--- title: "Must-Include and Avoid Instructions | WeddingEditor" url: https://www.weddingeditor.ai/features/must-include-and-avoid/ last_updated: 2026-10-12 --- # Make sure the must-have moments make the final cut Two optional questions let you tell WeddingEditor what it should not have to guess: the moments that absolutely need to be included, and anything to avoid, use less of, or otherwise know. Write them in your own words, up to 2,000 characters each, before processing starts. [Start your first wedding](https://app.weddingeditor.ai/sign-up?redirect_url=/dashboard) ## How to give must-include and avoid instructions 1. **Upload the whole wedding** A moment can only be included if it is in the footage you uploaded, so add every file from every camera before you write the brief. 2. **Open "Before we start"** Before processing, the intake asks "Are there moments that absolutely need to be included?" and "Anything you want us to avoid, use less of, or otherwise know before we start?" 3. **List the must-haves plainly** One moment per line, as specifically as you can: who, what, and roughly when. "The father of the bride's toast" works better than "the speeches". 4. **Say what to leave out, then start** Add the clips, people or parts of the day to avoid or reduce, then start processing. Your instructions are saved with the project. ## What these instructions do for the edit ### Priorities WeddingEditor should not have to guess Some requests are obvious to you and invisible in the footage: "Please include my grandmother." "Make sure our vows are in the film." "Include more of our wedding party." "Please include the speech from my father." Writing them down turns personal knowledge into editing direction. ### You tell WeddingEditor what matters This is one of WeddingEditor's strongest trust benefits. Instead of hoping an edit lands on the right moments, you state them before it starts, and the AI edit treats them as priorities rather than options. ### Instructions on top of the whole upload WeddingEditor works across the uploaded wedding rather than asking you to pick a small set of clips first. Must-include instructions add the personal layer: the moments that matter for reasons the footage alone cannot explain. ### Avoid covers more than mistakes Use it for the clip where someone was testing the camera, a guest the couple asked you not to feature, an awkward moment in a toast, a part of the venue that looks wrong on camera, or simply "use less dance-floor footage". ### What instructions cannot do WeddingEditor works with what was captured. It cannot create a reaction that was never filmed or reconstruct a ceremony angle that does not exist, and a badly damaged file can still be unusable. Instructions direct the edit; they do not add footage. ### Missed something? Use a revision If a must-have still is not where you wanted it, or something slipped in that should not have, ask for it in one of your up to two revision rounds on the full edit. ## Must-include and avoid at a glance | Item | Detail | |---|---| | Where | The "Before we start" intake | | When | Before processing starts | | Format | Free text, up to 2,000 characters per question | | Required | No; skipped questions are not filled in | | Example must-include | "Grandma dancing with the groom" | | Example avoid | "Do not include the camera-test clip" | | Works on | The footage you uploaded to the project | | Changes later | Through up to two revision rounds on the full edit | ## Questions about must-include and avoid instructions ### How do I make sure a moment is included? Name it in the must-include question, specifically enough to identify: who, what and roughly when. The moment has to be in your uploaded footage. See [Can I make sure certain moments are included?](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/faq/can-i-make-sure-certain-moments-are-included/). ### Can I ask WeddingEditor to leave something out? Yes. The avoid question takes moments, people, clips or whole sections to leave out or reduce. See [Can I ask WeddingEditor to leave things out?](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/faq/can-i-ask-weddingeditor-to-leave-things-out/). ### How detailed should I be? Detailed enough that a stranger could find the moment: "the first look by the lake" or "the best man's story about the road trip". You have up to 2,000 characters per question, but a few clear lines usually do the job. ### What if I leave both questions blank? Nothing is assumed for them. WeddingEditor still edits the whole wedding using your other answers and its own judgment of what matters. ### Is there a separate place for speeches? Yes. "Are there particular speeches or voices you want us to prioritize?" is its own question, so you can name the toast that matters and keep the must-include list for moments. ### Can I change the instructions after I pay? They are saved with the project when you pay or spend a credit. After delivery, changes go through your revision rounds. ## Works with the rest of WeddingEditor - [Important people](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/features/important-people/): Name the family and friends who must appear - [Edit preferences](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/features/edit-preferences/): The whole brief, question by question - [Revisions and delivery](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/features/revisions-and-delivery/): Changes after the first edit ## Name the moments your couple will look for Upload the wedding, write down what must be in it and what should not, and start your edit. [Start your first wedding](https://app.weddingeditor.ai/sign-up?redirect_url=/dashboard)