phone, or a phone on a gimbal, gives full resolution but footage you can’t use in the horizontal film.

Whichever you choose, reframe each shot around the faces that matter instead of taking a fixed crop from the centre. Keep faces, key action and any text clear of the edges where each app places its buttons and captions. Framing wedding video for vertical covers the crop arithmetic, reframing shot by shot, and composing for vertical on the day.

Should a wedding teaser be 30 or 60 seconds?

Both work, and they do different things. A 30-second teaser holds one idea set to one section of a song, such as the energy of the dance floor or the quiet of the ceremony. It’s quick to watch, easy to replay and easy to share. A 60-second teaser has room for a short arc through the day and a line of vows or a speech, with the music dipping under it.

Choose by what the day gave you. If there’s a spoken line that sums up the wedding, 60 seconds lets it breathe. If the day was all movement and colour, 30 seconds will often be the stronger film. 30 or 60 seconds? Choosing a teaser length goes through structure, pacing and loops for each length.

What should happen in the first seconds?

In a feed, people decide quickly whether to keep watching, and the first shot does most of the work. Open on a face, a movement or a moment already under way. Leave out fades from black, logo cards and slow establishing shots of the venue. If you want your name or logo on the film, put it at the end and keep it brief.

A few openings that tend to hold attention:

• A close-up reaction, such as the first look, a parent in tears or the couple laughing at a speech.
• A moment in motion, such as confetti in the air or the couple turning on the dance floor.
• A short spoken line, captioned, over a strong image.

Start the music where the song already has some energy, and cut on the beat from the first frame. Cutting a wedding film to the beat explains how to find the beats and phrases to cut on. Where the app lets you choose a cover frame, choose it with the same care, because it’s what people see on your profile before they press play.

Do wedding teasers need captions?

Yes, if anyone speaks in them. Many people scroll with the sound off, and without captions they miss every word of the vows. Captions also make the film accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, and they rescue speeches recorded in echoing rooms or over laughter.

There are two ways to add them. A sidecar file, usually an .srt, sits alongside the video and can be switched on and off; video platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo accept one when you upload. Burned-in captions are part of the picture, so they show everywhere, including on apps that don’t accept caption files, but they can’t be corrected without a fresh export. Either way, check every name and spelling before anyone else sees them. Captions for wedding films and teasers shows what an .srt file looks like and how to keep lines short and readable.

What music can you use in a wedding reel?

Music needs more thought for a teaser than for a film only the couple will see, because a teaser is posted publicly. A few points to keep in mind:

• A licence for a wedding film doesn’t automatically cover posting on social platforms. Read what your licence allows for online and social use.
• Platforms check uploads for music and may mute, block or restrict a video that uses a track without the right permissions.
• Some apps let you add a track from their own library when you post. What’s available can depend on your account type and country.
• A recording of the band or DJ on the day still uses other people’s songs, so the same questions apply.

Rules vary by country and by platform, and they change. If you’re unsure, check with the relevant rights body, such as PRS for Music in the UK, or ask a lawyer. Music for wedding films covers licensed tracks and using the band on the day in more depth.

How soon should you share a wedding teaser?

Aim to send it within a few days. The days after a wedding are when the couple and their guests are still talking about it, and a teaser gives them something to watch and share while the day is fresh. It also shows your work to the people paying most attention to that wedding.

Speed only helps if the teaser is right. Back up the cards before you do anything else, cut the teaser, review it on a phone, and send it privately to the couple before anyone else sees it. Ask before posting it publicly, credit suppliers with care, and then keep the full film on the schedule you promised. Sending a teaser days after the wedding sets out that workflow step by step, and From camera card to backup covers the backup routine.

What export settings suit a vertical teaser?

Export at 1080×1920, which is 9:16 at full HD resolution. Every short-form app compresses what you upload, so a clean master at this size gives the app the best file to start from. A few settings to check:

• Frame size. 1080×1920, vertical.
• Frame rate. The same as the rest of your edit.
• File type. An H.264 video in an MP4 file is accepted almost everywhere.
• Sound. Keep speech clear above the music, and check the mix on a phone speaker as well as on headphones.

Before you post, watch the export on your own phone, full screen, once with the sound off and once with it on. Check that no face or caption sits under the app’s buttons, that the names are spelled correctly and that the last shot leads cleanly back into the first if the app replays it.

How AfterRushes makes a wedding teaser reel

AfterRushes makes a vertical teaser from the same camera cards as the highlight film, on your own computer. The AI writes a 30 or 60 second teaser for Reels, TikTok and Shorts alongside a highlight film of 3, 5 or 8 minutes, in a cinematic, documentary or upbeat style, with each shot of the teaser framed around faces. Cuts land on the beat, shots skip blurred and shaky seconds, and footage shot at 50 or 60 fps plays as slow motion. The soundtrack is the band or DJ recorded on the day when the recording is clean enough, or your own licensed track.