Update! Upset with wedding video, response from videographer...

Here is his response to our email, in which we let him know we were upset with our video as it did not measure up to his previous work and completely failed to document my face during the ceremony vows. (I, of course, worded it much better in the email...)

"I want to start off by apologizing profusely, for not meeting the standards you and [husband] were expecting. When it comes to my work I usually do my absolute best to meet the standards of my couples and to know that you are not satisfied with the end result is not a good feeling. I understand that you were expecting more, and I am truly sorry for letting you down.

I know that nothing I can do will make up for missing your angle of the vows, but as a way of telling you that I am truly sorry for letting you and [husband] down I can offer you a partial refund of $[1/3 of price]. You will also still receive the additional 5 DVD's, and full-length edit of your wedding videos.

Once again I understand that in the end nothing will make up for not meeting you, and [husband's] expectations, for that I am sorry. If you still would like to speak in person we could set up a time to speak on the week of June 5th as this week I will be mostly unavailable due to traveling. I look forward to hearing from you, and resolving this matter. Thank you. "

I have one last question, regarding writing a review for him. I wouldn't give him a 1-star due to his gracious response but I'm obviously not going to give him a 4 or 5 star review because of the video quality. What kind of review would you leave and what would you say?

^^ I agree with Heather. As for review, leave a 2-3 star one, and detail all of this in the review, including that he did do something to resolve it. It would depend on the quality of the rest of the video and how upset I still was if it were a 2 or 3 star review.

Heather, thanks for your advice. Even without the coffee, I think you're onto a good response here lol. (For the record, I'm not a coffee drinker either!) I've been sitting on this email for a few days at a loss for how to respond.

I would absolutely mention his response to criticism and his way of making it up to you in the review, that's huge and something I would absolutely want to know if booking him. If you're happy with the rest of his work I would mention that, though I know it's hard considering he missed such a big moment.

I think a two star would be a well enough review. You still need to take into consideration the actual day as well. Was he professional? Did he interact correctly with you and guest? Was he on time? He also did do something to rectify the issue as much as he could and that does show a lot for a good professional even if he didn't produce the quality you wanted or expected.

I would accept the offer but be honest in your review. Saying you are disappointed in the video (for the specific reason) and then mention how his response was and how you felt about it.

The only comment I will make is make sure how you express your feelings to him is the same you are expressing in the review.

So you can say "Thank you for addressing our concerns and graciously offering us a refund which we will accept. In the end, it is still disappointing our most important moment was not captured the way we expected it to be as it's a pretty basic requirement to see the bride's face".

If you respond that way to him, make sure you respond the same way in your review so it's fair.

I'd say a 3 star and mention his professionalism before, during and after. Include his response and wanting to make things right as well as some people don't do that and from what I read he has good morals.

If you haven't seen the full DVD yet, I would hold off on posting a review until you do. Then I would be completely honest with your disappointment and resolution provided. I'm glad you're getting a partial refund and hope the rest of the video and pictures will have captured your day beautifully.

@WED1819, yes I definitely plan to wait to see everything before posting a review.

The silver lining is that he did manage to capture the speeches during the reception and those were important to me as well. Some of the footage looks good and some is just okay, so I'll have to wait and see everything in its entirety.

@Heather, I tend to be overly nice too, that's why I was asking about what a fair review would be considering the circumstances... I didn't want to be too generous but I also didn't want to be too harsh! He was very professional on the day of, which was part of the reason I was so surprised with our video when we finally received it.

Thanks everyone for your advice! It's been super helpful in this entire process.

I would do 3 star. In reading his response I feel like I'm able to feel his sincerity through it and for me as someone who works in hospitality - showing empathy can be the difference between a 2 or 3 start review. He was apologetic, offered some compensation and was very professional throughout. But I agree with a PP - view the full video first. Sorry this was your experience.

@thefuturemrswalker, I feel the same way. I mean it's got to be a crappy feeling for a customer to tell you directly that they don't like your product and it shows integrity that instead of acting out and getting defensive he was more gracious in response. He's definitely got his professionalism and customer service down pretty well.

I like the way @Heather suggested you accept. Also I would wait to post a review until you get all the products and your refund.