Director says Your love story has 400 great moments. Your film has room for three. Pick them, and I promise not to cry at the edit. Much.

How We Met Animation for a Wedding: Your Love Story, Drawn and Told

Updated 30 September 2026 · 6 min read · by the Nine crew

A how we met animation tells your love story as a short drawn film: where you met, one funny or tender turning point, and the proposal. Pick three moments, write one or two sentences for each, and keep it between 20 and 90 seconds.

Your idea, ready to go“A 20-second how we met film for Hannah and Chris: two strangers reaching for the last umbrella in a shop, and five years later, a wedding.”

Make this film

Every couple gets asked the same question at least 40 times during wedding season: "So how did you two meet?" A how we met animation answers it once, beautifully, for everyone at the same time. It plays at the reception, opens the wedding website, or goes out with the invitation. And unlike the best man, it sticks to the approved version.

What is a how we met animation?

It is a short drawn film that tells the story of your relationship, from first meeting to engagement. Drawn characters stand in for you two, so you need no photos, no actors and no reenactments in the park where it happened. Most run between 20 and 90 seconds, with a voice telling the story and music underneath.

Animation suits love stories because it can show things a camera cannot: the dorm room from 2014, the coffee shop that closed, the exact moment your heart did a small somersault.

Which moments should go in your love story video?

Three moments is the sweet spot: how you met, the moment it became serious, and the proposal. Each gets one short scene. More than five and the film turns into a slideshow of dates. The best moments have a detail only you two would remember, like the wrong name on a coffee cup.

The meet Where, when, and what went slightly wrong. "She spilled soup on my laptop. I pretended it was fine."
The first date Only if something memorable happened. A flat tire counts. A nice dinner does not.
The turning point The moment you knew. Meeting the parents, a road trip, the night the power went out.
The distance If you did long distance, a drawn plane going back and forth tells it in four seconds.
The pet Adopting a dog together is basically a trial marriage. Include it.
The proposal The payoff. Show the place, the nerves, the yes.

Tip from Director Decide what the film is about in one sentence before you write anything. "Two bad cooks find each other" is a film. "Our relationship from 2016 to now" is a spreadsheet.

How do you write a script for a how we met animation?

Write it the way you would tell it at a dinner party, then cut it in half. One paragraph per moment, two sentences each, in plain spoken words. Read it aloud with a timer. About two to three words per second is a relaxed pace, so a 60-second film holds roughly 130 to 160 words.

Here is an example script for a 60-second film. Say your names are Priya and Jonah:

Example script "In 2017, Priya and Jonah both reached for the last copy of the same book. Neither let go. / They agreed to share it, one chapter each, swapping at a coffee shop every Sunday. / By chapter twelve, nobody was talking about the book anymore. / Four years, two apartments and one very opinionated cat later, Jonah hid a ring inside chapter one. / She said yes before she finished the page. / And now, the next chapter: June 12, 2027."

Notice the shape: a funny meet, a small ritual, a turning point, time passing in one sentence, the proposal, and a closing line that points to the wedding.

How long should a love story animated video be?

It depends on where it plays. For a save the date or a chat message, 20 to 30 seconds. For the reception, 60 to 90 seconds holds a room without losing the people at the back. Over three minutes, even your mother will glance at the cake. Shorter always feels more confident.

Where it plays	Good length	Moments
Save the date or invitation	20 to 30 seconds	1 or 2, then the date
Wedding website	30 to 60 seconds	3
Reception screen	60 to 90 seconds	3 to 5
Rehearsal dinner	Up to 3 minutes	As many as the room allows

Where do you show a how we met video at a wedding?

The most common spots are right before dinner, when everyone is seated, or just before the first dance, as an introduction. It also works at the rehearsal dinner, where the crowd is smaller and more forgiving. Tell the venue in advance and test the screen and sound on the day.

Skip this Playing it during cocktail hour, when people are standing, talking and hunting for crab cakes. Nobody watches a screen while holding a plate and a drink. Wait until they are sitting down.

Who should narrate your love story?

You have three good options. You two can take turns, which is charming and slightly chaotic. A friend or sibling can narrate, which adds warmth and one or two affectionate jabs. Or a warm storyteller voice can read it, which keeps things smooth and saves you from hearing your own voice through a banquet hall speaker.

The best love story films sound like somebody who loves you telling it.

Making your how we met animation in Nine

Step 1
Write three paragraphs. One per moment, in your order. In Nine, each paragraph becomes a scene.
Step 2
Describe you two. Hair, glasses, the famous yellow raincoat. Drawn characters need no photo.
Step 3
Pick the voice. Let Nine voice it, or upload a recording of you telling the story, and the film runs as long as you talk.
Step 4
Watch and adjust. Say "slower on the proposal" or "warmer music" in plain words and get a new version.

The crew makes the film while you watch, with a voice, music and sound effects, and checks it before you see it. It comes in wide for the reception screen, and tall and square for phones. Length decides the plan: a 20-second teaser fits the Film plan at $29 a month, 30 seconds needs Film + Transparent, and a 90-second reception version needs Production at $639 a month. Compare on pricing, or try it first.

For the words themselves, turning a script into an animated video goes deeper. A shorter cut can double as your save the date animation, and if you want the film to invite people too, see animated wedding invitation videos.

Questions people ask

Do we need photos for a how we met animation?

No. A drawn film needs no photographs. You describe the two of you, the places and the moments, and the characters are drawn from that. If you want to include a picture anyway, uploads work on every paid Nine plan, but many couples find the drawn version feels more like a storybook.

What if our love story is not very exciting?

Most are not, and that is fine. Look for small specific details instead of big events: the song you both hated, the terrible first apartment, the joke that started on date two. A small true detail is more charming than a dramatic story, and your guests will recognize you in it.

Should the how we met video be funny or romantic?

Both, ideally. A funny meet and a tender proposal is the classic shape, and it lets the room laugh first and then go quiet. If you are unsure, keep the jokes about yourselves and let the last line be sincere. That last line is the one people remember.

Can we use our love story animation as a save the date?

Yes. Cut it down to 20 or 30 seconds: one moment, the proposal, then the date. Save the full version for the reception, so guests get a teaser first and the whole story on the day. Every film comes in wide, tall and square, so both versions work on phones.

How far in advance should we make our love story video?

Give yourself at least a month before the wedding. Most of the time goes into agreeing on the script and which moments to include, not the making. Finish it early, test it on the venue screen if you can, and then forget about it until the day.

Your idea, ready to go“A 20-second how we met film for Hannah and Chris: two strangers reaching for the last umbrella in a shop, and five years later, a wedding.”

Make this film

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