Films About Begin Your Story
Our Story

18 Years of
Love Stories

We didn't set out to build a business. We set out to do something that mattered — and found that preserving the most important day of people's lives was exactly that.

How We Got Here

Built on Craft,
Rooted in Care

Awaken Weddings was born from a simple conviction: wedding videography deserved to be taken as seriously as any other form of filmmaking. Too many couples were receiving rushed edits, impersonal service, and footage that barely scratched the surface of what their day actually was.

Over 18 years and more than a thousand weddings later, we haven't forgotten what it feels like to show up to someone's most important day and know that nothing — not the lighting, not the audio, not the timing — can be allowed to fail.

"We film weddings the way we'd want our own filmed — as a story, not a highlight reel."

That belief is why we deliver the raw footage. It's why we offer the Same Day Edit. It's why every couple gets a full edit of their ceremony, not just the edited moments we chose. Your day happened in full. You deserve to have it in full.

18+
Years in Business
1,000+
Weddings Filmed
AL & Beyond
Based in Alabama, Travel Anywhere
100%
Raw Footage Delivered
What We Believe

Our Philosophy

We believe that a wedding film should do more than document. It should transport. When you watch your film ten years from now, you shouldn't just see what happened — you should feel it.

"Every frame we choose is a promise: this moment mattered, and we treated it that way."

That's why we don't just deliver highlights. We give you the quiet moments between the moments. The look before the first kiss. The laugh that happened while everyone else was looking at the cake. The things that made your wedding yours.

The People Behind the Camera

Our Team

The same team behind Awaken Films has been showing up for couples for over 18 years. You'll recognize some of these faces from the altar, and some from behind the lens.

Al Hammond — Owner, Lead Cinematographer
Founder & Owner

Al Hammond

Lead Cinematographer  ·  Lead Editor

Al is the creative force behind Awaken Films and Awaken Weddings. With an extraordinarily detailed and artistic eye, his primary objective in every wedding he films is to craft a story and experience that couples will value for a lifetime.

His ability to connect with people — to put a nervous bride at ease minutes before the ceremony, or to anticipate the moment before it happens — is what sets the tone for every production we do. Al doesn't just film weddings. He honors them.

Josh Frantz

Josh Frantz

Lead Cinematographer

Sharp creative instinct, precise technical execution. Josh finds the angles others miss.

Tyler Martin

Tyler Martin

Lead Cinematographer

A UNA graduate with a background spanning short films, features, and weddings across the Southeast.

Darby Clark

Darby Clark

Lead Cinematographer & Editor

Equal parts shooter and storyteller. Darby brings a refined editorial eye to both capture and post.

Zack Lightfoot

Zack Lightfoot

Lead Cinematographer

Steady, reliable, and always in the right place at the right time — on the ground or in the air.

Our Creative Studio

Part of Awaken Films

Awaken Weddings is a division of Awaken Films — a full-service creative studio offering commercial video, photography, social media strategy, and more. The same team. The same standards. Expanded across every kind of story worth telling.

Visit Awaken Films
Let's Connect

We'd Love to Hear
About Your Day

Every wedding is different. Tell us about yours and we'll find the right approach together.

Begin Your Story