A couple hired a professional content creator for their wedding - and spent £750 to ensure they had the perfect candid videos to post on Instagram.<br /><br />Rachel Winchester, 26, and her now-husband Richard, 36, wanted to make sure they had stunning memories of their big day.<br /><br />After spending a year and over £40k planning the wedding they wanted to ensure they'd have beautiful videos to share online.<br /><br />They feared they'd miss those "special little moments" during their big day with a photographer alone.<br /><br />So Rachel and Richard splashed out £750 for a professional content creator to ensure they'd have the perfect reels to share on Instagram after the big day.<br /><br />Despite the expense the couple say it was worth every penny - and left them with thousands of Instagram-ready moments to share just 24 hours later.<br /><br />They believe the trend of hiring a content creator, which is rising in popularity in the US, will likely catch on in the UK too.<br /><br />Rachel, a data analyst from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, said: "Some people didn’t understand why we had a content creator but when they saw the result they got it. <br /><br />"When we put so much effort into planning the day, we didn’t want to miss out.<br /><br />"We weren’t the first but probably one of the first in the UK - it was the first wedding we’ve been to where there was a content creator.<br /><br />"We don’t have a big following on social media but we love our social media and being able to share them with friends and family.<br /><br />"Hiring a content creator was one of the best things we did."<br /><br />Rachel and Richard met five years ago and got engaged in June 2022 and booked a stunning 15th century venue in the Cotswolds for May 28, 2023.<br /><br />They spent over £40k planning everything to a tee - including paying over £3,000 for a professional photographer.<br /><br />But as the day approached they began to wonder how they'd be able to capture all the behind-the-scenes memories as well as experience the day.<br /><br />Rachel spotted an advert for a wedding content creator on Instagram - Jamie from The Social Wedding.<br /><br />Rachel said: "It gave us the perfect answer to the concerns we had."<br /><br />They selected Jamie's most expensive, comprehensive package costing £749 for the full day - which includes a pre-wedding consultation, eight hours of content, unlimited raw photos and videos and four edited TikToks or Reels.<br /><br />Rachel said: "Even costing the extra £750, we knew we wanted it. After one conversation we went straight in and booked."<br /><br />On their day, while their professional photographer snapped the highlights, Jamie followed the couple around to capture their more intimate moments.<br /><br />These included the family talking, people dancing, cute moments with friends and their nephews playing mini golf.<br /><br />Rachel said: "We got to see all the little interactions we might have missed otherwise."<br /><br />While they had to wait weeks for their professional pictures to come through, they got their bundle of 1,500 photos and videos for their social media within 24 hours.<br /><br />This included a handful of ready-made reels perfect to post on Instagram to their friends to showcase their big day.<br /><br />While Rachel said a content creator could never replace a professional photographer, they worked together "seamlessly".<br /><br />She said: "We made a last minute decision to book a content creator, but we'd recommend it.<br /><br />"The key thing was we didn’t use our phones the whole day and we still didn’t feel like we’d missed anything.<br /><br />"People try and do polaroid and disposable cameras on tables to capture those little moments, but having someone there where that's their role, it was just great.<br /><br />"Having quick things to post on social media the next day too took all the stress away.<br /><br />"£750 for the amount of work put in, if anything, it's not enough - it's a new and emerging thing but there's so much value in it.<br /><br />"The photographer's photos will be treasured forever but having all the behind-the-scenes pictures and videos to go back and watch was invaluable."
