About this vendor
Smiling Toad Productions is a wedding videography service based in Chicago, IL. We want to hear about the parts of your wedding day that are most meaningful to you. Our goal is to tell the story of your wedding with the same attention to detail that you put into planning it.
The Smiling Toad Productions team will be ready to anticipate all the action and capture those special highlights. We’re in the background throughout your wedding day to capture all the spontaneous interactions that happen on this rare occasion that everyone you love is together.
*We also offer live streaming!
Dedicated, multi-camera, live-stream packages let you share the moments of your wedding with friends and family who are unable to attend the event in person. We provide our own data packages so you’re not dependent on your venue’s wifi. Our production team presents the same high-level recording for your guests to view your wedding in real-time no matter where they’re located!
We take our collective knowledge from every wedding we have filmed and bring it to you. After the whirlwind of your wedding day is over, your final video will have captured all the special moments. Share your video with the people who shared the day with you.
Contact us for a quote request today and mention you saw us on the Knot!
Details
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
Photo & Video
- Digital Files
- Drone
- Online Proofing
- Photo
- Same-Day Edits
- Second Shooter Available
Photo & Video Styles
- Artistic
- Classic
- Documentary
- Dramatic
- Lifestyle
- Modern
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Wedding
- After Party
Awards and Affiliations
7-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2025.2024.2023.+4 more.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Hall of Fame
Earned by winning 'Best of Weddings' four or more times.
Popular with couples like you
Check out our featured vendors.
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.088 reviews
John and his team were fantastic! I can't recommend them enough. They were so kind to work with and our videos are amazing. We love watching them back to relive each moment and wil...
l treasure them forever!
Smiling Toad Productions gave us back the most beautiful films! John and his team were very professional, flexible and patient during our wedding planning and on our special day. T...
he films are amazing quality and the storytelling they incorporated was better than we could have imagined! The technology they use to deliver the films was easy to use and great for sharing/viewing! Bonus: it came back earlier than we expected too!
YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED SMILING TOAD!
Everyone gets a photographer but honestly wedding videos capture the night on entirely different level. Having professional videos from my wed...
ding helped capture the moment with all the live emotions, vibes, and reactions. It is definitely a must if you want to remember your big day vividly for years to come! All of my family and wedding party watched the videos Smiling Toad created and we found ourselves crying and laughing all over again. It truly is so special.
Smiling Toad was a great vendor for our wedding! John, the owner, is very responsive and great at communicating. On our wedding we had two videographers, Kevin and Sandra, and they were wonderful. They were super professional, detail oriented, and worked perfectly with our photographer and planner’s team. The videos came out SO GOOD and I am seeing so many silly and lovely moments that they caught on video that I had not noticed. I’m so glad we hired Smiling Toad to capture our wedding, we could not recommend them more!
Smiling toad is an amazing vendor. They were very responsive, very professional, delivered a fantastic result and immediately corrected a few suggestions or requests we made after ...
the final video was done. Their videographers were almost invisible during the wedding, which made the entire experience amazing because the guests never knew when they were being filmed. I loved the experience, I was amazed by the final result. Very easy to work with and very good service. My only comment, which is something that I believe it is common in the industry, is that I would have liked to meet the videographers before the wedding, even if via zoom, to have a more personal experience, but that didn't impact at all the final result. Would definitely recommend!
We had a fantastic experience working with John and his team for our wedding in May 2023. We've rewatched the videos they created over and over. Everything went by so quickly on th...
e actual day of our wedding, it was great to be able to watch the footage and relive some of the moments more fully. We even feel like we got to experience parts of our wedding we weren't physically present for through their lense. They did an amazing job of capturing all the best parts of our day! We recommend them to anyone we know who are getting married and are on the fence about whether or not to hire videographers.
Smiling Toad was recommended to us by two different couples and we are so happy we went with their recommendation! From the first call with John we knew we were in great hands. The...
day of the wedding, they were on time and were seamless to work with. Then when we got the final videos, we were in love with how the team captured the special moments throughout our day! I would highly recommend them!
Wow, what a great experience it was working with Smiling Toad! They were always responsive and created some truly amazing wedding videos that we will cherish forever. We worked wit...
h them after seeing what an amazing job they did for my sister's wedding and they impressed us yet again!
We were very happy with our experience working with John and the whole team at Smiling Toad! They listened to our requests and were very attentive and detail oriented to capture ex...
actly what we wanted, while also providing valuable advice and guidance. We loved the final product, and they even accommodated some last-minute requests for some changes!
