Useful Tips When Choosing Your Wedding Videographer
Take Finding a Videographer As Seriously As You Do Your Photographer
You may think that having both wedding photos and a video are overkill, or may not want to prioritize videography in your budget, but trust us—you’ll want to hire a wedding videographer.. I know this sounds bias coming from a Wedding Videographer =), but hear us out. When it comes to looking back on your wedding, having a film brings the day back to life just by pushing play. Having video to accompany your photos can give you a more full experience to look back on, but it can also be amazing to have this piece of art — starring you! or one, the day literally flies by and there are things you’ll miss that your videographer will capture beautifully, like seeing your grandmother’s emotional reaction as you say your vows.
Hiring a wedding videographer is an important process. You want to be able to re-experience your wedding in motion. There are so many moments that occur in between photos being taken, and that extra experience adds to the authenticity and depth of a memory. Also you have to think of the sounds that can’t be captured in a photo, like your “I dos,” the reception music and meaningful toasts. But don’t just take our word for it— watch the videos =)
Equally as important is the selection of the videography style you want. Best thing to do is to watch a bunch of wedding videos to see which one connects with you.
Like with any other wedding vendor, videographers offer a variety of packages to help you receive exactly the services you’re looking for. Packages can be great because you can choose the services that both align with your expectations and your budget. The most common misconception about videography is that you will receive full length footage of everything that happened on your wedding day. While some videographers offer this as a package option, most likely your final product will be a stylized and edited masterpiece to remember the best parts of your day by.
Here are some of the most popular package options you’re likely to see when hiring a videographer:
Highlight Film (3-10 min) – With many videographers, the highlight film is the final product you will receive. More commonly, this film is non-linear and takes a more modern approach, where the videographer has truly created a piece of cinematic art out of the events and moments throughout your day.
Short Film (10-20 min) – If you decide on a package with a short film, you will receive an edited version of your wedding footage that takes a more linear form, often including a portion of your vows, reception toasts, etc. Depending on how long you book your videographer, the film may also include getting ready footage, first look footage, and grand exit.
Same day edit (4-10 min) – Some videographers offer an option to have footage from your wedding edited on the spot and shown during your reception. This can be a fun surprise for guests on the day-of!
Full-length documentary (30-90 min) – If you are interested in reliving the majority of your day, this option is for you! Your videographer can create a longer film that includes entire sections of your wedding, like your ceremony. Due to the length, this option is the most like a true movie of your wedding.
Things You Should Know Before Booking a Wedding Videographer
Photos only capture so much of the day, and hiring a videographer will help ensure you don’t miss a thing. But figuring out where to start and how to narrow down the selection can be overwhelming. Here wedding industry experts share their tips on what to think about before selecting a videographer.
Experience is Crucial
“Experience is crucial in picking a videographer. The wedding day moves quickly and split-second decisions have to be made based off of past experiences.”
“Think about the key moments you’ll want covered, as this will impact how many hours of coverage you’ll need to book. Do you want clips from while you’re getting ready, your ceremony, and that sparkler exit you’ve planned? Depending on your answers, you’ll need a videographer to arrive in the late morning or early afternoon, and stay through the end of the night. On the other hand, if you just want the ceremony and toasts, you can choose a shorter package that will cover just those highlights.”
How to Get The Best Wedding Video Ever
Hire the Person Whose Style Most Closely Matches Yours
Just like photographers, videographers take different approaches to their craft. Documentary-style videos present the events chronologically, without many special effects, while a cinematic film is generally more dramatic, using interesting angles for a Hollywood-movie feel (these are just two options of many). “You don’t want to select a cinematographer with one style and send them clips from another videographer with a totally different style. Just hire the one you like!” says Taryn Pollock, owner of Serendipity Cinematography based in Arizona and California.
The Knot Tip: You can find thousands of amazing wedding pros on TheKnot.com, complete with customer reviews.
Take Finding a Videographer As Seriously As You Do Your Photographer
Unfortunately, hiring a videographer seems to get pushed back somewhere between welcome bags and favors—and it’s just too important for that C-list slot on your long list of to dos. “By that time, there will only be a handful of studios left to choose from, and most likely, you won’t be able to hire your first choice,” says Julie Hill, owner and creative director at Elysium Productions, an international videography firm.
The Knot Tip: Planning ahead always pays off, so flag money in your budget for your videographer from the beginning. If you make videography a priority, you’ll see it in the end result—a film of your wedding day that comes out exactly as you imagined it would.
