Options for every wedding videography priority level
If a wedding video is…
✅ ZERO PRIORITY — have your friend film your wedding. All of the above is still true. If you absolutely don’t care about quality, or they’re of professional quality, and you don’t mind them not really celebrating with you—go for it. The important thing is you know what’s involved when going into this agreement.
If you want to hire a professional, there are budget-friendly pros—but keep your expectations realistic. If you hire someone for $500 off of Craigslist, don’t expect $5,000 quality. And it might take some effort to find a budget-friendly videographer you like.
✅ A PRIORITY BUT YOU HAVE A SMALL BUDGET but don’t want to sacrifice high quality — Total honesty here? This unicorn doesn’t exist. Inexpensive videographers exist, but “cheap” comes at a cost, and 99% of the time, that cost is quality on some or all levels. Whether that’s actual camera skills, editing skills, skills that involve wedding day interaction, or project-long customer service skills—something will be missing.
If you LOVE that $7,000 videographer’s films, but you only want to pay $2,000—you will not be getting the same product. Not even if you asked them to copy their style.
Sidebar—do not ask a videographer to copy another videographer’s style; it’s not fair to either vendor. Not only do videographers spend years developing their own signature styles, but this ask is a big burn (even if you don’t mean it that way). To YOU it seems like a perfectly logical way to solve a problem and get exactly what you want. To the original videographer, it sounds like “I don’t think your skills are worth $7,000” and to the affordable videographer, it sounds like “I don’t like your product, please give me a much better product at the same price.”
Not to mention, we all learned in school copying someone else’s work is wrong, and that’s pretty much what you’re doing.
If you’re in the Unicorn boat, you’re going to have to re-review your priorities.
Is it essential for you to remember these moments? Then a wedding film is high enough of a priority to be on equal footing as your photographer.
And if you’re struggling to fit all the things into your budget, don’t take out one of the things that will provide you with memories. Examples—programs and favors can go immediately. (Gasp! Not FAVORS!! Be honest, when was the last time you kept a favor you couldn’t eat that wasn’t out of obligation? (And now it’s sitting somewhere collecting dust?) #bible.
Programs can be eliminated entirely (unless you have an unconventional wedding; most people know what happens at a ceremony).
It’s not that these things aren’t a delight—they just aren’t necessary. They’re a weird tradition that kept going over time—when was the last time you treasured your friend’s favor or program? And if you’re feeling pinched and you need to free up space in your budget for the wedding film that’s important to you, then this might be a place to start.
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✅ CRITICAL TO YOUR HAPPINESS, and you have a healthy wedding budget—I can only assume you’re looking for proof or permission to invest in videography. Or you’re trying to fend off a friend’s awkward offer. (This is what you tell them, btw, “Thank you so much, we’re flattered! But it’s important to us that you be fully present and celebrate with us, so we hired professionals to capture our big day.”)
You already know it’s essential, so absolutely go with a pro. Expect that investment to be as much as or more than the photographer you hired.
PRO-TIP: Don’t get an ultra-expensive photographer and a budget videographer; there’s a huge gap in skill level that will inevitably cause problems during the day.