About this vendor
First Day Films was started with one goal in mind: to tell our clients’ stories as elegantly and unobtrusively as possible. Our films capture the events we cover precisely as they happen. Nothing artificial, nothing cheesy. We have all been to events where the video crew are the most noticeable people in the room. The bright lights, the uncomfortable interview requests… Our team of videographers believe that distractions like these put you and your guests on the spot. So we do our best to avoid them entirely.
Most importantly, we're unobtrusive. Our teams are small, and our equipment is small. Our clients tell us time and again that they didn't know we were there. You won't either. Also, we love to get a clip of your day up quickly - we usually post one to our Instagram within a few days of your event so you'll have something to share right away.
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Photo & Video
- Video
Photo & Video Styles
- Documentary
Wedding Activities
- Wedding
Reviews
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5
out of 5.020 reviews
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There is NO ONE better than John and the First Day Films team. We are so happy with our decision to book John. His level of communication and dedication to his craft are unmatched. He was extremely professional and calming during a very crazy wedding day! In addition, we received our video 48 hours later which is unheard of. The video (which we have watched approximately 100 times so far) is just amazing. He captured everything we wanted and discussed beforehand. John and his team are amazing people and will truly make you feel at ease on your wedding day. Run, don't walk to book John and First Day Films!!!!!
We found John and the First Day Films team through friends who used them for their wedding, and boy am I happy that we did! Not everyone prioritizes a videographer for their wedding day, but it was something that I felt was really important and I cannot even express in words how grateful I am for the First Day Films team. John was the biggest pleasure to work with - not only is his work incredible, but on the day of my wedding he kept me calm and excited all day long more than any other vendor. His warm, calm, positive demeanor was hugely appreciated - when I felt we were a bit behind schedule, John was right there reassuring me that we had plenty of time, everything looked perfect and the shots he was getting were beautiful. We loved working with John so much and we received the most incredible sneak peek of our wedding day just a few days later which quite literally had me sobbing with happiness. I feel so grateful to John and his team and we cannot wait to see the rest of the footage which we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Even if you are on the fence about having a videographer, there is no better choice that you can make than including John and the First Day Film team on your wedding day!!
John and his team are a true pleasure to work with. They pay attention to what matters most to you and then deliver videos that really highlight those moments. We are so happy with how everything turned out--our videos are a perfect reflection of our wedding day!
We couldn't be happier with our decision to work with John and First Day Films for capturing our wedding. Not only is John such a pleasure to work with, but we were so incredibly thrilled with the end result we received. John was so helpful and great to work with since the day we hired First Day Films and we hardly even knew they were there on our wedding day, yet they captured all the perfect moments. Thank you thank you!!!
John from first day films is such a dream to work with, he and his team have a delightful energy that only added to the day. And during the ceremony and reception, you hardly noticed that he was there. Reasonably priced, AMAZING quality video, and very quick turn around! We will be enjoying his work of capturing our day for years and years!
We cannot recommend First Day Films enough! John was incredible to work with! From day one and throughout the entire process, he was always responsive, professional, and made us feel so comfortable on our wedding day.
He took the time to discuss the feel we wanted in our video (specific shots, music etc.). We were amazed by everything he was able to capture. He and his team worked incredibly well with our photographer and we honestly didn't even realize they were there (which is a good thing!). John stayed in contact throughout the editing process to make sure our film was exactly what we wanted, and we are absolutely thrilled with the end result -- the teaser, the highlight film, and the formalities. Getting a video of our wedding day was the best decision, and we are so happy we chose to work with First Day Films.
John and his team are extremely talented and make it all worth it to relive the best day of your life!
From the moment I first spoke with John, I knew he was a wonderful vendor that my husband and I would work well with. We viewed several of his beautiful wedding videos and he was such a kind and personal person, that I booked him right on the spot!
He was such a pleasure to work with!
He was precise in what to look for and caught the most beautiful moments from our special day!
First day films work is outstanding and so incredibly talented!
Working with John and First Day Films was a fantastic experience from the start. John was easy to get in touch with and always available to answer questions. He is kind, polite and easy to get along with. He worked very well with other vendors and seemed to get all the material he needed without being overbearing. He was calm, cool and collected all day and we were really happy to have him on our team! The films he produces are just beautiful. We received our short film just days after our wedding and it was such an exciting thing to watch on our honeymoon so soon after our special day! 100% highly recommend first day films!