Subscribe to Video Websites
There are plenty of places to find wedding videographers, but Vimeo and Love Stories TV are the preferred spot for most A-list picks to post their recent work. Aside from the big videography communities, you can easily search by location and even wedding venue to find clips from your reception venue and get ideas.
The Knot Tip: All wedding videos are not created equal. When you’re watching sample videos, there are a few things to keep top of mind. A good film will be well lit, have easy-to-understand audio and appropriate music, and be edited so that transitions are smooth and special effects complement the story.
Embrace the Professional Referral Factor
People like your photographer and wedding planner have worked with videographers in the past and will be able to suggest filmmakers they’ve liked or that they’ve heard good things about through previous clients.
The Knot Tip: Many photography studios also offer videography, and it usually makes sense to book a package for both. A pair of pros from the same company will have an easy working rapport and use that to get you great shots.
How to Choose a Wedding Videographer: The Essential Guide
Your wedding day is one of the happiest days of your life and the memories of it will be cherished by you and your partner forever. However chances are, no matter how sharp your memory is, you won’t remember every single detail of it off by heart – which is why a lot of couples nowadays are opting to have wedding videography.
From that breath-taking moment that you glide down the aisle in your wedding dress, right down to the evening party where your Auntie Sandra pulls out her best dance moves after one too many glasses of champagne, having this all captured on film means that you can relive the day in all its glory for years to come.
What Does Wedding Videography Involve?
Forget the dreary, out of focus and wobbly videos you may have seen in the past, the new breed of wedding videographers are producing high quality and imaginative wedding day films.
Using digital camera technology and editing techniques, a variety of filming styles are now available and can be supplied on DVD or even streamed onto the web – whichever method is most convenient for you and your partner.
‘Although having a good photographer captures moments beautifully and is important, it doesn’t capture the sounds, the atmosphere and the emotion of a wedding quite like video,’ says Roberto, who owns Roberto Bellaccomo Videography. ‘In years to come, having a well filmed video will allow you to relive your wedding day over and over.’
Usually there will just be the one videographer present at your wedding to film all the details, just as there would only be one photographer. However if your guest list is big and you’re tying the knot at a large capacity wedding venue, then more videographers could be hired depending on the company that you opt for.
Is it Expensive?
There are of course many different wedding videography companies to choose from and they all vary in cost, quality and style.
As with all of the other services that you use for your special day, you are likely to get what you pay for so do some thorough research before you commit to a company.
A high quality wedding film can involve one or two cameramen on the day and an editor for the best part of a week, so you must expect all this to be reflected in the price that you pay.
If you’re worried about all your planning costs getting out of control, then take a look at our 50 ways to save money on your wedding budget. If you have a close friend or family member who’s camera skills you trust, you could even enlist their help with shooting your wedding video to cut down on costs.
tips on hiring the right wedding videographer
Hire a professional. Bride’s number one regret is not having a video. I know I wish my parents did and so do they.
There is no other time than your wedding when you are surrounded by so many happy friends and family, and to hear what was said
and see people interacting is priceless. Considering all the time, money and energy that goes into your day capturing professionally it is a fairly small investment that will pay off for generations.
Hire a local videographer. To hire someone who has shot at the location and worked with the local vendors already will make for a better film.
A professional, who is familiar with where the sun will set, what shot angles are best, when conditions and light are optimum are all big factors in having the best film possible.
Don’t just look at just their portfolio, look at their reviews on multiple sites. The top professionals have consistent delivery. This means that even on the days when things don’t go perfectly
(timing, weather, lighting, and hundreds of other variables that could be problematic) they can still deliver a great film.
Know the style you like. There are so many ways to shoot a wedding but here are the three main ones:
Music video: It focuses on cinematic shots, and is a visually driven film with lots of time shifting through parts of the day with effects and music with lyrics. This style has little to no audio such as vows, speeches or any other voice over dialogue.
Candid/minimalist: The opposite of the music video: This style is like a professionally shot home movie– it focuses on candid moments with a more handheld style, and is more about moments of guests laughing, speeches, natural audio and interactions between people over visual flair. These films have a more organic natural feel with instrumental music driven by dialogue.
Cinematic Story Telling: I personally feel this style is the best of both worlds and this is how I shoot my films. It has the visual production quality of the music video but with the feel and emotion of the Candid style. In this style there are the stunning cinematic shots but also the emotional feel of the day with dialogue from the day.