How long was your raw footage?

Ours was 2 hours which was more than enough. We got (and asked for) our full ceremony and then bits throughout the day and the reception. We really just watch our 8 minute highlights video. Our contract specified that we would get 2 hours edited down raw footage. Did your contract specify this too?

No unfortunately the contract didn't specify a length. My fault for not asking up front :-/

Hey Christina! Would you consider speaking with the videographer and asking these questions? There may be an explanation as to why you only got 1 hour of the raw footage. You could approach it in a curious way.

In a situation like this where I don’t want to come across accusatory, I would personally spin it ‘I’m confused and looking for clarification’ way. I would say something along the lines of, “Perhaps I’ve got the wrong understanding for what raw footage is, but I was expecting to get all the video from the day, which I thought would be 5 hours. Do you mind clarifying?”.

Hi! Thanks for the advice! I actually did talk to the videographer right away and was told they only film 10 minutes of each hour and that the rest of the time is for repositioning to acquire different shot angles, making various adjustments to camera, settings, switching lenses, making adjustments for lighting changes, swapping out stabilization devices,etc. I'm understanding of all of that of course, but I don't see how that would need to be done for 50 minutes each hour,.

He told me that he communicated this with me "multiple times" and that I was "aware of what I'd be getting" which is definitely not true. He also said that the 10 minute "rule" is an industry‐wide standard practice and this is "simply NOT the way things work in wedding videography production!". That's why I posted this here to see if that's true. If others have the same amount as me, then I'd be more accepting of the result.