The top reasons couples don’t hire a wedding videographer

You hired an amazing wedding photographer to capture your day. Now you’re wondering, should you hire a wedding videographer, too? It’s a really good, but also tough question to answer—so let’s walk through it together.

What’s holding you back from saying “yes” to a wedding film.

What’s the problem?

Maybe your fiancé isn’t on board.

Or your parents who are graciously paying for your wedding are feeling like spending is getting out of hand or they’re fine with the purchase and you, being the incredible kid you are, are trying to be as cautious and respectful with their wallet as possible.

And of, course, you already have a photographer.

If you’re paying for it, you might be thinking that money might be better spent on furniture for your new house or toward a new car you’ve been eying.

Because you’re here reading this article, I know you’re looking for something to save those special moments in your life (but just need help to see the value so you can allow yourself to say yes).

You’re wondering if a wedding film is worth it (or not)

Will you even watch it more than a couple of times a year?

Maybe you think you won’t watch it enough to be valuable, and you rationalized the super expensive photographer because your wedding photos will be put up all-around your house as decor that makes them more practical and valuable.

After all, they’re decorative. And that make them PRACTICAL memories. Not watching your video every. single. day. just means it’s not practical at all. I mean, you’d hardly ever watch the damn thing.

Or does it?

Just think about all the more special things because you don’t see or do them all the time.

Christmas and holidays would be horrible if you celebrated them every day—they would totally lose its meaning.

Birthdays—you’d get so sick of cake (I can’t even imagine that horror).

Sunday donuts—you’d hate donuts if you ate them every day (just ask Sean, he worked at Dunkin’ when he was a teenager and hated donuts for years after).

OK, now let’s do the reverse.

Out of all the things you walk by every day, how much of it do you really SEE?

Or do you walk by it and not appreciate it because you’re walking around doing life?

Have you ever driven to work and been totally freaked out when you arrived, not remembering a single second of that drive? And YOU were the driver?!

Those details become apart of regular, every day part of life so you stop seeing them

Things you see all the time wash over you because that’s what brains to. It’s part of their literal functions. It can’t spend precious time and effort constantly taking in the things it sees all day every day. It has so much other stuff to do.

So those wedding photos you have up? Framed on the bookshelves, at your parents’ houses, the ones that you’ll have set as your social avatars for at least the next 5 years—you stop seeing them because they’ve become a part of your basic everyday life.

It’s actually REALLY good that you won’t watch your film as much as you’ll see the photos you plan on hanging on your walls. You’ll notice new details every time you watch it. You’ll take the time to notice things you didn’t pay attention to before.

You think wedding videography is going to be too overwhelming.

All the cameras, all the people, all the pressure—do you really need one more vendor?

I totally get where you’re coming from with this. Add more people with more cameras and what is THAT going to do to your day. If you think about it, your day is 200 people pointing cameras at you.

Really what people are worried about are videographers being in their face and infringing on personal space. And that can be avoided by asking the RIGHT questions when you inquire with them.

A good videographer knows how important your experience is. It’s not just about the final film and getting their shots but making sure you enjoy the day and working with them.

They’ll work with you to overcome all of your fears about being overwhelmed. It’s not important to everyone. So make sure you’re actively looking for a good experience.

Can I hire a college student, friend, or a cheap videographer to film our wedding for us?

OK, I really do want it. But it’s also really expensive.

Before we go any further, I want to be clear that I am not trying to part you from a bunch of money just because I am a videographer. I sincerely want to help you and I would not be doing this job if I did not think this job was providing people with one of the best things they can ever invest in. (Trust me, it’s easier to be a photographer on every level. A lot easier.)

There many things I cannot afford in this life and I will not mortgage my life to get it. But I also won’t get the bargain basement version of it because I believe that will be 1. disappointing and 2. money wasted in the end. (I’m not the only one who should have coughed up the extra $100 for that pair of jeans, right?) That said…

Of course, you can. But I don’t recommend it.

If you’re worried about the experience you’re going to have because these aren’t highly qualified professionals (or professionals at all). A professional knows exactly where to be at all times. They have assistants and second shooters to make sure the day runs smoothly.

The college student with a camera and the sweet friend doing you a favor don’t have that the kind of timeline awareness that’s necessary to film a wedding. And they can get in the way of your awesome photographer… messing up a lot of their shots (not intentionally, it’s an awareness thing). What’s worse than having a bad video shot by a friend? Being pissed that friend/family member missed important shots.

What will you miss out on by not hiring a wedding videographer at all?

Not hiring a wedding videographer is the single biggest regret we hear from newlyweds.

I’m sure you’ve heard that, too. But it bears repeating because IT STILL HAPPENS ALL THE TIME! (Despite happening ALL the time. Such a vicious cycle.)

