How to Find a Wedding Videographer: Your Comprehensive Guide to Hiring the Perfect Match

Searching for a wedding videographer can feel like venturing into uncharted territory. As a newly engaged couple, it’s natural to find yourself overwhelmed and uncertain about where to begin. There’s no playbook for this task, no prior experience to draw upon. Trust me, I understand the dilemma all too well.

That’s why I’ve crafted this comprehensive guide, designed to be your beacon of guidance amidst the sea of options and uncertainties. Together, we’ll navigate the unexplored realm of videographer selection, empowering you with knowledge and insights to make an informed decision. So let’s embark on this journey, uncovering the secrets of finding the perfect wedding videographer, one step at a time.

Step 1: Start with an In-Depth Website Evaluation

Uncovering Professionalism: Decoding a Videographer’s Online Presence

Not just to the homepage and to their portfolio page and then bounce… but really dig in. Is the online experience a good one? Is it easy to use, walk through, find what you need. It might sound silly but these are important and subtle signs of professionalism. 

Pay attention to these cues, they’re all telling you something.

Step 2: Assess Personal Compatibility

Choosing a Videographer You Connect With: Building a Strong Relationship

Your videographer will be with you all day long and you’ll want to be sure their personality is a good fit for you. You may not want to be best friends for life, but you should want to be able to have a fun time interacting with them and that means having a good working rapport with people who genuinely care about you and your wedding. 

Sift through their blog, Facebook page, Instagram. Interact with them over email (or the phone) and see if they have a personality you can gel with.

Do they make you laugh? Are they giving you the high-pressure sales pitch? Do they answer your questions in a way that makes you comfortable? These are very important cues you need to pay attention to when you consider hiring someone to film your wedding.

Wedding films are an investment that you keep forever, so it’s important to choose wisely. Because you can’t return a bad wedding video for a better one. 

Step 3: Investigate Their Artistic Style and Skill Level

Matching Vision and Expertise: Ensuring Your Wedding Film Reflects Your Desires

First tip: keep a spreadsheet of films you’ve watched.

You’re going to watch a LOT of wedding films. More than you ever thought possible. It’s all going to feel like they bleed together. You will start to forget whose portfolios you’ve viewed, whose you really liked, you’ll completely forget to check out ones you were really excited about.

Make a spreadsheet. Or make sure it’s all written down somewhere that’s centralized. As much as I love spreadsheets Apple Notes is my version of scribbling things down on a piece of paper that I’ll lose later—except I don’t lose it because it syncs everywhere and you can search for keywords. Use something like that. (Or, you know, be better.)

OK—we’re ready to proceed.

Know what you want and then only look for that. If you want a bright, colorful, fun, and upbeat wedding film—don’t reach out to a videographer whose samples are all dark and moody with sad music. 

You COULD ask them to make an exception for you, but why on earth would you want to? You have no idea what your film would end up looking like (only what you’d hope it would look like).

They might be willing to do it but creating an emotional tone of a wedding film isn’t only about the coloring—it’s in the way you film. A dark and moody film is literally filmed differently than a light and airy film will be.

If it’s not their specialty, you’re opening the door for a really disappointing experience. Don’t do it.

Every videographer has a signature look and feel for their films. They’ve spent a long time developing that skill. Creating a signature style a very difficult skill to master.

How-to compare videographers of similar styles.

While the color of a film might look the same to you as another you’re comparing it—everyone has a different process and style of filming and by that I mean the physical act of interacting with you, the camera, and your guests the day of your wedding. It is entirely unique to every single videographer.

Use your gut instinct when hiring someone. I’ve been passed over for videographers with very similar aesthetics and vice versa. But I can tell you our styles are actually very different. If you’re noticing that when you’re watching the films—don’t ignore that feeling. That’s a meaningful part of the discovery process. Make sure you use it!

Second Tip: Watch sample films on something other than your phone. 

When possible, you should view samples on the screen you’ll be watching your wedding film on. A film will look differently on your 60-inch 4k television than on your 6-inch phone.

When you view the samples they’ve posted on their website or social media pages, bring your inner film critic out. Do the samples look like they were filmed in the ’90s? Do they have cheesy graphics edited in? Is their camera work dark and shaky? How’s the exposure? Is the footage grainy? If that’s the case, then stay away.

