I paid someone $5,000 for TikTok my wedding
Seconds after Jasmine Parker and her new husband sealed their wedding vows with a kiss in an Atlanta ballroom last month, footage of the lip-lock was shared on her Instagram Story and edited into a stunning short film for TikTok.
The happy couple had paid nearly $5,000 to hire Lauren Ladouceur, a Brooklyn wedding content creator in her twenties. Ladouceur filmed, edited and shared behind-the-scenes moments of the 6 p.m. festivities – from early morning to the last dance.
“[She’s] a professional,” Parker said in a TikTok praising Ladouceur, whom she dubbed her “Type-A sister,” due to her attention to detail. “I was seriously worried about how I was going to capture the content of my wedding.”
In October, Ladouceur covered the wedding of bride Devon Fox Groffi.
Ladouceur, from Brooklyn, is one of many TikTokers who have recently branded themselves wedding content creators amid growing demand for social media coverage at weddings.
Ladouceur captured viral footage of Jasmine and her wedding guests doing the viral “Cuff It” dance challenge to Beyonce’s latest hit of the same name.
It’s no longer enough to hire a traditional photographer and videographer – who typically take weeks to deliver media – to document your big day. Image-conscious couples are now paying thousands of dollars to have a dedicated content creator document their “do’s” and quickly post them to Instagram and TikTok, where the #WeddingContentCreator hashtag has over 12.2 million views.
“Social media has increasingly become an important part of couples’ wedding days,” Katie Brownstein, director of marketing for wedding website Joy, told The Post. “As Millennials and Generation Z marry, we can only expect this trend to continue.”
Part of the fun is watching your wedding content go viral. Ladouceur, who simply relies on an iPhone to film and post, earned Jasmine a staggering 1.1 million TikTok views on a video of her traditional Korean ceremony, known as Paebaek, which took place shortly ahead of his American wedding last month. It also helped her amass 31,000 views on her #BringTheBeatBack challenge post, a trend where brides go from pre-glam seediness to total wedding splendor with Beyoncé’s “Freakum dress” in 2006.
Ladouceur, who works as a full-time digital content creator, officially marketed herself as a savvy wedding saleswoman on social media to her 22,000 TikTok followers last January. She has already done 10 weddings this year, and she has 15 nuptials — local and international — on the registry for 2023.
Online, brides are taking on viral TikTok challenges like the #BringTheBeatBack challenge, which sees them lip-syncing to a Beyonce song during their glamorous wedding day makeover.
Wedding content creators like Ladouceur and Tanner often take over a bride’s Instagram and TikTok accounts on their wedding day to capture, edit and share behind-the-scenes activity on their profiles in real time.
Its cheapest package, which costs $1,795 and is exclusively available to Big Apple brides, includes around 1,000 raw images and videos, plus three edited short clips ready to share on TikTok and Instagram Stories.
For $4,995, she offers brides multiple pre-wedding consultation calls to discuss capturing and sharing content on Capture and Sharing Day, a full day of behind-the-scenes content documentation that she promises to deliver within 24 hours of the event, to at least five edited short videos for social media and an Instagram takeover, during which she posts to the bride’s account.
“I’m not a professional wedding photographer or videographer,” Ladouceur said. “I’m here to capture moments that provide a fuller picture of a bride’s entire day.”
Business is also booming for Sabrina Anne Tanner, a social media specialist from Scottsdale, Arizona. She is asking for a flat rate of $1,200 to cover a national ceremony and $3,000 for international parties, plus the cost of her flights, food and hotels.
She started covering weddings last summer and is booked for ceremonies in Lake Como, Tuscany, Mexico and the Dominican Republic next year. A TikTok post she made about TED Talk speaker Victoria Garrick and former college football quarterback Max Browne getting married in August got 1.3 million TikTok clicks.
“Brides find my page…and know what I can do [their videos] look really good,” said Tanner, who is famous for his unique editing methods, such as a “head-turning transition.”
Despite the popularity of their posts and their regular bookings, Tanner and Ladouceur said they faced criticism questioning the legitimacy of their work and the need for their skills. Some ask why a bridesmaid or friend can’t just post a few TikToks, but Ladouceur notes that you get what you pay for — or don’t pay for.
“People at the wedding or invited as guests have their own motivations for that day,” she said. “A content creator is going to be totally sober, capturing those special moments as a dedicated member of your media team.”
New York Post
