The Heart & Hustle Podcast, Ep. 453: “Breaking the Wedding Videography Mold—How to Craft Unique Wedding Films with Roma Vera Films”

Hosts: Evie McLeod & Lindsey Roman
Guests: Roma & Vera of Roma Vera Films
Date: October 7, 2025

Overview

In this lively episode, Evie and Lindsey welcome Roma and Vera, the husband-and-wife duo behind Roma Vera Films, known for shaking up the wedding videography scene with their artistic, cinematic, and refreshingly non-traditional wedding films. The conversation covers their creative process, journey from Russia to Spain, building a business that attracts their ideal clients, navigating the unpredictable nature of weddings, and maintaining artistic integrity no matter the circumstances.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Roma & Vera’s Origin Story and Transition to Europe

• Background: Roma and Vera started their videography journey in Russia, working their way up to becoming highly regarded in a competitive industry. After moving to Spain due to political unrest, they rebuilt their business from scratch, this time catering to a broader European and American clientele.
• Transition Challenges: Initially, their work and portfolio were Russian-focused, making the leap to international clients a significant hurdle.

  “We didn’t have a lot of portfolio with non Russian speaking people. So we had to find something.” (Roma, 09:01)

2. Artistic Approach & Narrative Structure

• Emotions Over Language: Roma shares a story of filming his first American wedding with imperfect English, relying solely on capturing emotions and body language.

  “I said stick to the emotions. I see they laughing, I follow them, they cry and I do my filming. But what happens? I don't know. Maybe something good, something bad. I will shoot everything.” (Roma, 11:00)

• Unpredictability: Their storytelling is tailored post-wedding; they don’t pre-define the narrative and instead let the wedding atmosphere and emotions guide the structure.

  “It's unpredictable. So we can't say we're going to do this waiting video this way. It's impossible.” (Roma, 13:18)

3. Music Selection & Storytelling Techniques

• Sometimes they discover the perfect song en route to a wedding, and serendipitously it aligns with the couple’s tastes (e.g., a country-inspired song for a country-music loving groom).

  “...one track popped out and we both decided that it's gonna be this for this wedding. And it turned out eventually that the groom loves country music. He's like obsessed with country music.” (Roma, 15:03)

4. Attracting and Working with Ideal Clients

• Defining their "People": Their favorite clients are those who fund their own weddings, don’t take themselves too seriously, and want to have fun.

  “People who pay for this wedding themselves. First of all, it means a lot, for example, in Russia.... Because if, if in Russia, parents will pay for the wedding, you should create video for the parents.” (Vera, 21:53)

• Repel and Attract: They intentionally use language in their social media and website to both attract their ideal clients and gently repel ones seeking more “hoity-toity” or overly traditional videos.

  “...there are no weddings on Netflix. So we are at your service. And this statement works really well.” (Roma, 25:58)
  “We only share...the work that will attract, like, you know, the type of client that we're wanting to attract.” (Evie, 29:20)

5. Maintaining Creativity on Chaotic Wedding Days

• Task Division: They have clear roles—Roma captures the “obvious, basic” events while Vera hunts for hidden, between-the-lines emotions and moments.

  “Vera is in charge of everything that is hidden more like, between lines. ... This is why we don't echo each other. Like, we shoot different things.” (Roma, 36:21)

• Efficiency: Their experience allows them to quickly capture necessary footage, freeing up time for creative shots.
• Anticipation: Experience helps them foresee special moments before they happen, exemplified by a story of capturing a symbolic bird at a wedding:

  “A small bird flew in the ceremony and took place, like, an empty place. And he immediately said, it might be my dad. ... So I forget about every...everything that is basically shooting this bird maybe for 10 minutes.” (Roma, 39:35)

6. Working with Photographers

• Collaboration & Conflict: Roma and Vera describe the sometimes tricky dynamic between photographers and videographers. The latter are often expected to defer to photographers, but Roma Vera’s creative style requires more involvement, sometimes leading to tension.

  “...photographers almost think that they're the leader of their wedding, that this is more important than the videography. But nowadays I think it's not like the true.” (Vera, 45:54)

• Communication is Key: The best results happen when both teams share ideas and respect each other's creative space.

7. Artistic Inspiration—What Inspires Them on a Wedding Day

• People & Spontaneity: True cinematic moments are natural and unforced—catching a bride writing a letter in a sunbeam or funky, stylish guests in Ibiza.

  “Sometimes people inspired us a lot. ... It comes from people. And then we can find something that matches this couple and their personalities.” (Roma, 55:42)

8. Practicalities: Packages and Multi-Day Coverage

• Roma & Vera prefer to cover wedding weekends or multiple days to fully immerse and tell the story, rather than just the wedding day. This allows them to capture candid, context-rich content.

  “...we are thinking of going with just to be booked with multiple days waiting only. ... We can fill the room, fill the group of people, know who they are...and we put it into the movie and it worked out really well.” (Roma, 57:52, 58:22)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Artistic Identity:

  “We are simple people. Lazy.” (Roma, 06:28)

• On Relatability:

  “We send these questionnaires to the couple and we...read them last minute before the wedding.” (Roma, 17:49)
  (Evie & Lindsey: “That’s so relatable!” 18:12)

• On “Repel and Attract” Marketing:

  “There are no weddings on Netflix. So we are at your service.” (Roma, 25:58)

• On Not Following Trends:

  “This is why we never did like slow mo. We never did whoosh stuff… We don't use Super 8 cameras and because everybody does.” (Roma, 41:01)

• On American vs. Russian Creatives:

  “With Americans, it’s opposite. Around, like, you are very nice. You smile, you like, you...go with compliments...and then you push us, and it’s. For us. It was so unexpected. Why?” (Roma, 51:14)

• Hosts’ Reactions:

  “If I were ever lucky enough to work with the best videographers on a wedding day. ... You guys have an idea to put a client behind a bush? I am so there.” (Lindsey, 50:52)
  “We’re just going to be raving about you over here in America to everyone!” (Evie, 59:24)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Roma & Vera Introduction & Origin Story: 04:39–09:59
• Handling Language Barrier & Universal Storytelling: 10:45–11:41
• Creating Narrative & Unpredictability of Filming: 13:18–15:36
• Attracting their Ideal Client (“Repel & Attract”): 21:05–27:03
• Division of Labor on Wedding Day, Experience, and Anticipation: 36:21–41:01
• Photographer-Videographer Dynamics: 44:22–51:08
• Artistic Inspiration on Wedding Day: 53:52–56:46
• Packages & Preference for Multi-Day Weddings: 57:52–59:14

Tone & Atmosphere

• Warm, conversational, often humorous: Constant banter and the recurring joke that “Roma and Vera are the best.”
• Candid and honest: Roma and Vera are refreshingly direct and self-effacing, with a humility that matches their artistry.
• Educational and empowering: Hosts regularly circle back to tangible takeaways for creative entrepreneurs.

Takeaway for Listeners

Roma and Vera exemplify the courage to define your artistic style, strategically market to your ideal clients (even if it feels risky at first!), and uphold creative standards in the face of common industry practices. Their story encourages all wedding creatives to lean into what makes them unique, collaborate generously, and trust that authenticity will ultimately resonate.

End Note:
Roma and Vera left the hosts and listeners both laughing and inspired. Their approach is a masterclass in both artistry and business—plus, they reminded everyone that the best moments (and films) are born from spontaneity, trust, and a lot of heart.