Videographer

So are you just looking for raw footage without editing?


What kind of budget are you working with and where will your wedding take place?

I set up a camera on a tripod and had my brother hit record.
Not the best video but it’s something. And we have the important moments recorded.

View Quoted Comment I am fine without any editing I’d rather have the important moments (speeches, dances, ceremony) than something fancy which doesn’t capture all of that. We are trying to stay under $1,000 in videography but it seems a lot of packages are over budget.

View Quoted Comment Hmmm have you talked to some of the videographers about exactly what you want?


Also have you looked into hiring a film student? They'll probably be much more experienced than a family member or friend, but will be less expensive than a professional videographer.

View Quoted Comment A film student is a great idea! Do you have any suggestions on how to go about finding one? Personally, I don’t know any.

I hired a photographer who could also do video, so her second shooter will be doing video while she does photography. They’ll be shooting for six hours and we’ll be getting a ceremony video and a highlights video along with digital photos and a photo album for $3500 total

View Quoted Comment That’s great! I should try asking my photographer if she has anyone she normally works with!

View Quoted Comment I would research local universities/schools and see who offers cinematography or film as a major/course and emailing the proper department!

This is exactly what we wanted and we had the HARDEST time! The thing is, highlight reels are what videographers use to promote themselves, so you’re never going to find a videographer who will want to film your wedding and NOT do a highlight reel (unfortunately). We ended up finding our videographer through our photographer! We asked if there was someone they usually worked with and they connected us with him. He did a minimum of 3 hours of coverage (We only really wanted 2, but 3 was better than most that I found who had like minimum 5-8 hours 🙄). They included an edited “movie” as well as a highlight reel. I asked if we could have the raw footage as well and they said sure.



Truth be told, I expected to not like the highlight video. They’re always SO cheesy imo and I didn’t care to have one. But when we got ours, I was so happy with it! I didn’t think I would love it as much as I did. It was also a nice little snippet to share on social media and with friends/relatives who want to see a preview but don’t want to sit through the whole video.

Now, the edited “movie” we were given, was utterly awful. Our videographer did a phenomenal job but they had another company I think do the editing, and they just did a garbage job. My friend played the flute for our ceremony as we walked down the aisle, and they cut out his music and edited in some weird upbeat song? They also didn’t show the clip of my husband’s reaction to seeing me down the aisle. And cut around the ceremony awkwardly so like, there was one part where the audio was our officiant talking, but the video clip was showing my mouth moving and saying “I do” 🤦🏻‍♀️ It was so god awful there was no fixing it, so I ended up editing the raw footage myself and I am SO happy with the final product!

Also, I’d like to mention, because we struggled so much to find a videographer who would do what we wanted, and the pricing and everything, we actually originally decided not to have one at all. It wasn’t until 6 weeks before the wedding where I was like “you know what, I’m going to regret this” so we splurged and hired one last minute. I am SO GLAD. Seriously sometimes I get upset just thinking about the fact that we almost didn’t have our video lol. I’m so glad we decided to get it... seriously having a video is priceless. And this is from someone who almost didn’t think it was worth the money. In hindsight, I would’ve paid double for it. It is THAT worth it. I can’t believe I was ever considered skipping it.

Anyway I’m rambling lol. Tldr, ask your photographer if there’s someone they recommend! And give up hope of finding someone who won’t do a highlight video because they’re all going to insist on doing it. Just try to find someone who will give you the least number of hours of coverage possible.

View Quoted Comment This was so helpful! I was starting to consider not even having one because it’s just been so stressful and it’s like how often will I even watch it? But I’m glad you shared your experience! I think in the long run I would regret not having one.


That sucks you had such an awe full experience but at least you had the raw footage and were able to edit it! I think as long as I’m able to get the raw footage alongside the feature film or whatever they’re promoting I’ll be happy 😊

We are having the SAME problem. I don't really care as much about fancy videographery as I did the photography. I want someone to capture the day in video, but I'm not as picky with the artistry of it. I just want someone inexpensive who will capture the day. Raw footage and maybe a short video. It is difficult!

View Quoted Comment So glad I could help! And yeah I mean it’s possible your feature film could come out really well! I’m just saying even though ours didn’t, I’m STILL so grateful we had videography.


Truthfully, we don’t watch it THAT much. We watched it the two of us, then again with my mom, again with my grandparents, and then a couple months ago we showed it to my husband’s grandma who wasn’t able to attend the wedding (she’s not in great health and lives across the country), and it was so great that she was able to basically experience it through the video way more than she could’ve with just photos. Also I love the fact that we’ll be able to share it with our future children and even grandchildren!

Like again, realistically you won’t watch it that much, but I think having it is important regardless of the frequency you watch it, and more that you are able to watch it whenever and share it with whomever throughout your lives!

We also plan to do the good ol'tripod method haha gopros are on sale now too so leaning that way. Also having another tripod most likely to Zoom our wedding

Echoing the film student/up and coming filmmaker idea.

My coworker offered to do our wedding for $1000, and she's makes webisodes and is trying to break into the film festival circuit.

She and her friend captured nearly all of the evening, within *days* she had gotten us a 5 minute highlight video, and she then loaded all the raw footage onto an external hard drive we bought. We actually just watched all of the raw clips over the past few weeks. Cannot recommend enough, because you never know what they'll catch.

Also, filmmakers will have a slightly different eye, so you might get some really cool shots you wouldn't otherwise.