Smiling Toad did an amazing job capturing our wedding! They were very easy to communicate and work with throughout the entire process
I was the groom and the only review I’m writing for my wedding was for John and his Smiling Toad Videography team! They went above and beyond to create a special day for my wife an...
d I. While on site, John and his team were incredibly professional and were almost invisible while capturing all the precious moments on camera. The editing work was phenomenal as well, the different offerings of video length were perfect, from being able to rewatch the whole ceremony to the smaller highlight videos we could share with family and friends and post on socials. Absolutely recommend Smiling Toad Productions!
John and his Smiling Toad Videography team are EXCEPTIONAL!!!! John was incredibly professional and responsive throughout the entire process. On our wedding day, the team was kind,...
helpful and blended seamlessly into our day! They went above and beyond and are extremely talented. The videos are absolutely BEAUTIFUL and bring back our laughs, tears and emotions from our day. Smiling Toad was OUR FAVORITE VENDOR and I 10/10 recommend Smiling Toad Productions!!!
John and his team were amazing! They captured all the important moments from our wedding and the cinematic style was beautiful. We got the package with video, trailer, and teaser, ...
and we received all three a bit over a month after our wedding. Great work and very prompt timing! We would highly recommend as a videographer.
Smiling Toad Productions is a master of cinematic storytelling. From start to finish, they capture every emotional moment with creativity and precision. The team's professionalism ...
and attention to detail ensure a seamless experience, while their personalized approach results in a wedding film that feels uniquely yours. Their ability to turn fleeting moments into lasting memories is unmatched. If you’re looking for a videographer who combines technical excellence with heartfelt storytelling, Smiling Toad Productions is the perfect choice. Their work is nothing short of magical.
We couldn’t have been happier with Smiling Toad and their team! They captured every important moment of our wedding day, from the ceremony to the wild dance floor. The video is abs...
olutely stunning, and we’ve watched it countless times. The quality of the footage is exceptional (we opted for the 4K video), and the editing is fantastic. We loved the creative touches they added to the final products, especially the recap video. John and his team at Smiling Toad did an amazing job and we highly recommend them to anyone looking for a talented and professional wedding videographer!
Everything about Smiling Toad was an absolutely wonderful experience. Smiling Toad was fantastic with communication and their professionalism. For example, my photographer was ou...
tstanding, but a bit intense. My two videographers from Smiling Toad were exactly what I needed, calm and always with a smile. They were able to work with my photographer and get the shots they needed.
Their professionalism is outstanding, but their videos....absolutely AMAZING! Among my family members, okay the women, there was not a dry eye. Friends and family were sharing my video for their family and friends to see they were so impressed, and that was just the 6 minute trailer! Wait until you get to watch how they put together your wedding day in the hour long video!
I promise, no need to look any further, you found your videographer that will capture your wedding in the most beautiful and romantic way possible. I would recommend them to family and friends. And I would hire them again in a heartbeat.
Smiling Toad productions beautifully captured my husband’s and my wedding day, starting with getting ready at a hotel, to First Looks, the ceremony, cocktail hour, and the receptio...
n/speeches/dancing. We added on drone footage which got awesome footage of the town, church, cocktail hour, and even golf shots that my husband and I hit - that part was so cool! There was also a beautiful aerial shot highlighting my dress and train. They didn’t get in the way of the day or dancing. They followed my preferences in the questionnaire and were great to work with. Thank you!
I was on the fence about hiring a videographer for our wedding since we were running tight on our budget and felt that pictures would have been good enough. I had set up a call wit...
h Smiling Toad and a few other companies I saw online, but after meeting with John I knew Smiling Toad would be the perfect fit for us and cancelled my other calls and booked with them. Now we are a little over a month out from our wedding and got our videos back, let me tell you, WORTH every penny! When I met with John, he understood my vision and what I wanted and most importantly did NOT want for our wedding. The way our videographers captured our day was so perfect and I will forever be grateful for having this keepsake. I really feel like they were able to capture the feelings, our personal style, and emotions of the day so beautifully, without it being cheesy. I would recommend them to ANYONE. Seriously, as someone who fought the idea of a wedding videography throughout the process, it is one of my favorite things that we invested in.
They were so professional and great to work with. They made the day feel easy and seamless and caught the most amazing moments. The final products were beautiful!
Smiling Toad was the perfect videographer for our wedding! They were extremely professional and fun to work with! They put together the most amazing videos and it was so fun to wat...
ch everything. We would definitely hire them again!