Immediately after their wedding day is over, most couples wish they had their wedding day on video because they don’t remember any of it. (Even couples who had small or micro weddings.)

Your wedding is going to be one of the most intense parties you’ll ever throw and you’ll have so much adrenaline pumping from all the fun you’re having there’s no conceivable way you can remember it all. It’s tightly scheduled, you’re the center of attention, and you’re floating on air. It’s all pretty surreal.

There’s just too much coming at you all at once. Add a little alcohol into that and it’s a recipe for total memory failure. This is why it’s our job to be in the places you aren’t so you don’t miss a single detail about your wedding.

The value of a wedding video becomes exponentially more valuable as you get older and life changes.

Life changes for everyone.

It’s not only a fun way to remember your wedding but it’s an essential heirloom to remember loved ones by. Life doesn’t stay the same. Sometimes it changes just little bits over time. And other times it changes in great big flashes. We all experience aging, additions to family, milestones—life gets big.

Either way, it’s an incredible way to preserve your family legacy. And then it’s there for you forever, and your kids if you choose to have them (and their kids, and their kid’s kids—and do you know how grateful they’d be? We’ve never had this level of easy preservation before).

Wedding films are like investing in a stock but with guaranteed ROI.

It brings back all the movements and sounds when you need them most

Photography, for all the beauty they provide, cannot do that for you. They’re beautiful. But they’re limited to fractions of a second in time.

With a wedding film, you’ll relive every dance move with your dad, every laugh with your new spouse, and every tearful word of your MOH’s speech. All the things in your wedding day that you didn’t get to see just because you were in a different place.

You get to experience completely new things that you didn’t see on your wedding day, experiencing your wedding in a brand new way.

So, should you hire a wedding videographer to film your wedding?

Yes! If you can afford a professional videographer—do it!

Allocate as much as your budget will allow. The adage “you get what you pay for” applies to all things, even your wedding videography.

Since “affordable” is variable to every budget, (someone think’s $2,000 is laughable insanity, someone else thinks a $15,000 proposal can’t possibly be good enough because they’re too cheap despite how beautiful the portfolio), we recommend you expect to budget as much as you did as your photographer and if that’s too much—not more than 15% less than that.

“That’s crazy! I already maxed out my photography budget.”

No… it’s reality and I’ll write a new post about why that is, soon, but in the world’s smallest nutshell—we use the same equipment as your photographer… but more of it and then some, we have to be 3 other professionals as well (audio + lighting + bring in that equipment), we usually have at least one more person on-site, we’re present for the same time and it takes us longer to create your films. Why should be be charging less exactly?

“Good point. I didn’t know that.”

I know, no one knows. That’s part of the problem and none of us know how to tell you.

Places like The Knot aren’t exactly helping you build realistic expectations by quoting national averages, either. (Literally the bane of every vendor that has ever existed.)

That’s why it’s really important to get ahead of this question at the beginning of wedding planning and not 4 months before your wedding when you’ve got so much budget fatigue but know this is also really, really important and now your stomach is tied into knots.

Your wedding film is wedding memory insurance.

This is the single day you’ve been planning for a year or more, maybe even dreaming about your whole life. And it’s finally here.

Don’t you want to relive that in as much detail as possible?

Watching your best man twirl your 80-year-old grandmother on the dance floor is so much more special 20 years later—when you’re showing her great-grandchildren what a firecracker she was.

Photography can’t capture that kind of memory no matter how good the photographer is—it’s just the limitation of what photography can do.

Getting the best videography coverage you can is going to make the difference between watching your wedding film once and watching it all the time. A great videographer is going to tell the story of your love, and not just record the day’s events. That story is what makes your film compelling and incredible enough to be your favorite film of all time.

So, yes, absolutely hire a videographer for your wedding.

“You’re so helpful and honest, I need you as our videographer!”

Aw, thanks. I’d love to talk with you more.

We are local to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. We often travel to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard to film weddings. (It’s a part of the Cape, but they are islands and we do still have to travel to get there and stay the night). We are thrilled to travel to gorgeous locations throughout the East Coast.

How much do you cost? Plan on us costing as much as your photographer, probably more if you’re asking us to travel.

If you want to check our calendar to see if we’re available, visit our Contact Page. We’d love to talk with you more about your wedding!

ALT: “You’re so helpful and honest, I need you to write something like this for our magazine/blog!”

Aw, thank you. You probably found this when looking for inspiration for what the heck to write for videography to help couples, am I right? I’d love to talk with you more.

This is my favorite subject! (Can you tell?) I hate when I don’t know things but at the same time still have to deal with it. Your couples will appreciate the assist.

Get in touch with me and tell me what you’re looking for, I’d love to help.