An arras highlight, cut from the Mass you filmed
The arras are thirteen coins, commonly gold or silver in color, that many Mexican Catholic couples have blessed during their wedding Mass and then pass from one pair of hands to the other as a promise to share and look after what they will have together. Padrinos de arras, sponsors chosen by the couple, usually bring the coins in a small box or chest. Because the rite itself is brief, the practical way to get an arras highlight is to upload the ceremony footage as its own WeddingEditor project and name the coins, the blessing and the padrinos as the moments that matter. WeddingEditor's AI editing then makes a Highlight Reel of about 5 minutes or a Social Teaser around them.
The coins change hands quickly and close to the altar. The edit works only from the angles you captured, so agree on your position with the priest before the Mass.
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Last updated October 2026
How to get a highlight built around the arras
- 1
Upload the ceremony that holds the arras
The arras fill only a short stretch of a Mass that runs far longer, so put the whole ceremony into one project, from the processional to the recessional, and let the coins be the moment you point to. Add the files from each camera exactly as they came off the cards, with no renaming, sorting or proxies. If a second shooter covered the padrinos from the other aisle and is signed in to your WeddingEditor team, WeddingEditor can set up a team upload link so their clips land in the same project.
- 2
Point the edit at the coins and the sponsors
WeddingEditor did not stand in that church, so your notes are the map. Write the blessing of the coins and the pour from hand to hand into the moments question, in the order they happened. Describe the padrinos de arras in the people question, with what they wore and where they sat. Anything the priest or the family asked you not to show goes in the avoid question. Each written answer can run to 2,000 characters, and a question you leave blank is simply left open.
- 3
Pay, watch the edit and ask for changes
Choose One Wedding or a plan credit and start processing, which typically takes 24 to 72 hours, with no guaranteed turnaround, before the edit shows up in your project. Stream it in the app, download the 1080p MP4, and if the coin moment came out too short, send notes from the email link in the app. Up to two revision rounds come with the edit.
Moments of the arras to list in the preferences
Copy the ones that apply into the question about moments that must be included, and add a time or a nearby cue if you can.
The coins coming forward
The padrinos de arras, often a married couple, carrying the box or chest down the aisle in the procession or rising from their pew when the priest calls for it. In some weddings a child carries the coins on a small tray or cushion instead.
The blessing
The priest blessing the open box of coins, in many parishes with holy water, while a sponsor holds it steady. It is quiet and close, so a tight angle on the box makes it easy to find.
The pour from hand to hand
The groom letting the thirteen coins fall from his cupped hands into the bride's, with the small sound of metal on metal. Some couples reverse the gesture or hold the coins together, so say which version yours was.
The words that go with the coins
In many ceremonies the couple say a short line about sharing their goods and caring for each other as the coins pass. Name it in the speeches question so the edit keeps the line rather than cutting under it.
The box closing
The coins being gathered back into the box and handed to the bride or to a padrino. It makes a natural close to the rite, and it is easy to lose if nobody mentions it.
Faces in the front pews
The padrinos and both mothers watching the coins change hands. If one parent is a widow or widower who carried the coins in memory of a spouse, say so, because it changes what the moment means.
What happens during the arras, in order
This is the shape the rite commonly takes in a Mexican Catholic wedding. Practice varies by family, region and parish, so confirm the order with the couple and the priest.
1. Before the Mass
The coins are prepared ahead of the day. Many couples use a set given by their padrinos de arras, and some families pass the same coins down from an earlier wedding. They usually sit in a decorative box, chest or pouch, sometimes on a small tray.
2. After the vows and rings
In many ceremonies the arras follow the exchange of vows and rings. The padrinos bring the coins to the altar and the priest blesses them. Some parishes place the arras before the rings, so ask.
3. The coins pass between the couple
The groom commonly pours the coins into the bride's hands as a sign that he will provide for and share with her. Many couples now present it as a mutual promise, and in some ceremonies the bride hands the coins back. The number thirteen is often explained as Christ and the twelve apostles.
4. What usually comes next
In many Mexican weddings the lazo follows soon after, with its own sponsors, and the Mass then continues. The coins go home with the couple as a keepsake, and some keep them for their own children's weddings.
The rite inside a highlight
One project yields one edit, a Highlight Reel of about 5 minutes or a Social Teaser, so the arras sit inside a short film of the ceremony rather than filling it. If the couple want the whole Mass, cut that yourself from your own footage.
The coins' sound, with music in support
The edit uses the audio your cameras captured, including the priest's words and the coins falling, and brings in music alongside it as your audio preference sets. A camera placed close to the altar makes the arras far easier to hear.
Parts of the arras and what to note in the preferences
| Part of the rite | What it looks or sounds like | What to write in the preferences |
|---|---|---|
| Procession | Padrinos de arras walking in with the box, or a child carrying it on a tray | "Padrinos de arras: the groom's aunt and uncle, she in a green dress, he in a grey suit." |
| Presentation | The sponsors standing beside the couple and handing the box to the priest | "Show the hand-off from the padrinos to the priest." |
| Blessing | The priest's words over the open box, sometimes a sprinkle of holy water | "Keep the blessing short but audible." |
| The pour | Coins falling from the groom's hands into the bride's, a light metallic sound | "Must include the pour, close on the hands." |
| The spoken promise | A line or two from the couple about sharing what they have | "Keep the couple's words at the arras in full." |
| Closing the box | Coins gathered back, the box handed to the bride or a sponsor | "End the arras on the box closing, not on the priest." |
What are the arras?
The arras, often called las arras matrimoniales, are the wedding coins blessed and exchanged during many Mexican and other Hispanic Catholic ceremonies, a custom that came to Mexico from Spain. They stand for a promise to share and care for the household's goods. An arras highlight is a short edit of the ceremony that gives the coins, their blessing and their sponsors a clear place, made from the footage you upload.
The arras are not the lazo, the cord or rosary placed around the couple's shoulders, and not the wedding rings. They are also unrelated to the money dance at the reception, where guests pin bills on the couple.
Arras video questions
Can I get a highlight of only the arras?
The rite is usually too short to fill a highlight on its own. Upload the ceremony as one project and list the arras as a must-include moment, and the edit will give the coins their place within a short film of the Mass. A separate project would need its own purchase or plan credit.
Where should I stand to film the coins?
Ask the priest before the day. Many parishes keep camera operators away from the altar during Mass, so a long lens from the side aisle and a second, wider angle from the back are common choices. The pour happens at hand height, so frame for hands rather than faces when the box opens.
Will the sound of the coins be in the edit?
Only if your camera caught it. The edit can use the real sound of the coins and the vows alongside music, so a camera microphone close to the couple matters more for the arras than for almost any other moment of the Mass. Choose More speeches & voices if you want those sounds to lead.
Part of the arras was said in Spanish. How do I point to it?
Write which line matters and what happens just before it, for example "the line the groom says as he opens his hands, right after the priest's blessing". Cues tied to what is visible make the right stretch of audio easy to find whatever language was spoken.
Can I keep communion out of the arras highlight?
Yes. Use the avoid question and say plainly that communion, or any other part of the Mass the family or the parish prefers to keep private, should stay out of the edit.
What does a highlight of the ceremony with the arras cost?
A single wedding edit is $119 one-time for one wedding, and on a monthly plan the project uses one credit. Each full edit comes with up to two revision rounds, requested by email.
More for Mexican weddings
Thirteen coins, a few seconds, kept in the film
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