Should you hire a videographer for your wedding?

Ok, let’s address the obvious. I’m biased. It can’t come as a surprise to anyone that the wedding videographer authoring this entry is going to vote in favor of hiring a wedding videographer for your wedding. I get it. It’s like a pastor answering whether or not you should go to church. But, hear me out. My goal isn’t necessarily to sell you on anything in this article, but rather to highlight the value of something that is often undervalued.

Here’s how the process usually goes - you get engaged! You start looking for a venue and a photographer, since you know those are in high demand and you’ll need to act quickly. This is all new and exciting, and as you’re booking your vendors, you realize quite quickly something that you weren’t ready for - weddings are expensive. Yes, you knew they were expensive to begin with, but you’re already spending more money than you realized, and it’s adding up quickly. Not just the venue and the photographer, but the invitations, the flowers, the cake, the getaway car, the glow sticks for the reception, the gifts, the catering, the alcohol, the planner, the decorations… it’s all overwhelming, and you feel the stress of so many details piling up. As the big day approaches, there’s a draining sense of “I can’t wait until this is over and I can just relax...”

Then… “Oh! Do we want a videographer?” You can’t stand the thought of continuing the wedding planning process, especially one that requires more expenses and effort and adds one more vendor to the day. But some of your friends have told you that you have to get a videographer and they love their videos. But, you think to yourself, at least I’ll have pictures to look back on, and those last a lifetime. The video is fun, but it’s really just one social media post and then the excitement dies down and you’ll probably never look at it again. So is it worth it?

I’m going to say something here that might come as a bit of a shock, but here goes. If I were planning my wedding and I had to choose either a photographer or a videographer, I would choose video. Every time. Why? Well, I’ll tell you that my reason would not be that I could just take screenshots of my video and use those for pictures. Video has come a long way with 4k and even 8k resolution becoming the norm, but even with this higher resolution, video frames still don’t (and probably won’t for a long time) offer the same quality as a still image, especially when artificial lighting is a factor. Video is not a replacement for pictures, and I don’t think it ever will be. I’m not saying that video would capture everything I wanted - if I had my way, I’d book both video and photo. But if I had to choose, I’d go with video over photo. My reason? I think video just captures more.

But here’s the key - I would do my homework and find the right type of videographer. If all the videographer offered was a flashy highlight film with fun transitions and cool effects and swooping drone shots and hype music. Then… yeah, I’d choose photos over that. That type of product has the lifespan of a ripe avocado. It grabs your attention, dazzles you, and then drops you back into reality in 5 minutes, and then you’re left to occasionally revisit that same video, less and less as the years drag on, seeking the same high as the first, but never quite reaching it again. To me, that isn’t worth it. And I would prefer pictures over that.

So what type of videographer would I look for? I’d make sure that whoever I booked knew how to capture completely. Sure, it would be cool if my videographer could make things look sexy and cinematic. Awesome. But does she get good audio? Does she know where to be to capture the moments that matter most? Does she have the right equipment and know how to use it? Does she have backups on backups? Does she offer full length videos of important moments like speeches, the ceremony, first looks? Does she have a script for the day or does she instead let moments unfold naturally? If there are positive answers to each of those questions, then I want her over any photographer. Because when I start sobbing when my bride comes down the aisle, I don’t want to just see a picture of my ugly cry face, I want to hear the whimpers, see how nervously I tucked my chin into my shoulders and desperately tried to gain composure, and feel the moment not as it looked, but as it actually happened. I want to know what people said in their speeches, not just see my expression as I listened. I want to be able to look back on videos of deceased relatives and watch them as they embrace me, not just see what they look like frozen in time.

That is value that pictures can’t replace. And even though video can be expensive, there are great videographers out there who value what matters most, and they don’t charge and arm and a leg to do what they do. I might know one…