Friends Film It - has anyone used these?

I haven't used them or heard of them, but reviews on a FB page are a good sign. A company can control who posts reviews on their website and can cherry pick the good ones, but it's impossible to delete unfavourable reviews from Facebook - the only way to hide them is to completely disable the review function. So as long as there are a good number of favourable reviews (only a few might suggest they got their family to write them!) you should be ok.

There is also an option to tell all your guests to film bits with their phones, including boomerangs, fun behind scenes stuff etc. Phone quality is really good now. Then create a folder on a cloud and get all you guests to upload their clips.

You can then pay an editor online to splice all the clips together for you. You can find some great editors on UpWork/ freelancers with prices from only £150.

The small cameras these companies send out are not any better than the quality on phones from the last couple of years.

And by having a wider array of guests filming themselves you will get a more rounded film, whilst keeping the cost down.

We looked at all the options for a videographer and these DIY packages, but they were just too much money; in the end my eldest daughter and her bestie are going to video the day for us.

It's ideal for us as my daughter is my bridesmaid, and this gives her a specific and important role on the day, equal to her sister, who is my MOH. It also gives my daughter's friend a role so that she is not sitting with people she doesn't know for very long, as obviously, my daughter will be on the top table at the reception.

They already have equipment and experience as they are both bloggers and You Tubers, plus the friend has just graduated with a photography and design degree.

Just thinking, is there anyone with a similar background in your family who could do something similar?

If you are looking at the DIY option then 100% go for Shoot It Yourself. We know the team who run it and while it seems pricey, thats what the cost is for a DIY video. Which means anyone charging less might not have really factored in all the costs.

Shoot It Yourself are also insured and have all the important bits in place which most dont actually think about. And given the current situation with weddings being cancelled there are likely to be a lot of companies who will not survive but I can see SIY coming out the other side.

It's sad to think that we now have to consider how robust a company is when selecting our suppliers.