Should I Hire a Wedding Videographer?

So you have been umming and ahhing about whether you should hire a wedding videographer for your big day?

In this post we’ll cover –

• The role of a wedding videographer.
• If hiring a videographer is something you should consider.
• How to choose the right film maker.
• Cost factors involved with wedding videography.

What is a wedding videographer?

A wedding videographer is a person or team hired to capture your wedding day using motion pictures and audio. Edits are produced from the footage to create ever lasting memories of that all important wedding day.

There are many different styles and approaches to wedding videography – it is well worth doing your research to determine whether you would like a wedding video and if so, which videographer will best fulfil your needs.

Reasons for having a Wedding Videographer

Let us go over a few points’ worth consideration –

• Photos are great! But they don’t laugh, talk or move.
• Video captures everything.
  Relive those vows and speeches exactly as they were on the day and feel the emotion.
• There will be parts of the day you miss.
  The bride won’t see guests arriving, the groom won’t see the bride getting ready. Opening of gifts etc. a videographer can capture all these moments.
• Long term investment.
  The magic of sitting down in years to come and watching the videos with your kids and grand kids… Hearing the voices and watching the laughter of loved ones that may no longer be around. Priceless!

A comment we often hear from couples after delivering the edits – “It’s amazing how much detail you’ve managed to capture; even things we weren’t aware of on our own day!”

“Ryan and his team were absolutely brilliant. On our Wedding Day, we didn’t even notice that they were there. They captured lovely memories for us to enjoy watching.”

“Ryan & Carrie we’re an absolute dream to work with leading up to our wedding and on the day, most of the time we didn’t realise they were there and they created an amazing high quality video and trailer that captured our special day perfectly. Memories we will cherish forever. I can’t recommend them enough.”

Many couples enjoy seeing their day played out from a different perspective; and while photos can capture the emotion – being able to see it played out on video is something quite different.

Choosing the Right Wedding Videographer

There are many different styles and approaches to wedding videography – the choice can be overwhelming.

Let’s cover some points to help narrow the search –

• Recommendations from friends.
  Have any of your friends recently hired a wedding videographer? Ask if you can watch their full wedding video too, not just the trailer / highlights reel.
• Does your venue recommend any videographers? Venue recommendations are priceless – a venue will only recommend tried and tested suppliers. Viewing videos covering your venue will give you a good indication as to what you can expect from this videographer.
• Is your videographer local?
  This may not be a deciding factor but worth consideration. A local videographer with knowledge of the venue / church / surrounding areas may be an advantage.
• Video and audio quality.
  Does the image quality look good? How about the sound? Audio is often overlooked – you want to make sure vows and speeches are audible.
• How much does it cost?
  Just like photography and any other creative service – the cost of videography can range from almost nothing up to thousands and thousands of pounds. We’ll cover pricing in greater depth further down in the post.
• What edits does this videographer offer?
  Most videographers will provide a few different edit options – typically a short artistic trailer lasting 5 – 20 minutes and a documentary edit or full edit covering the entire day. The documentary edit will cover the full ceremony, speeches etc.
• How many camera operators are offered?
  This factor will of course depend on your requirements, budget, and the size of wedding. For a typical English / European wedding we suggest two operators – this allows multiple cameras to be used simultaneously whilst minimizing camera downtime. Tripods and equipment can be setup and managed by one operator whilst the other continues to film.

How much does it Cost?

Videography is a creative service, consider your wedding video to be a work of art. Pricing art is a tricky business but there are some factors to consider when establishing whether you’re getting good bang for your buck! As with most things in life, you get what you pay for – your task is to strike a balance between cost and production quality.

Consider the following when budgeting for your video –

• How long is the videographer(s) with you on the day?
  Reducing coverage may be a good way of cutting costs. Do you need all the early morning coverage? Do you need coverage all night long?
• How many cameras is your videographer using?
  More cameras = more footage = more time needed to edit.
• How many camera operators do you need?
  Additional camera operators will increase price, however, that may bring improved coverage and result in a higher-end video.
• Is your wedding taking place during peak times?
  Off-peak weddings can often grab a bargain with many videographers offering discounts throughout the winter months.
• How well established is the videographer?
  As you would expect, videographers with greater experience will likely cost more than new start-ups. The experienced videographer is a safer bet, however, if you are on a small budget are aren’t too worried about the video, you may be able to grab a bargain from a company just starting out. We all had to start somewhere!
• Will your videographer need to travel / book overnight accommodation?
  If you’re not using a local videographer expect to pay additional fees.
• Expect to pay extra for optional extras.
  Including Drone Coverage, additional USBs/DVDs/BluRays, Guest Messages etc.

Edits and Final Production

There are many different edits on offer, let’s go through some of the most common wedding video formats.

Short Trailer / Highlights Real

Short trailers are typically edited to single piece of music. The length of this edit is normally the length of the music track (on average 3-5 minutes). Trailers usually contain all of your “best bits” – they are perfect for sharing on social media or for reminiscing and re-living all of your big day within a few minutes.

Extended Trailer / Cinematic Highlight Reel

This will be your high end, costly work of art. Typically a 20-minute video (some may be longer) of the best bits of your day all crafted in to one spectacular masterpiece. Music will generally be placed over the video, including audio from the ceremony and speeches throughout.

Documentary Edit

A fly on the wall style video of your entire day. This video will generally be 1-2 hours long, covering bridal preparation, full ceremony, full speeches, cake cutting, first dance, evening celebrations and all the bits in-between. This video will be edited seamlessly and makes for a great choice to be able to relive your entire day as it happened.

Final Thoughts

How comfortable are you in front of the camera?

Some videographers work in the background discreetly capturing the day as it unfolds, others choose to be more directive in setting up and staging scenes. Your preferred stance will come down to how you feel in front of the camera and how much of your day you are willing to dedicate to your videographer. Remember your photographer will also require your time so it’s important to find the right balance.

I think that just about covers it! I’d love to hear your experiences with choosing a wedding videographer – leave a comment below.