Videographer

Daughter's videographer was a last minute add on. (She always wanted one, but it didn't fit the initial budget.) She received an unexpected Christmas bonus a month before the wedding and started looking on Thumbtack to see if she could find someone last minute (she'd been highly selective about all her other vendors and booked most a year or more in advance). She found a couple with a lot of experience who were not booked for her day. Her highest priority was having the full ceremony, the speeches, and just being able to look back and see things that had been too much of a blur the day of. She paid $100 per hour for the two videographers and ALL the raw footage (7 hours), and then added on a 6-7 minute highlight film for an additional $800. So, for $1500, she got full coverage, 6 hours of unedited video covering pretty much everything from the time she put her dress on at 1 pm until about two hours before the reception ended. (When she explored hiring a videographer at the beginning of the planning process, they tended to be in the $**** range -- way more than she could or wanted to spend.) We LOVE watching the raw video. Daughter really appreciated it early on, because there were so many details she didn't remember and/or wanted to see again (especially the ceremony, and the MOH, BM, and FOB speeches). The raw video is all so sweet -- and includes the live sound, so the music that was playing during the ceremony & reception (in the highlight, the licensing requirements meant all that had to be replaced with a more generic music track; it's pretty, but it's fun to watch all the dancing to the original songs the B&G chose). The highlight video is great and she's shared it widely with family and friends. For her, it was all well worth $1500. She also had a phenomenal photographer and received more 1100 fully edited photos, a huge album, has made other Shutterfly-type albums, and has framed photos literally everywhere in their home. The video is different. Will she watch it every day? No, but she watches it. Good luck!

PS -- daughter & SIL had been to a wedding where the videographers and their lights were SUPER intrusive and they did not want that. Daughter talked with her videographers and told them they had to work with the natural lighting and they had to stay out of the way. They did an awesome job. In the photographer's ceremony pictures, you have to look REALLY closely to even notice that one of the videographers is standing/shooting the ceremony from behind one of the GM (in order to get daughter's face during her vows). It's possible for them to be unobtrusive.

IMO - no. I didn't really care about having video of getting ready and peeople eating and dancing. I was there, i remember, and i can look at pictures. We asked a cousin to record the ceremony (he just set up a tripod and camera at the back of the church) and we do watch that probably once a year near our anniversary. That's the only part of the day that i thought warranted taping and it wasn't edited or anything.

We're not having a video done partially because it's not in the budget but also because neither of us really want one. It's not like we're going to have kids who might want to watch it in the future, and I think the cameras are intrusive. I hate the way I look and sound on video anyway!

My coworker offered to do it for $1000 and her chance to learn how to do wedding videos.

She gave us a highlight video and all the raw footage, and I'm so glad I took her up on the offer. Wouldn't have been in the budget, otherwise.

Totally worth it. You might remember a lot of things, but some things become a blur. I knew what DH said during his vows really made me laugh and tear up and feel all sorts of amazing things, but I started to forget what exactly he said... and what *I* said. But with the video, we have it for all time.

(And nowadays you usually get a digital copy, or at most, an external harddrive full of footage.)

I would like to chime in real quick about previous replies that said video cameras are distracting. More than likely your videographer will have the exact same type of camera as your photographer. I know everyone's style is different, but for my business we shoot on DSLR cameras and are discreet.

As for is it worth it, yes! For me, as a bride, I want to be able to watch back the moments I may have totally forgot about or wasn't able to see. Especially our vows and our first look on our wedding day, because I know I will be emotional. And I want to hear it! Most videographers capture super crisp audio of the day that makes you feel like you're reliving your day again.

If you decide to go for a videographer, just make sure you do research. I've read comments on here before of past brides that didn't like their video, didn't think it was worth it, etc. And that could come down to how experienced the videographer was and what they offered. Different videographers do different things and deliver different things -- so just keep that in mind.