Smiling Toad was amazing, and we are so happy we hired them for our wedding! They were so nice and professional and truly made the filming process feel easy and non stressful throu...
ghout the day. They also caught all of the important moments and put together the most amazing videos!
The entire Smiling Toad team was warm, friendly and very professional. We were so pleased with the final videos and thoroughly enjoyed working with John leading up to, during our b...
ig day and for post-production!
John and his assistant did an amazing job at our wedding! They were calm and laid back to let us just enjoy the day while they caught everything for us to remember on video. The ed...
its are done so nicely and we will treasure the videos forever. One of the few videographers we could find who will also give an extended (1 hour +) video with chapters so we have the whole day well documented. In addition to our 1 minute and 12 minute video which we can show family and friends. Highly recommend!
We used Smiling Toad Productions for our June 2022 wedding and are thrilled with our results. John, the owner, was kind and responsive. Our two videographers the day of were so eas...
y to work with and made us feel so comfortable. They asked in advance if we preferred for them to be more active and call the shots, or be more passive and capture what was happening from the background. We opted for more passive, and they did that perfectly. I hardly even noticed them, but watching our videos back, they captured every detail perfectly. I wasn’t 100% we were even going to hire a videographer, but I am SO glad we did. It is worth every penny. Video gives you so much more emotion than a photo can and really lets you relive those moments, big and small. I looked at a lot of options, and I really felt Smiling Toad was the best value, and after seeing our videos, I’m confident we made the right choice.
Smiling Toad Productions was amazing to work with. They did a phenomenal job capturing pivotal moments throughout, and created a beautiful story of our wedding day. They also manag...
ed to film moments that I would've never seen or thought of capturing if I didn't get a videographer! We've rewatched the video and footage many times since, and have received SO many compliments from friends and family. There's so many videographers in Chicago, but we're so glad we chose the Smiling Toad Productions team. Highly recommend booking them for your wedding!
We can't thank Smiling Toad enough for capturing all of the special moments of our wedding day. From getting ready to the ceremony through the reception, they got some of my favori...
te moments on camera. We've been watching our films repeatedly since we've received them and truly cannot thank the team enough!
My husband and I can't thank Smiling Toad Productions enough for putting together an absolutely stunning video of our special day! We've watched it so many times since we got it b...
ack. They were really easy to work with and did a great job blending in on the wedding day so you barely noticed them but then captured everything so perfectly! We love how they weaved our pastor's message into the film and loved the song choices. Our friends and family are also blown away with the videography. This will be something we will cherish for the rest of our lives and share with our children. We are so glad we chose to work with Smiling Toad Productions!!
We really enjoyed working with Smiling Toad to document our wedding day. They made the process really simple and the results were amazing! The planning process was straightforward,...
they are very communicative and responsive, and take the time to understand what you're looking for. On our wedding day, the two videographers who worked with us were super professional and blended right in. My photographer commented on how nice they were to work with as well. Really nice people who are clearly talented and captured moments that really spoke to the joy of our day. What they captured was beautifully edited into something we will treasure for many years to come. I highly recommend Smiling Toad Productions.
Smiling Toad did a great job on our wedding videos! They were easy to work with throughout the planning process, and on the wedding day their videographers were punctual and profes...
sional. They turned the videos around quickly after the wedding and everything looked great! We would definitely recommend working with them.
My husband and I used Smiling Toad Productions to film our wedding and I truly am beyond happy with the results!! They captured our day so beautifully and being able to go back and...
watch the videos was such a blast to relive the day. The staff was extremely professional, easy to get along with, and timely. I can't say enough good things! They were a delight to work with and if you are on the fence on whether you should get a videographer for your wedding, DO IT, and use Smiling Toad!
Smiling Toad Productions was so much fun to work with. They captured the day perfectly, and paid close attention to all the details we had. They were great at getting us to warm ...
up in front of the camera, and were very creative with how they captured different moments. We have received so many compliments on our video, and all our friends and family say it's hands down the best they have ever seen. It's hard to pick a videographer since there are so many styles out there. But we are glad we found Smiling Toad Productions. They will not disappoint.
We worked with Smiling Toad for our wedding in October 2021 and couldn't be happier with how everything turned out! John and team were always responsive and flexible when we had to...
reschedule our original wedding date due to COVID. The day of the wedding the videographers were both extremely professional and helpful. We love how our videos came out and are extremely appreciative to be able to look back on our favorite day in such a fantastic way. Highly recommend booking the Smiling Toad team for your wedding!
