Born and raised on a fragile sandbar in North Carolina, our work is crafted to steer wedding films away from the traditional, tired videos that everyone is used to by creating high quality, cinematic wedding films that adhere to and uphold artistic integrity, creativity, and beauty.
Our NEW 360 photo booth
Pricing for our
2026-2027 seasons
Who is Swell Productions?
A few of our favorite films
Hi! I'm Chris.
That's me, my wife Janie and our son Talon. I grew up right here on the Outer Banks, spent most of my early adulthood surfing and planning the next country I was going to visit, and honestly never thought I would be making wedding films full time. Yet here I am 14 years deep and still getting pumped up for every single wedding.
A little more about me:
• The Outer Banks has been my home since I was 4 years old, which explains my lifelong relationship with natural beauty, light and the coast.
• Travel, adventure and the ocean aren’t just hobbies for me—they’re what I've designed my entire life around.
• My creative roots are in surf, travel, and documentary filmmaking—weddings came later.
• In 2019 Janie and I moved onto a sailboat and together have sailed over 10,000 nautical miles.
• We sailed from North Carolina to the Bahamas twice with our toddler (yes—on purpose).
• I'm pretty good at guitar.
• I will drink cold brew even if I'm walking across Antarctica naked in a blizzard.
So, why weddings?
Wedding filmmaking feels like the perfect intersection of everything I love artistically: documentary storytelling, intentional design, raw emotion, and human connection. Each one is dynamic, compelling and unrepeatable. And no matter how many weddings I film, I’m still chasing the same things I always have—emotion, beauty, and authenticity.
If you’re drawn to films that feel cinematic but deeply personal—that aren't filmed like an old home movie, but with intention—you’re in the right place.
I’d love to tell your story.
owner / filmmaker / Sailor
Photo by Shane Z Moore
A 360 photo booth is an insanely fun and interactive way to capture you and your guests in a short, instantly shareable video clip.
While I loved all of my wedding vendors, Swell (Chris and Chris) was my absolute favorite! If I had to do without every vendor at my wedding except one, Swell is the vendor I would choose again and again. This was by far the best investment I have EVER made and certainly the best investment we made for our wedding. Chris and Chris were amazing to work with (and I wish we lived in OBX so we could be friends with them), yet I felt like half the time we didn’t know they were there but somehow they captured every moment and were never intrusive. We’ve watched our video and our short so many times I can’t even keep track. It always makes us and our friends and family tear up. Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful!
“Don’t laugh at this statement but…I LITERALLY CAN’T EVEN! The short video and the feature film were so amazing and we are so incredibly thankful we had Chris and “other Chris” as our videographers. We couldn’t have asked for anyone better! You two are so talented and the OBX is lucky to have y’all! I can’t wait to watch this video for years to come. It’s something I will cherish forever. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
I was left speechless afterwards and I ended up watching it at least 100 times more that day and probably 1,000 times more since then. Swell Productions should be your first vendor selection (after choosing a date and venue of course). They book up quick because they are the best, so don’t wait! They capture the most beautiful and romantic moments of your special day so you can relive it over and over again. You don’t want anyone else for this job. Our wedding film is something I will cherish forever. The detail they put into your wedding film is what makes them stand out from the rest. They truly are the most talented videographers out there. You will not regret hiring these professionals. Thank you guys so much for capturing the most spectacular moments of our wedding.
I wasn’t planning on using a videographer at all for our wedding, however after stumbling across some wedding videos of complete strangers and being a sobbing mess by the end of the film, I knew I had to have them. You will not find a better videographer team than the incredibly talented men of Swell. I joked with my family and said they were the Martin Scorsese of the wedding film world. The quality of your film is a real life movie, it’s priceless. They do an excellent job of staying out of the way for the wedding (I barely saw them), but by looking at our film, they captured everything. Hands down the best decision I made during our wedding process was hiring Swell Productions. Their work speaks for themselves so check them out now!!
Words can’t express the gratefulness my husband and I have for Chris Hannant and the Swell
Productions crew. Our perfect day went by so fast, but now we have the most exceptional video to relive
the most special moments from
that day for the rest of our lives. Their creativity, talent, hard work, and
professionalism went above and beyond our expectations. We could not have imagined a more
amazing masterpiece. Thank you for capturing and being a part of our special day. I could have written
a novel about how great ya’ll are.
Chris Hannant and the Swell Productions team is the ABSOLUTE BEST! If you are considering any other videographer for your wedding, you should think again. The short film and documentary cut that Chris and team produced for us was second to none. After first meeting Chris a few days prior to our wedding, we could immediately see the passion, the vision and the meticulous attention to detail he puts in every aspect of the production. And not to mention he is just an all-around good guy! My Wife and I cannot thank Chris and his team enough for what they created – They captured every single detail of our wedding day better than we could have ever imagined.
Chris gave us outstanding memories of what we were experiencing in our first fleeting moments of marriage. I say ‘gave’ because having him film our wedding truly was a gift. His gorgeous portrayal was seamless and heartfelt, and he was quietly unobtrusive, really capturing the overwhelming emotions present in our day.
After watching the finished short film for the first time, I had absolutely no words. My husband cried. The piece came out so beautifully and took us back to that special day like no photo ever could. It is truly a work of art that we are going to cherish forever and I can’t think of a better memento for our day. Chris has such a talent for putting moments, seemingly ‘random’ moments, together into a finished piece of art. I would not change a thing… thank you Chris!