When the bride asks her wedding guests to put their phones away, they tend to listen. Maddie Fairbanks-Batchelder, a 26-year-old investment bank manager from Boston, told her guests she and her husband wanted an “unplugged” ceremony, preferring to leave the photography to the professionals.
However, there was one exception, with their phone in-hand, capturing all the best moments of the ceremony beside the photographer. It wasn’t an arrogant wedding guest who didn’t listen to instructions (there were accusations), but instead, a professional “wedding content creator” hired by the bride and groom.
Unlike a traditional wedding photographer, the content creator focuses on capturing bite-size behind-the-scenes and candid footage at a wedding, delivering hundreds of social-media-ready photos and videos to the couple, sometimes overnight.
“I want to see the personality behind my couples. I want to see the tears and the laughs and the imperfect moments that make a wedding day perfect,” said Caroline Vonachen-Carleton, the 29-year-old founder of Carleton Socials, a content creation company based in Boston.
A dedicated day-of content creator is a relatively new role in the wedding industry, though its introduction to the mainstream and subsequent rise can be attributed to its symbiotic relationship with social media and a seemingly endless stream of extravagant trends and celebrations — not just from celebrities and influencers, but everyday people, too. Vonachen-Carleton said she is on track to produce content for 40 weddings over the span of 2024.
The role of the wedding content creator is somewhat nuanced: They aren’t meant to replace a traditional wedding photographer, if a couple chooses to hire one. Instead, they aim to supplement, capturing organic moments and events as they pass by, instead of following a fixed schedule or shot list. Some even post to the couples’ social media accounts in real time if asked.
Fairbanks-Batchelder explained that a wedding’s content creator and a photographer have different targets. For example, while she and her husband posed for portraits with the photographer, Vonachen-Carleton filmed a 20-second clip of the bride’s father rehearsing his speech behind the church. In other words, these creators capture the content the couple or the wedding party might have taken themselves using their phones.
A quick turnaround time is also part of their appeal. While a full batch of professionally edited photos and video may not arrive for weeks after the wedding, the couple receives hundreds of intimate, curated photos and videos directly to their phones, sometimes within hours. (Carleton Socials sends an organized Dropbox within 24 hours.)
The professionals interviewed for this story encouraged skeptics to think beyond Instagram Stories and TikTok when hearing the word “content.” They explained that most couples request their services to directly share the impromptu pics with family and friends — not an entire newsfeed, and especially not in the hopes of going viral.
“Most of our couples aren’t even on social media, so it’s not about social media content,” said Kaylyn Leighton, the 35-year-old co-founder of Seamless Photography, a wedding photography company in Lowell.
While Leighton has been a wedding photographer for more than a decade, she only recently added wedding content creation to her list of services. As someone who continues to work on both sides, she confirmed that the roles demand very different things from each professional. She explained that while photographers and videographers take time to craft stories, content creators give the couple an unfiltered version of their wedding day.
However, like many professional wedding photographers, some creators incorporate similar ownership clauses into their for-hire contracts, restricting or permitting use of their photography based on its intent. Boston-based photographer Nicole Chan also asks her couples to refrain from using the content for any economic purposes, such as redistribution or advertising purposes.
So much how does this not-quite-a-photographer cost? Most content creators have a fixed starting point and the overall price increases depending on hours worked or the quantity of content produced. Vonachen-Carleton’s pricing starts at $1900 for two hours. The package includes all unedited footage from the event, one highlight video, and the option to use professional cameras rather than a phone camera. Her other packages range from six to 10 hours of coverage with a varying set of deliverables, with the most expensive being a multi-day option that covers all bridal shower, rehearsal day, and wedding day footage at $4000. Similarly, Chan sets her pricing between $2000 and $4000 for a full-day of content creation.
“On the lower-end, it would be just the content creation itself, and then we provide a hard drive or Airdrop of all the footage,” Chan, 37, said. “And on the high-end, it includes additional services, like being able to create [Instagram] Reels for them, or posting [live] by getting access into their account.”
Like Leighton, Chan began as a traditional wedding photographer who offered content creation as an add-on service in recent years. However, Chan still considers professional wedding photography to be her primary job.
“I think that there will always be a space for professional photography and videography,” said Chan. “I think the rise in popularity is really about getting things immediately and being able to share that [content] with everybody that you know, care about, love, or that follow you.”
When hired in the lead-up to the big day, all creators all have their own systems of preparation, ranging from questionnaires to consultation calls to determine their clients’ needs. Chan said her clients’ requests have ranged from going Live on Instagram to creating a full Reel for those unable to attend. They also discuss potential content itself, like what sounds or songs to incorporate, wedding industry trends to highlight, and other logistics.
Leighton refers to content creation as photojournalistic, adding that capturing human connection is essential for content.
“[The process] is very first person — like I will get in on that dance floor and be involved,” Leighton explained. In her experience, Leighton said wedding content creators are treated like friends through sharing the day with the couple, their wedding party, and guests. The effect is somewhat chameleon-like — most creators said they dress to blend in with other guests — permitting the pros to stealthily capture the experience. In a way, it’s like inviting a friend who happens to be exceptionally talented with an iPhone camera, which is especially appealing as couples are increasingly opting for an unplugged ceremony.
Fairbanks-Batchelder has no regrets about hiring a content creator, adding that Vonachen-Carleton was the best vendor she hired for her big day.
“She makes everybody feel so warm on their wedding day,” Fairbanks-Batchelder said. “She was more of a friend to me than a vendor on that day. She delivered everything that she had promised and more.”
Arushi Jacob can be reached at arushi.jacob@globe.com.
