Shangri-La Wedding Films

I can’t express how happy I am with our wedding video!!! Everyone that sees it can’t believe how beautiful it is! Everything is perfect, the song choices, the moments captured, everything! The whole day was so magical, and I am so happy I chose Shangri-​la to capture it.
If you want the absolute best, look no further!!!

I can not truly put into words how amazing Shan at Shangri-​La Wedding Films was. I am the type of person who is very thorough and well researched in everything and anything I do, but even more so when it came to my wedding. When I came across Shangri-​La Videography, I knew that I HAD to have them as my wedding day videographer. The professionalism, communication, quality, and the willingness to work with my now husband and I on the perfect package to fit our needs was over and beyond. I watch my featurette and documentary film all the time, just to relive the day that was so special to my husband and I. If you are on the fence about having a videographer or not, my recommendation would be to PLEASE get one. A picture can only tell so much of story, but the video will capture everything. When I watch them back I feel the same excitement and butterflies as I did on the actual day. My parents who were helping pay for a lot of our wedding, in all honesty were completely on the fence about the videographer since it wasn’t a usual thing for their generation. So my husband and I paid for a lot of it ourselves. After the video came back all my parents ask for is to see it. Shangri-​La has made a true believer out of people who were slightly skeptical of whether or not to add this to the budget. My family is now their biggest fan and would HIGHLY recommend them to everyone and anyone. Make them fit in the budget, because at the end of the day you will have the videos forever and it is something generations from now will cherish. ~Monica

Shan and his team are absolutely amazing! Right from the start, Shan was dependable, punctual, and organized. He is so passionate about what he does and it absolutely showed through in the short film he made for our wedding– I still watch it every day and it still brings tears to my eyes and brings back wonderful memories of the day. Pricing was very reasonable as well. Highly recommend!

Shan was the first videographer that we had met that asked us how my husband and I had met. He was very personable, attentive, and really sought to find out what we were looking for in how we wanted our wedding to be presented and filmed. He has a number of different options for different price ranges as well. We decided to go with him based on our first meeting experience with him as well as previous work we saw on their website. A colleague of mine had commented that their work didn’t look staged or done up. During the actual filming itself, I really liked that I never even really knew they were there; they were respectful of the ceremony itself without being intrusive at the alter and still managed to capture beautiful shots of the ceremony location and the reception. He also involved us in the process, asking us what kind of music we liked so that he could incorporate that into the final edit. Overall, we were very impressed with his service, timing of getting the footage to us (he got our trailer to us within a week and our final edit a little over 2 months), reasonable pricing, and professionalism. I highly recommend having a videographer if your budget allows for it; they do such a great job (particularly this company) of memorializing your special day to remember for the years to come. I’ve had one other bride and groom who wishes they had booked a videographer, so definitely think about getting one, especially Shangri-​La.

Videography for a wedding is often viewed as «optional» rather than «essential.» I am definitely in the camp of «essential.» Everyone knows that hiring a good photographer is — and should be — paramount, but I cannot stress the importance of having your special day videographed.
Pictures are wonderful, but cannot capture your voice cracking when you say your vows. Pictures don’t let you hear the toasts at the reception, or all the other wonderful stuff you didn’t see, or might miss because the day is such a blur. But the most important reason to hire a videographer is simply this:
People don’t live forever.
A beloved family member of mine recently passed away, and thanks to Shangri-​La Wedding Films, he is captured forever, just as I will remember him on that day – hearing his voice, seeing him laugh, and watching him alive and happy.
That is truly priceless.
So I urge you to make room in your wedding budget for a videographer. It makes spending all the other money worth it, I promise.
There are many packages from which to choose, or simply customize what works best for you, including music that you personally select. The only reason I’m not giving five stars is that the final product took a bit longer, and we had to «nudge» them a bit. The film itself will be cherished for years to come.
Shangri-​La truly did a remarkable job with the time capsule of the best day of my life,
Highly recommended!

We had our wedding Memorial Day weekend, and I have to say that Shan and Matt are seriously talented at what they do as cinematographers. They tell a beautiful story and display great passion for their work. When I first started wedding planning I scoffed at the idea of filming the occasion. I thought it would be adding «bells and whistles» to my wedding, but as I reflect back on it– the film and photos are my biggest gain from all my wedding planning. My food didn’t last, my dresses are tucked away in my closet, and my flowers are no more— BUT, I have the perfect memory of my wedding thanks to Shan and Matt. If you are on the fence with adding film to your wedding, carve out your budget elsewhere and spend the money on this, because I promise you that you will not regret it.
We chose the ORSON WELLES package (trailer + feature film + documentary + raw) and would recommend it if you had a large wedding with lots of dynamic parts. It was great looking back at the documentary footage to see who was there, what was happening etc. We had over 450 guests so it was hard to remember all the different interactions. I would say try to get at least the trailer + feature film + documentary.
You can tell that Shan and Matt really love what they do just by their work ethic. Morning of the wedding, they showed up to take pre-​wedding shots, even though it wasn’t a part of the itinerary. I wanted to keep within the 12 hours I was paying them, but you could tell they cared more about the story they could tell instead of how many hours they were logging. My bridal party and family members were late throughout the day for our group photos, but they kept focused and professional throughout.
We are so grateful to have caught them early in their careers since it is obvious that they will go very, very far. My mom has already asked me numerous times to make sure they are willing to capture my sister’s wedding in the future (despite the fact she is not engaged). Just goes to show that they definitely leave a great impression. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a high quality film of their big day, and better yet great cinematographers that tell a beautiful story.
Thanks a million, Shan + Matt!

