VideoKyoto · Kyoto Prefecture

Wedding film in Kyoto

In short

A wedding film in Kyoto covers 30 minutes, the ceremony and the vows, and becomes a 60–90 second highlight film with licensed music, delivered within 8 weeks. It costs from $2,000; preparation and the reception are added at $150 per extra hour. Venue and bring-in fees are separate.

Starting from: $2,000
Duration: 30 min
Video: 60–90 s highlight film

Why here

Why choose Wedding film in Kyoto?

A Kyoto wedding often moves between two very different rooms: a shrine hall, where the ritual is short, silent and governed by the priests, and a reception at a hotel or ryotei, where the speeches and the parents’ letter carry the emotion. A film has to respect the first and record the second cleanly, and the plan below is built around that difference. The base thirty minutes covers the ceremony; the reception is added with extra hours.

How the shoot is planned

How a session in Kyoto is planned

The route

With extra hours, filming starts with preparation at the hotel, where the dressing of a shiromuku or gown is quiet and unhurried. The base thirty minutes is the ceremony itself. At a shrine, the procession across the precinct is usually open to filming, while inside the hall the shrine decides where a camera may stand, or whether it may enter at all; we confirm this in writing beforehand and use a clip-on microphone where allowed. With more extra hours, there is time between ceremony and reception for portraits along the Kamo River or in the venue’s garden, and at the reception speeches and the letter to parents are recorded on a lapel microphone and, where the venue agrees, from its sound desk.

The timing

Shrine ceremonies are mostly held in the morning or around midday, so the base thirty minutes usually falls then; a full day with extra hours often runs from about 8 am to an early-evening reception. Spring and autumn dates at popular shrines and hotels book a year ahead. In June, have a covered route for the procession. If the reception is at a private venue outside the centre, aerial shots are possible with the owner’s consent and an MLIT approval about ten business days ahead; over the city and shrines they are not.

What’s included

What Wedding film in Kyoto includes

In the package

A 60–90 second highlight film with licensed music
Vows recorded on a separate microphone
Delivered within 8 weeks

Fees and permits on the route

Kiyomizu-dera: About ¥500; opens at 6 am. No tripods; pre-wedding shoots need the temple’s prior approval
Kinkaku-ji: ¥500; 9 am–5 pm. One-way route, no tripods, no stopping on the path for long
Tofuku-ji: Tsutenkyo bridge and Kaisando about ¥1,000 in autumn. Photography is banned on the bridge itself during the November peak; shoot from Gaun-kyo bridge instead

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Inspiration

Wedding film: ideas for your shoot

Frames by photographers on Unsplash, credited below — the mood to plan your own shoot against, not our portfolio.

Photos: Natilyn Hicks Photography, Micah & Sammie Chaffin, Tai's Captures, Jakob Owens, Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

Before you book

FAQ — Wedding film in Kyoto

How much is a wedding videographer in Kyoto?

From $2,000 for 30 minutes and a 60–90 second highlight film; extra hours are $150 each. Hotels and some venues charge a bring-in fee for outside videographers, paid by you to the venue; drone coverage at a private venue is $235 extra.

Can you film inside the shrine during the ceremony?

It depends on the shrine. Some allow one camera at a fixed position, some only their own photographer, some none. We ask on your behalf and plan the film so the procession and the moments outside carry the story either way.

Do you add subtitles for family who do not speak English?

Yes. Speeches can be subtitled in English or Chinese if you send us the text or a translation in advance, including for speeches given in Japanese.

Same shoot elsewhere