We loved working with Smiling Toad! Smiling Toad made the process very easy leading up to our event. We provided direction on the type of footage, music, and vibe we wanted for ...
our Trailer and Feature. We felt that they really catered the videos to those preferences and our personality. Would highly recommend working with them!
Smiling Toad was great - we were so happy to have them capture our day! We LOVED our video and they were awesome to work with!
The Smiling Toad Productions was an incredible team to work with! They helped to ease some of my wedding nerves and were so easy going the day of. I highly recommend them! The proc...
ess was very streamlined.
We had an amazing experience working with Smiling Toad!
John is warm and personable, and always responded promptly to all our questions. Their online portal kept us organized thro...
ughout the process, which was especially helpful when fielding emails from so many different vendors, and ensured that no production detail was missed. On wedding day, Kevin and his counterpart were wonderful at providing just enough direction to get the shots they needed while also managing to blend into the background. We are in love with the finished products and were impressed by the delivery platform and how easy it was to access and share the videos. We're so grateful to Smiling Toad for capturing our special day and allowing us the opportunity to relive it over and over again. We'll cherish the trailer and video for the rest of our lives!
I would highly recommend Smiling Toad Productions! John was a pleasure to work with! He provided everything we needed and more! Each time I watch the videos, all of the happy memo...
ries come flooding back. The team did an amazing job! Of all the vendors I worked with, John was by far the easiest! He's just what you need - a reliable, easy to work with, experienced vendor.
We used smiling toad for our September 2020 wedding. Initially we were on the fence about hiring a videographer but am so glad we did! The video captured so many tears, laughs and ...
funny moments that pictures alone can not. John was so supportive throughout the whole process (especially a pandemic wedding!! ) We loved working with his team day of and our end product exceeded all of our expectations. Recommending to all of my friends! Thanks again, John and Smiling Toad team!
We hired Smiling Toad for videography services for our wedding and from the beginning we have had such a good experience working with this vendor! John (the owner) is responsive, p...
rofessional, and really caring towards the clients he serves. His wedding packages are very reasonably priced. John really tries to tailor his videos to what his client's visions are for their special day.
Unfortunately, due to COVID we had to postpone our March 2020 wedding and John was so accommodating to postponing his services and cancelling our contract! He was very understanding and empathetic of our situation. We wish every wedding vendor was this easy to work with! We plan to use John and his company for our future wedding celebration and we highly recommend Smiling Toad to anyone looking for a videography services! You will not be disappointed!
Smiling Toad was the first vendor we booked for our wedding. It was a no-brainer since my sister-in-law used them for her wedding & recommended them to us- Her video was spectacula...
r!
From the very beginning, John stood out with his professionalism, guidance, experience, and friendliness. The Smiling Toad team is incredibly talented and did an exceptional job capturing our memories on the best day of our lives. It was the BEST decision for hiring Smiling Toad as our videographer. They exceeded our expectations in every possible way, and we highly recommend them.
Smiling Toad Productions was absolutely amazing to work with on our wedding. Our videos turned out beautiful, we watch them all the time. In my opinion their pricing is very reason...
able considering the quality and the final product. We got a feature, trailer, short, and instagram video with our package. Additionally, Smiling Toad also throws in the raw footage which not everyone does. We just got the raw footage from our wedding recently and though we love our super fancy finished videos there is something so fun about watching the raw footage and being able to hear what people were talking about and so forth. Chris and Sandy videoed our wedding and they were both fantastic. One really nice thing about Smiling Toad is that all their packages include at least two videographers which is great because that way all the angles are covered. I honestly cannot say enough good things about my experience with Smiling Toad and would highly recommend booking them.
Great videographer! The music and production came together was perfect!!
Best. Videographers. Ever. Smiling Toad did the most amazing job ever for our wedding (Oct 19, 2019). When I saw how beautifully filmed my friend's wedding the year before, I knew ...
I had to have them for our big day. Working with John throughout the whole process was very comforting. He never hesitated to get on the phone to discuss any questions I had, and he made sure that our timelines and the day of flowed smoothly. The videographers themselves were great and professional. When we saw the final product of our video & short trailer film, we were BEYOND ecstatic. It was so beautifully put together and all of our friends and family raved at how perfect it was. I would recommend them to everyone and can confidently say you are in good hands with Smiling Toad Productions.