John and his team are incredible!! He was the easiest vendor to work with throughout the wedding planning process. John was super responsive, professional and fun! My bridesmaids that didn’t get video for their weddings regret not hiring First Day Films, the end result was amazing and no one even realized I had a videographer!! He wasn’t intrusive yet captured the day so beautifully! He’s even worked with me to add more to my video package since it was just that good!! Thank you John!
Our wedding planner recommended First Day Films to use as our videographer to capture our big day and BOY OH BOY did they deliver! John from FDF is absolutely incredible to work with and a stellar videographer! John made us feel so comfortable and worked so efficiently on getting the absolute perfect shots. He is kind, respectful to his clients and other vendors, and carries such a phenomenal energy! FDF also returned our videos in a more than reasonable timeframe! I 110% recommend hiring First Day Films to capture your wedding day, and I would recommend them time and time again in every lifetime! We are so grateful and happy they were there to capture it all!
We can't recommend First Day Films more highly and we couldn't be happier that we chose them to shoot our wedding. We did a ton of research about videographers in the New York area and First Day Films was far and away the best option for a number of reasons:
1. The films - the highlight films are just beautiful, artistic and perfectly capture the day. We were drawn to John's films at first because of the perfect combination of artistic filmmaking, while still keeping sight of the fact that the films should be personal (it is your wedding after all!). We particularly liked how John incorporates real-time sound and speech excerpts into the highlights, which adds richness and emotion to the films. Many other videographers had nice highlight films, but they often had no real-time sound (just a song) which made them feel like more of a distant music video than a highlight film of a wedding. Ours turned out amazing and we couldn't be happier!
In addition, First Day Films provides a fully edited film of the "formalities" of your wedding, including the full ceremony, first dance, speeches, cake cutting and any other special parts of the day. And this is not just an "archival record" of these events. It's fully edited, with thoughtful cuts, reaction shots and great quality sound. We were surprised when speaking with other companies how few offered anything more than the standard 5min highlight film. When they did, it was usually in the form of an "archive" shot of the ceremony (i.e., just one take from a camera on a tripod in the back) or they offered to give us the raw footage in which case we'd have to sift through files to piece together the full set of formalities. For us, we really wanted a fuller record of what happened at the wedding that was actually watchable, and the formalities film was the perfect thing!
2. Value - First Day Films was by far the best value we could find in terms of quality and the films delivered. They were in line with or cheaper than the pricing of other companies we spoke to and, as noted above, offered a lot more in terms of final product. First Day Films also does not nickel and dime. We had a larger than usual number of speeches and a few "extra" formalities (like a birthday cake and song sung by the groom) and these were all included in the formalities film with no extra editing fee or other charge. (I mention this because we had asked another company about providing a film of the wedding speeches and were told there would be a charge of $500 per speech with, on top of that, an extra charge if we wanted the film to include footage of our "reactions" to the speeches!)
3. Service - The service from the start was excellent. John was attentive to all our questions throughout the process and was always available by phone and email to answer any questions (and we had many). He was very patient in helping us pick a song for our highlight film and went above and beyond to make sure we had a product we were happy with.
In short - don't hesitate!
My husband and I used John and his team for our 12/07/18 wedding and could not be happier!!!
For the 2+ years leading up to my wedding, I was certain I did not want a videographer after seeing so many weddings with obstructive, awkward, and super posed videos… but after realizing that the most common wedding regret is not having a video, my husband and I had a change of heart. When our photographer recommended First Day Films, I immediately called up and booked John, and I am so glad we did!
Leading up to the wedding, John met with my husband and I in person and had us answer some questions to get to know us better, which I loved because it completely translates in his work - everything feels truly personalized. The day of the wedding, John and his assistant showed up on time and immediately began filming without us even noticing. Whether we were at the church, taking pictures outside, or celebrating at our reception, John was there every step of the way capturing every moment without disruption. The tagline for First Day Films is “Relax. Enjoy yourself. You won’t know we’re there.” and I cannot express how true this is!! Looking back at my wedding reception, I don’t even remember seeing John except for when I said goodbye at the end – HE’S THAT GOOD.
Within days of our wedding John had already posted an amazing one-minute highlight video to social media, which all our family and friends could not stop raving about! The quality of John’s work is unbelievably natural, clean, simple, and elegant, without any of the obviously cheesy and staged videos you so often see! He has the amazing ability to so clearly capture genuine, special moments without anything seeming fake or rehearsed.