Shangri-​La Wedding Films was one of the best investments from our wedding. If it wasn’t for a hiccup, I would give them 5 stars.
About a month before our wedding, I learned that Shan was not going to be available to shoot our wedding. Having already signed a contract, that did not sit well with us. Brides know how stressful it can be and the last thing you want is to have to find another vendor. We worked it out and on the day of, Matt and Burt (Shan’s fill-​in) were friendly and professional.
Shan was extremely patient and accomodating with the editing. We are so pleased with the end product.
I encourage you to view some of their work and you will see how talented they are. I would also like to note that they are on the more affordable end. =)

I cannot recommend these guys enough: they are professional, reasonable, understanding, reliable, responsive and possess impeccable creativity. Of all the elements that go into a wedding, picking this group as our wedding video team had been one of the best decisions we have made for our day. My then-​finance, now husband had endless discussions (some of which were very emotional ones) on whether we should hire videographers. Looking back, not only would we have missed out so much not having videographers — but the work of our wedding and all the memories would not have gone down history the way that it did had we not discovered Shangri-​La Films. I call it a big fortune and one of our sweetest combined luck to have stumbled upon this team together.
If I can give them 10 stars, I would have given them 11. It did not take them long to deliver the output — they were always communicative with us throughout the process. When the result came (edited wedding videos and trailer), I realize that there was absolutely nothing I should have worried about. They have went above and beyond what we had hoped to receive. Their artistic style is modern yet «classy» (as I requested for it to look «classic») — our wedding video has a contemporary kind of feel and vibe to it while looking more like «movies» or «films» rather than just the day captures.
If you stumble upon these guys and are deciding on whether to hire them as your videographers of that day, make the decision and you will never regret it. I feel so grateful and so blessed for their work (and their humbleness) that I even considered asking to be a marketing manager for them to help their name reach a wide audience and the nationwide industry out there. I would love for them to go beyond Chicago as they are proof of the saying «Chicago got Talent» haha. If you decide on them, you will get more than videographers: they will be your movie makers /​filmmakers and they will be the very people that will help produce a memory of your day in the most beautiful way possible. Good luck on the wedding planning and don’t take for granted this luck of stumbling upon Shangri-​La Wedding Films!

Shan & Matt are artists and professionals. Their appreciation for film and talent is so evident in their work and I’m so happy they filmed my wedding. They took feedback like how we love Mad Men and Italian film and guided us on the wedding day to capture footage that had those aesthetics in mind. They thoughtfully put together a time-​elapsed view of Chicago’s skyline from our venue and seamlessly used it in our wedding trailer. They picked up on details that I wasn’t able to catch as the bride and it lets you relive all the details of the day that flies by.
Regarding what you get for your money, if you look at their portfolio you can see they don’t have a formulaic approach. I saw that with so many other vendors I got pricing from and they aren’t even comparable quality wise. They can hold their own against other wedding film companies in the area that charge five times as much as they do. That is no exaggeration, I saw the pricing sheets for some of the other vendors rated «elite» by local wedding magazines and I think this team’s work is better.
At the end of the day, what remains is the photography and the videography. The video lets you see the range of emotions that even photography can’t fully capture. These guys make videos your family and friends actually want to watch. We describe our trailer like a romantic indie music video and it’s perfect for us. Couldn’t be happier that we chose them and would be happy to serve as a reference for their work.
Thank you both again so much!

Shan and Matt were both awesome gentlemen to work with! They definitely exceeded our expectations! My husband and I love our films and are constantly asked «Who did your video… it looks just like a movie?» by all who’ve seen them. Shan and Matt created films from our wedding day and also an engagement film which was a HUGE hit! They took what may have seemed like a corny idea of recreating our love story, and made it into what could have easily been a box office smash! They were both very patient and accommodating to a very choosey bride :) Shan definitely went above and beyond in not making us feel as though were just another couple, but ensuring that we were completely satisfied and open to ask any questions along the way. Shan and Matt did exactly as we’d hoped in making sure that even after our special day had gone, we would have one of the most memorable keepsakes to cherish for a lifetime…
Thanks for everything Shan and Matt!