Ceremony
2 hoursJust the ceremony itself, with mics on the groom and the officiant.
How many hours you need
Essentials
6 hoursBefore the ceremony, the ceremony and the reception, edited into a 3 to 5 minute highlight film.
Story
8 hoursTwo more hours than Essentials, with a second videographer, drone where it's permitted and pro audio for the ceremony and toasts.
Legacy
10 hoursTwo more hours than Story, with a second videographer and drone, plus your rehearsal dinner toasts. It also includes the full ceremony film and a short social reel of 30 to 60 seconds.
If none of these fit, send me your ceremony time and venue and I'll quote custom coverage.
The day, block by block
I don't usually come to the rehearsal. The rehearsal dinner is different: toast coverage there is an add-on, and it's included in Legacy.
The stills below are from Kendall & Steven's film, which plays in full on my wedding videography page.
Getting ready
If you get ready in separate rooms, one videographer can only be in one of them. Story and Legacy add a second videographer.
First look
If you're doing a first look, your photographer and I both need those few minutes, so I coordinate the timing with them and your planner. In the six-hour example below, it falls in the first block.
The ceremony
Mics go on the groom and the officiant. How I back up ceremony audio, and what changes when a church won't allow mics, is on my page about ceremony-only wedding films.
First dance and toasts
If you want the first dance and toasts in your film, plan them inside your coverage window. In the six-hour example below, that means before 8:00 PM. Story and Legacy put professional audio on the toasts.
The exit
If you want your exit in the film, we plan your window around it. Before we do, check your venue's end time and what it lets guests throw or light. There are two Oxford examples below.
An example six-hour day
Say your ceremony is at 5:00 PM and you've booked Essentials. Six hours could run like this:
- 2:00 PM Coverage starts: getting ready, and your first look if you're doing one.
- 5:00 PM The ceremony, usually 20 to 40 minutes.
- 6:00 PM Your first dance and the toasts, inside the window.
- 8:00 PM Coverage ends. If your exit is later, we can move it into the window or plan a longer one: Story's eight hours, Legacy's ten or custom coverage.
- Afterward Your film is usually ready within two weeks, in a private gallery you can download from and in a custom video book.
More answers on booking, music and footage: questions to ask a wedding videographer.
Sunset and heat
Sunset falls at about these times on the 15th of these months in 2027, per the U.S. Naval Observatory.
April
Oxford 7:29 PM
Jackson 7:30 PM
May
Oxford 7:52 PM
Jackson 7:51 PM
June
Oxford 8:11 PM
Jackson 8:09 PM
September
Oxford 7:06 PM
Jackson 7:08 PM
October
Oxford 6:24 PM
Jackson 6:29 PM
November
Oxford 4:55 PM
Jackson 5:01 PM
In mid-October in Oxford, sunset is about 6:24 PM, so a 5:00 PM ceremony that runs 20 to 40 minutes still ends in daylight. By mid-November it's about 4:55 PM, before a 5:00 PM ceremony even starts.
Daylight saving time starts Sunday, March 14, 2027 and ends Sunday, November 7, 2027. In Oxford, sunset is about 6:00 PM on Saturday, November 6, and about 5:00 PM the next weekend.
NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals put Oxford's July and August highs around 91°F and Jackson's around 92°F. September and October see the fewest rainy days in Oxford.
NOAA data files (CSV): University, MS station (Oxford), Jackson International Airport
Oxford wedding days
What two Oxford venues, a church, the university, the FAA and Visit Oxford publish about timing a wedding day here. Rules checked September 2026.
Home game days
On an Ole Miss home football game day:
- Paris-Yates Chapel doesn't host weddings.
- St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church doesn't allow wedding ceremonies during home games, because of parking. The same goes for home baseball games, so check the Ole Miss event calendar too.
- No drone can fly within 3 nautical miles of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium from 1 hour before to 1 hour after the game, which covers campus and the Square.
- Visit Oxford says to book guest rooms 4 to 6 months ahead for game weekends, and many properties set minimum stays.
Sources: Paris-Yates Chapel weddings page, St. John the Evangelist wedding guidelines (PDF), FAA stadium restrictions, Visit Oxford, where to stay
Paris-Yates Chapel
Weddings are on available Saturdays between 9:00 AM and 9:00 PM, one per Saturday, and all setup, decorations and cleanup have to fit inside that window. The chapel is also unavailable on university holidays. Rehearsals are scheduled the Friday before the wedding.
For petals and the exit: inside the chapel only silk or polyester petals are allowed (and must be cleaned up). Outside, real petals or bird seed may be used, but rice and confetti are not allowed.
Source: Paris-Yates Chapel weddings page
Drone in Oxford
Around the Square and campus, the airspace itself doesn't need FAA authorization. The University of Mississippi still requires an approved UAS Request Form before any drone flight on university property.
I'm FAA Part 107 certified and handle any FAA paperwork myself. For drone work in a restricted location, I generally need at least a week's notice.
Sources: University of Mississippi drone policy, FAA rule for controlled airspace (14 CFR 107.41)
Your venue's cutoffs
Check it before we set your window. Isom Place's FAQ, for example, says all music ends by 10:00 PM under the residential noise ordinance, and glitter and confetti aren't allowed.
LED sparklers are allowed there, but ask the venue before planning traditional ones.
Source: Isom Place venue FAQ
Flying a drone around Jackson
Rules checked September 2026.
Drone across the metro
Downtown Jackson, Fondren, Flowood and Brandon sit in controlled airspace around the Jackson airports, so a drone flight there needs FAA authorization first. Parts of Fondren need an extra request that can't be approved automatically. Much of Madison, Ridgeland and Clinton needs no authorization.
If your venue is downtown, in Fondren, Flowood or Brandon, tell me when you book so I have time to file for that authorization.
Natchez Trace Parkway
The Natchez Trace Parkway Superintendent's Compendium prohibits launching, landing, or operating an unmanned aircraft on Parkway lands and waters unless the Superintendent approves it in writing.