We used Smiling Toad as our videographer for our wedding on Saturday, August 17, 2019 in Lake Forest. John was pleasure to work with leading up to the big day. He listened closely ...
to what our vision was and what we cared about, and he ensured that his team delivered what we wanted and truly brought our vision to life. John was very patient and helpful thinking through all the details of the big day and ensuring we had an air tight plan and timeline. The team was very responsive throughout the planning process as well as in correspondences after the event. I really appreciate their thoughtful and timely communications and all around professionalism.
The two videographers who captured our day were a great balance of calm and assertive, ensuring they were not getting in the way of the “natural” moments but also giving enough guidance to capture all the best shots. They both brought a positive vibe and they were a joy to work with throughout our day. From starting the day with “getting ready” footage of the wedding party, to capturing the entire ceremony at the church, to the excitement of cocktail hour, to the speeches and dancing at our reception, they did a great job capturing it all.
Our wedding day was truly the best day of our lives. We are so happy to have our wedding video plus all the raw footage. I know my husband and I will enjoy watching this footage for years to come. Thank you, Smiling Toad, for being part of our big day!
I couldn't have asked for a better videographer. John was so kind on the phone and made me feel comfortable with the first conversation. I knew I trusted him and his company right ...
off the bat. On the day of, the videographers were polite and complimented the day without taking away from my ability to enjoy my day. The video turned out AMAZING! I love having both the trailer and short available on my phone. Whenever I'm having a bad day, I pull up the video(s) and it turns my day around. Thank you Smiling Toad for capturing my day so beautifully!
After watching many wedding videos to find out who to use we found Smiling Toad through a friend who had just gotten married. After watching videos on their website we really liked...
how they captured all the special moments in just a few minutes. We were beyond happy with our wedding videos and would recommend them to everyone! The video is our favorite thing to look back on every year and watch. They captured just the right amount of the pre, during, and post wedding events. We couldn't be happier with our choice!
I was hesitant about hiring a videographer for our wedding, but I am so glad we did! John was very attentive to all of my questions and made himself available throughout my decisio...
n making process. He tailored our package to deliver exactly what we wanted, and allowed us to be as involved as we wanted. For example, music is important to my partner and myself so we hand selected our songs. His team is professional and fun. The end result is so special and brings back all the feelings from our wedding day. I am so thankful that our photographer recommended Smiling Toad!
Wary about hiring a videographer, my husband and I talked to many friends and family about if a videographer is worth it. All of those who did not have their wedding on video wishe...
d they did and knowing that, I did not want to have any regrets about our wedding day. We did our research and came across Smiling Toad Productions. We liked how they capture everything we wanted in a wedding video from parts of speeches, and dances, to a cinematic movie. It’s exactly what we wanted. John was very responsive, and the process was very simple to hire him.
We received our video last week and I’m embarrassed to say how many times I’ve watched it. Reliving our day is priceless and I recommend Smiling Toad Productions to anyone looking for a quality wedding video.
My husband and I picked Smiling Toad because we liked their video style and felt it was fun, captured the personality of the couple and wedding, the videos are interesting and neve...
r dragged, etc. We couldn't be happier with our video and I still watch it, 3 years later!! (And especially on anniversaries!) They were AMAZING day-of, total ninjas and even though they were up close and personal during important moments (our vows, the hora etc.) we definitely didn't feel that the cameras were imposing. They worked really well with our photographer too. Could not recommend these guys more and we absolutely treasure our video!!
Our wedding video experience was one of the easiest parts of the wedding process, and the one we are still most happy about (turns out, flowers last a day, but a video lasts a life...
time!). Haha. Our process began with a meeting with John who explained all of the options and gave us personalized recommendations. We chose to do a "same-day edit" (which we highly recommend) so John and his team Kevin, Chris, and Fernando interviewed us before the wedding and prepared some video of my wife and I (including some really cool done videos). The day of the wedding they were inconspicuous, but present. They managed to film the wedding, edit it, and combine it with the footage they previously had so that during the reception, we could show our guests the video--which was a really cool thing and one that our guests still bring up. The team was also very flexible in terms of allowing us to be a part of the process when we wanted, but using their expertise when we didn't know what we were talking about (which was quite often!). Bottom line -- wedding planning is a headache, but Smiling Toad is a vendor that is easy to work with and one that produces a great product and something that we'll have forever.
Highly Recommend!!! They did a beautiful job with our wedding, despite the limitations I gave them. I had a hard time talking my family into doing a video but they were so grateful...
they did one! It was such a keepsake. The staff was professional and courteous, and caught all of the memorable moments.
Contact
Serving the Chicago Area and beyond!
Smiling Toad Productions