Portfolios are where videographers put the work they’re most proud of. And if that’s the best they have to offer, that’s a bad sign. One of the best ways to avoid this is to hire a professional who has been keeping up with current trends and maintaining a fresh portfolio. Honestly, we’re ALL guilty of not keeping our freshest items on our websites—wedding season’s insane but there’s a limit to how out of date that should be.

“But the price of this other guy is really attractive.” I hear ya; we all want to maximize our dollars. But a wedding video shouldn’t be decided on price alone. Which leads me to my next point.

Step 4: Avoid the Pitfalls of Price-Driven Decision Making

Looking Beyond Price: The True Value of Investing in Wedding Videography

Unless a videographer is severely undervaluing their own services, price typically dictates the level of professionalism and skill that you’ll receive from a wedding vendor. You might find a diamond in the rough, but that’s an exception, not the rule. There’s always a trade-off for cheap. Always. You know that. I know you know that because we’ve ALL compromised on quality for an irresistible deal that we’ve regretted. 

Whether that was getting the lesser quality jeans with a killer sale so you could get an extra pair (that you ended up not liking because they made your butt look flat); cutting back on the good creamy lipstick that makes you feel like a goddess so you could get a mascara, too (and now you don’t use either one); or something else entirely. 

We’ve all made a regrettable choice. If you’re like me, you’ve done it more than once. The best thing you can do is learn from this.

Get what you love with all your heart. When has that failed you, ever? 

If you’re deciding between two filmmakers, and all other things are equal—then and only then should those price comparisons truly start to come into play. 

But if we’re being honest… rarely are all of those things ever equal.

If you have a better rapport with Videographer A but Videographer B is $1,500 less—start to look into WHY they might be less. Because there’s almost certainly a reason. And you can almost always find it in the client experience part of your videography.

If Videographer B is a big regional company they’re not going to give you the kind of time and attention than Videographer A will who is a boutique videographer who owns their own business, they don’t hire freelancers to film their weddings and they don’t assign account managers. Those big companies can afford to film at lower prices because of the sheer volume of weddings they’re shooting every week.

Some of those companies are good and a lot of them are not great. When you work in volume there’s just no way to give you a personal experience. But if that’s not important to you—it’s not a problem.

Step 5: Validate with Reviews

Honest Feedback: Examining Vendor Reviews for Key Indicators

It’s great to know other couples were so impressed they think all couples should hire that videographer RIGHT NOW. Those reviews are so wonderful and passionate, but sometimes in their excitement they fail to tell you anything specific about their experience with that team

All people don’t share the same priorities. Which means they’re all looking for different things in different vendors. So what are you looking for?

If you’re afraid of being overwhelmed on your wedding day—look for cues that the couple hardly noticed the videographer all day. If having a personal experience or are camera shy—look for language in the review where the videographers made the couple laugh and feel comfortable in front of the cameras.

Whatever is the most important issue to you is what you’re going to be picking through these reviews for.

Step 6: Request Full-Length Film Samples

No Surprises: Ensuring Your Final Wedding Film Exceeds Expectations

Most wedding videographers will post sample trailers on their website and social media pages, but you’ll want to know exactly what your final, full-length film is going to look like. Ask them if those are full-length samples that you’ve seen (and if they aren’t, ask to see one). This way, there are NO surprises. 

A talented and experienced professional can create something that not only will you treasure for the rest of your life, but it should be something your friends and family will enjoy just as much.

Your wedding video isn’t worth taking a gamble on. Do your research. Feel as confident about your vendors as you do about the person you’re about the marry. This. Is. The. ONE.

Do that, and you’ll end up with an amazing wedding video you’re gonna love.

You’re going to Get A Beautiful Wedding Film

So long as you do your research and follow this advice, you have everything you need to know to be confident in the search for a good videographer who will give you an amazing wedding film. 

I’ve had brides gush to me about how special their parent’s film is to them, even though it’s on VHS and falling apart. This is your family legacy, this film isn’t just for you it’s for your future kids and grandkids. And they’re going to LOVE this film.

Be as confident about your vendors as you are about the person you’re about the marry. This. Is. The. ONE. Do that, and you’ll end up with an amazing wedding video you’re gonna love.

And when you find the videography team you love, lock them down immediately. Videography is booking faster than ever. Book your videographer at least 12 months in advance anything less starts to put you in a tricky place.