Videographer Worth the Splurge?

Forgot to add these above, but I have also been considering a few other options that will be more affordable:

I can probably have my uncle record just a generic video of the ceremony from the balcony of the church but I feel like it is so impersonal and probably won't include much audio. If you went this route, did you think it was sufficient to see everything?

I was involved in Video Media in high school and thought about reaching out to my teacher and seeing if any of her current students would be interested in filming...I could try to put together a video afterwards. Do you think I should take the risk and trust high school students?

We are hiring a videographer. I love video, and we take a ton of family videos during events. I'm happy to have my parents wedding video, so I want our kids to watch ours! We are paying $2,499 for a videographer & assistant for 8 hours.

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Thanks @FutureMrsD! I guess $1500 isn't such a bad price then since my wedding is in Indiana Are they doing a highlight reel as well as full-length footage? I'm not sure what to look/ask for when I'm browsing videographers.

Maria, we didn't do one and we wish that we had! Definitely worth the splurge, in my opinion.

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It includes a ceremony film, toast film, and 5-7 minute highlight video! We have the option to add raw footage on later for $500, but I don't think we will need it with the 3 films.

We compromised because we decided late in the game that we wanted one. We reached out to a videographer we liked and he agreed to do 2 hours of filming and highlight video for $600. We couldn't afford a full day with one, and we really wanted to capture some parts of the day.

He will be there to get last minute touch ups, our ceremony, and our picture session of FH and I.

I probably wouldn't trust high school students, though if they are cheap or free I guess there are no expectations. Same for your uncle. My parents set up a camera for their wedding. Bad audio, less personal, but did the job and we still watched it as kids.

When it comes to something like this I'd leave it to the professionals. I'm so happy we decided to go with someone professional even if it meant spending less time. Reach out to videographers and see if they will compromise with you on time and budget.

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Good points @FutureMrsKC! I will definitely look into if different options are available so I can get the ceremony at the very least. Thanks a bunch!

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Definitely! The ceremony is the most important part of the day anyhow, so we definitely wanted that captured more than anything else!

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Thanks @Sydney! It wasn't in my initial plan/budget but I have heard lots of regrets about not having it so hopefully I can make something work

View Quoted Comment We went WAY over budget on our photographer, which ate up our videographer budget. I wish that we had at least hired someone for the ceremony, as that is the thing I would most like to see again!

I asked my photographer for recommendations. She sent me people she’s worked with that fell in my budget range. Ended up going in the higher range of my budget at $2700 which includes highlight reel, ceremony and speeches, and travel (Oregon to Vermont). Was able to splurge a bit because my photographer was way under budget! Still ended up being less than the videographers from New England that I reached out to on my own.

If you can squeeze it in I recommend it! It goes by soooo fast and it's hard to remember any of it. We got our wedding video the next day and I happy cried watching it.

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That's a really good idea @Mo! I was worried the two would be fighting to get prime spot for photos/videos but I guess if they've worked together previously that would help a lot. That's why I initially thought of hiring both from the same company but I kind of like the independent photographers more. Thanks for your advice!

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@FutureMrsV I'm not typically an emotional person but I have totally become that girl that watches them when I see advertisements on Facebook and gets teary-eyed for the other couples I can only imagine what I will be like when it's my own!

3 different people have told be get a videographer! 2 were regrets that they didn't, and the third said that was her favorite memento from their day! I believe that it is well worth the money. We are getting a highlight video (ten minutes), a full ceremony edit, and a "reception" edit (but I am not sure what that includes)!

The ones that expressed regret really seemed to have regret about the ceremony not being recorded.

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Until the day of I haven't been emotional about anything lol. Didn't cry when he proposed. Didn't cry when I picked my dress. Legit woke up the next morning and couldn't stop crying happy tears lol. DH was like um are you ok? I had to keep telling him it was happy tears lol

We didn't hire one, and I don't regret it. We did not seriously consider one b/c our budget was under $10,000 total. Our photos are beautiful and capture our day nicely. I wouldn't watch a video many times, but I can surround myself with photos I see everyday. The ceremony was a blur, but I remember the best moments. Cutting a videographer was an easy place for us to cut down on costs.

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Okay @PurdyAikey I think I might be convinced! I feel like it would be a really special way to capture the day

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@Katelyn I'm in a similar boat as you budget wise which is why I'm struggling with this. I think I could squeeze it in but if I cheap out too much it's like what's the point ya know? It might be better to just spend the extra money on a better photographer and stick a go-pro in my bouquet

A videographer was top priority for us. The next reason I can explain is you put so much time and effort into planning this one day and you as the bride see the least of it. You don’t see your fiancé getting ready, you don’t see your guests waiting for you to walk down the aisle, you don’t see your bridal party walk out and you don’t get to see a lot of the interactions at the reception. It was important for me to be able to go back and live these moments that I worked so hard to plan. Our videographer and photographer were not from the same company but they were both professionals and worked great together. We paid $2000 for 8 hours of videography. If you have room in the budget I would do it. Everyone I talk to that didn’t do it regrets not having a videographer.