The Best Drone Wedding advice
A drone is simply an unmanned aircraft.
These image capturing aircraft can film and photograph a unique aerial perspective providing you with high quality cinematic footage and photos to treasure forever. Increasingly drones are becoming a ‘must have’ to help capture the unforgettable moments at weddings.
Why Hire a Drone?
Drones can be a fantastic add on when organising your wedding photography and videography. They can be used in a variety of ways including to film key moments of the day. These could include capturing a special moment with the bride and groom or big group friends and family photos from above. Drone filming can also look spectacular because the footage can reveal the grandeur of a wedding venue and its surroundings.
Is it expensive?
In our experience brides and grooms are looking to hire a drone operator that can not only capture the aerials but also deliver an edited video. Prices vary so do get a few quotes but you should typically budget from £300 – £1000 to hire a drone operator and delivery of an edited video.
How would it work and who would control it at the wedding?
The pilot is responsible for the overall safety of the flight – guests must not do anything to compromise that, including distracting them during flight. Accidents aren’t impossible but there some rules that drone operators follow to ensure they are are as safe as possible when flying.
It is worth pointing out that the UK currently has more illegal wedding drone pilots than legal ones. They will not be correctly insured and from our experience have no regard to your guests safety. 99% of illegal wedding drone pilots are fully aware of the law, they just don’t follow it thinking the client will never ask.
Can I control the drone?
Its best to leave drone flying to the professionals – after all learning to fly a drone often takes hundreds of hours of practise. Drones aren’t toys. The controls aren’t something you just pick up and know how to do.
What Poses Would you Recommend?
The key thing when hiring a drone operator is to allow time to capture the events and choose your moments to fly. Ideal moments to capture could be between the ceremony and reception when guests are socialising. The classic drone wedding shot is to position all the guests together with the bride and groom in the centre and let the drone ascend into the sky. The bride, groom and guests will appear in frame and get smaller and smaller as the drone flies away. It’s also worth noting that drones can’t fly in rain or high winds. The pilot will tell you if the weather conditions are unsuitable for flying.
Are Drones Noisy?
Drones, vows and speeches don’t go together because of the noise that they make. Drones aren’t quiet because they have high powered motors which turn the propellers to produce the uplift. So it’s best to arrange with your drone pilot and guests that the drone will be grounded during the important bits.
Will the Photography be High Quality?
Your pilot will typically be able to offer a range of cameras to suit your budget. When you can pick a camera, the choice will depend on budget, how much material you plan to film, and how good you want it to look. Wedding drone operators are using everything from GoPros to DSLR camera’s but also drones that come with built-in 4K cameras.
Will I need to get Permission from my Venue to have a Drone?
Your pilot will need permission from the land owner / venue before flying. Arranging a drone at a wedding requires considerable planning and preparation so give yourself time to discuss the safety considerations with your pilot. That said, the time and effort spent can be well worth it since nothing comes close to capturing spectacular aerial footage and photos on perhaps the biggest day of your life!
What kind of venue would best suit drone photography/videography?
Outdoor venues with lots of space make the best venues for drones but that said there are many drone pilots across the UK who have the skills and experience to fly indoors.
Always hire a professional……...How do I hire a safe and legal drone operator?
Hiring a drone operator comes with a few words of caution. Always make sure your drone operator is a safe and legal operator. By law any drone operator who is flying for commercial gain must have permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and a valid insurance. There are many illegal drone operators who work their drones without CAA permission or insurance which is a criminal offence. Drone Safe Register (DSR) is a searchable national marketed drone hire directory which only lists professional drone operators with CAA permission and insurance. So you can rest assure that by using DSR you are using a legal drone operator.