I am so thankful that we hired First Day Films, and that we will always have our video to look back on to relive the best day of our lives!
My husband Brian and i could not have been happier with First Day Films. Working with John and first day films was amazing! John created the best trailer for us and really helped us relive the best day! We are beyond excited to see how amazing our finished product will be!
I am so happy that we chose John to document our special day. He did such an amazing job. He was so easy to work with and I am so impressed with our highlight video he posted just a few days after our wedding! I honestly can't stop watching it and it was so great to be able to share it with friends and family! I highly recommend John and his team, they were very professional and so talented!! I am so happy I decided to do a video so that we can always look back our on special day!
I HIGHLY recommend First Day Films. I was originally not even sure I wanted a video, because I was concerned that it would make me feel self-conscious throughout the day. However, at some point I decided I did want to have one, and I am so glad I found John and his team. They did an amazing job on our video, it is really beautiful and I am so glad that we have such a wonderful way to remember the day. Almost as important as the quality of the video though was how wonderful it was to work with John. He was so nice and helpful answering all of my questions (e.g., he assured me upfront that they are very careful not to be intrusive, you really don't know they are there, you are not on a microphone all day, they are like amazing flies on the wall, and that was all totally true...), and even made a change that I requested (a couple key people were missing originally from my highlight film and he made the change super quickly, taking a film that had already been terrific and elevating it to perfection:-) I am now waiting to get my full package in the mail with the speeches etc... can't wait to watch and re live the day through John's lenses.
I can’t say enough great things about John. We weren’t going to hire a videographer but I didn’t want to regret that so when I decided to look for one I immediately started with getting a reference from our photographer. We had grown super close with her (Sarma and Co.) so we trusted her judgement. The second I saw John’s work I knew why. His style was exactly what we were looking for and after speaking with him I knew he was super talented. He sent us tons of links to get a feel for his style and answered my millions of questions. You can tell his quality of video is so professional, crisp and clear, and emotional. I’ve seen some cheesy wedding videos and you will not get that here. We got happy tears from one of his videos of strangers to us when we were checking out his work!
At the wedding once we got used to being filmed it was easy to forget John and Jimmy the second shooter were there since they were so unobtrusive. John was super helpful in the week leading up to the wedding in planning for rain too. It did rain and we had to work around it. I especially appreciated his attention to detail with our umbrella. After shooting for a short period he thought to cut the thing that holds the umbrella together which I would have never thought of. So smart so it’s not dangling and looking odd.
We haven’t seen the footage yet but I know it will be great. They posted our little 1 minute teaser online and it’s so amazing. We keep rewatching it and can’t wait to receive everything else!
I highly recommend First Day Films!
My absolute favorite vendor from our wedding. John is a pleasure to work with. So professional on our wedding day with an impressive eye for detail. The videos are absolutely beautiful and came in a reasonable amount of time for a June wedding. They didn’t need any edits or changes ... unlike a bunch of our friends who went with other videographers. I recommend 100% without any reservations.
Glad to have found First Day Films -- John and Jimmy are terrific people to work with. They are very easy going, non-intrusive (aside from our first look shoots, we didn't really even notice they were there!) and they really care about producing good quality documentary style film. What set their film samples apart from others that we were looking at was simple and elegant documentary style shooting and attention to the details. The sound picked up in their videos, seemed to be of a better quality. They really make sure all the details, set up, prep are perfect. We also asked them to help with filming a mannequin challenge during the middle of our reception which is largely dependent on the videographers to help -- they were excited to do it and even used some of their new stabilizer equipment -- it was fun for guests and it turned out to be a success! First Day delivered the short "instant" video within 1 week or so and we can't wait for the full video! Highly recommend them!
John and his crew were amazing and very friendly during shooting. They worked very well with our photographer and during the wedding we barely noticed them (which is a good thing!). When we got our short video, we were stunned! Incredible videography! Then we received our DVD...it was perfect! So many memories that First Day Films got on video that we can only be incredibly thankful for the great work. I'd definitely recommend using them for anyone's special day.
I knew I would give First Day Films 5 stars before we received our video, and now that I saw it, I wish we could give them more! John is so kind, fun, easy to work with and extremely talented. So many people told me after the wedding that they didn't even notice that he was filming - there were no bright lights or huge cameras in anyone's face. I couldn't be happier with the experience and finished product, and recommend First Day Films to all!
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Northport, NY | Serving NY Metro Area
First Day Films
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