Meet Amber Grider | Cinematographer & Wedding Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amber Grider and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amber, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
Our success as wedding videographers has been built on three core habits: effective partnership, structured workflow, and exceptional client care.

We’ve developed a powerful dynamic between us that maximizes our individual strengths. I (Amber) am more free-flowing, heavily invested in the love story, a good work horse (with direction), and am passionate about the creative process. Brian (my husband and work partner) is very cerebral and has incredible management and cataloging skills. He keeps us on track, on task, and is our tech/quality control center. We remind each other of things we might be missing or need to keep in mind because of our unique perspectives on creation, tech, and life in general. Because we’re so different (and complementary) it’s made our workflow seamless, from consultation to delivery.

Developing habits directly related to streamlining workflow has cut down on the length of our post-production and has allowed us to have more creative freedom to experiment, which has helped us to establish a clearly defined style and brand. Editing is the most creative and time-consuming part of our work and we’ve realized avoiding procrastination is key. Reducing context-switching between tasks, narrowing focus, and organizing our schedules in a way that keeps us on track has really helped us to do a better job while still loving the work we do.

We’ve also made exceptional client care a daily priority. We are consistently thorough in our communication, maintaining a hands-on approach throughout the process, and ensuring every interaction adds to a premium experience for our clients. We’ve found that when we make these habits non-negotiable, the quality of our work and client satisfaction naturally follow.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As wedding videographers and storytellers, we pour our hearts into crafting cinematic films that capture the most precious moments of a couple’s journey into marriage. We started our business with a simple yet powerful mission: to give married couples the gift of having their wedding memories preserved in the highest quality, allowing them to relive their special day for years to come. As a married couple ourselves, this wasn’t just about starting a business – it was about creating something meaningful together, where we could grow both professionally and personally while helping other couples treasure their own love stories.

Our journey began after we were married in 2013 and received (and loved) our own wedding video. We were stricken with the idea that if we combined our talents and personality strengths, we could create something of our own – a business where we could spend more time together, create art professionally, and support ourselves and our future family. At that time, wedding videography was less common than it is today, and we realized we could help people by giving them the same gift we were given from our wedding videographer.

With our creative backgrounds, starting a wedding videography business felt like a natural step. Taking the leap was our biggest risk – we entered a world with many unknowns and a steep learning curve. Through persistence and continuous refinement of our craft, we developed from newcomers into seasoned professionals.

Something that sets us apart is our unique perspective as a married couple serving other couples. We approach each wedding by asking ourselves what we would want in our own wedding film. This mindset drives us to be the kind of team we’d want capturing our own special day: warm, communicative, and technically skilled, delivering not just beautiful footage but authentic storytelling that truly captures each couple’s unique journey.

Over the years, one of our most valuable lessons has been about professional relationships. Every wedding brings us new collaborators – from photographers to planners to venue staff – and we need to work seamlessly with them from the moment we arrive. Through experience, we’ve grown in our ability to adapt quickly and work as part of a team in high-pressure environments. Maintaining a positive, easy-going attitude has not only made us better partners to other vendors but has ultimately helped us provide the best possible experience for our couples.

At our core, we’re inspired by love, poignant cinema, songs, books, and our own love story and history. We’re inspired by our future selves, for the people who worked hard and got to do what they enjoyed in life. A wedding day stands as one of life’s most precious milestones, and we’re profoundly grateful that couples trust us to preserve their memories. Being able to build a successful business doing what we love, working together as husband and wife, and continuously growing in our craft is something we cherish every day. For most people, their wedding is one of the most important days of their lives – and we’re honored to be an intimate part of that. It’s more than just a business to us – it’s about creating something that truly matters.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We really love the natural beauty of Southern California, so definitely the beaches in South OC. We’re also magnetically drawn to Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim Hills, not only for how beautiful it is, but it’s where we recited our own vows and got married in 2013! We love grabbing a bite in San Clemente and walking along the pier. We also can’t say no to a great dinner and board game night at home with friends. Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm are always great with kids, and Six Flags is a blast.

We LOVE doing escape rooms together as a team and highly recommend Cross Roads Escape Games, particularly “The Hex Room”, Hidden Donkey Escape Room, “Irvine School of Wizardry” room, as well as pretty much everything at The Escape Game Irvine! We’ve had so much fun working together and with our friends to solve puzzles and escape. Escape rooms are great for ice-breaking, team-building, and bonding in general and we can’t recommend them enough.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Our Shoutout really goes out to our parents and siblings! They have made it possible for us to work in the field and know that our children are in great hands, well loved and taken care of. Specifically my mom, Tammy and her partner Morris. Just after we had our first daughter in 2018, Tammy was there for us, for nearly every wedding we’ve shot – long, sometimes very challenging days. After our second child was born in 2021, Tammy and Morris have continued to be pillars of support as caregivers for our girls and have been an invaluable asset to our business (and peace of mind).

Website: https://memorymachinefilms.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/memorymachinefilms

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/memorymachinefilms

Other: https://vimeo.com/memorymachinefilms

Image Credits
Bio Pic: Moments by Moriel | momentsbymoriel.com | instagram.com/momentsbymoriel

All other photos: Memory Machine Films | memorymachinefilms.com | instagram.com/memorymachinefilms