Queer Owned, Neurodivergent Owned
Queer Owned, Neurodivergent Owned
HoneyBear Films
Avoid the staged look at all costs.
At HoneyBear Films we believe your wedding day should be your wedding day, not one long photoshoot. We want you to enjoy the party, not pose. When that happens we’re able to capture genuine moments and emotion, which is the key to what makes our films so cathartic to watch. With us it’ll feel like we’re barely there as we capture the hidden moments of the day. At HoneyBear we believe in diversity, equity and inclusion. We believe all types of relationships are valid. We believe love is not a finite resource.
HoneyBear is run by James, a queer, neurodivergent filmmaker with a love for the vintage, the rebellious, the authentic and colourful nails. Don’t let his bitchy resting face scare you off, it’s not long before it’s betrayed by a high pitched giggle and a cheeky smile. He is highly experienced with over fifteen years in the film industry and a decade in weddings. He draws on his background as a writer to build a unique story in each edit using the vows and speeches. His candid style along with his technical knowledge of cameras and lighting gives his films a beautiful cinematic look without feeling staged.
To quote the vows of a bride of ours “Love belongs to each moment of every day. It is here and now. It is the feeling of bliss when I hear you walking toward me or see your face at the end of a long day. It is the warmth and safety of your embrace. It is the certainty that I am living my best life if it is with you. It is deciding, in every fleeting moment of life, to vote yes.”
Our favourite spots to shoot are the Southern Highlands, Blue Mountains, South Coast of NSW, Hunter Valley and Sydney.
Based in
Sydney, NSW
Works with couples
Australia wide
Average spend
between $2500 – $5000
We believe love is love. We believe this always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We believe gender is a social construct. We believe all bodies are beautiful. We believe love is not a finite resource. We believe all relationship structures are valid. We believe in kindness.
Based in
Sydney, NSW
Works with couples
Australia wide
Average spend
between $2500 – $5000
We believe love is love. We believe this always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We believe gender is a social construct. We believe all bodies are beautiful. We believe love is not a finite resource. We believe all relationship structures are valid. We believe in kindness.
What’s the most important thing to remember when planning a wedding?
To remember why you’re getting married in the first place. So much of planning goes into what the wedding will look like that you can sometimes forget that a wedding is about declaring your love for someone and not a spectacle. The funny thing about that is that the weddings that don’t worry about all that, keep it about love and just have fun are the ones that end up looking the best on camera. Even the best model in the world can’t create a more beautiful look through a pose than a that of a genuine laugh or smile.
How do you help calm down nervous lovers?
Shrinking their world back down to what is in their immediate vicinity. Their breath and their partner. I tell them about the best weddings being the ones where things went wrong. Dancing in the rain looks much better than any perfect pose. I remind them that the spectacle doesn’t matter, it’s all about that person in front of them at the end of the aisle. And then I get them laughing.
Can you share a creative solution you’ve had to come up with for a wedding challenge?
Once a groom realised he didn’t have a pocket square and he was quite upset that his outfit wasn’t coming together. Thankfully the pocket square he was meant to have was white and I just so happened to have a bunch of white lens cloths still in their packets. I ripped one open, got it in his pocket and nobody knew the difference.
