Videography: The Great Debate

You’ve carefully chosen a wedding photographer you trust to capture the big emotions and behind-the-scenes moments of your big day. Decades from now, your wedding album will dreamily transport you back to that magical day that went by so quickly. But there’s another wedding planning decision that you just don’t know how to make. Will the photos be enough or do you also hire a videographer? Many Rebecca Marie couples painstakingly debate the pros and cons for far too long. Pro: you can truly relive your wedding day, sound and all, anytime you want. Con: several cameras and the people behind them hovering, maybe even blocking your aunt’s view of your vows. Ugh. So, is it worth it?There is one big thing video can do that I can’t: record audio. You see your grandpa’s signature smirk in a photograph but you can’t hear the laugh behind it. You pass the framed picture of a teary embrace between you and your mom every day but you can’t remember quite what she whispered in that moment. Wedding planning is complicated—full of questions you don’t know to ask and decisions you’re not quite ready to make—I get it. So here are the biggest things that go into choosing the right wedding videographer:

DO:

-Consult your photographer. You likely chose your photographer because their approach to documenting a wedding day aligns with your vision. Therefore, they are the perfect person to help find a videographer that complements your shared vision. The last thing you want is your photographer and videographer at odds about the right way to capture your day. And sadly, this happens more often than you might like to think...-Prioritize a common philosophy & approach. I hinted at it above but this deserves its own bullet point. I cannot emphasize the importance of a similar school of thought enough. Is the videographer all about the candid, in-between moments? Or do they prefer to editorialize and curate the event? When they don’t share a common approach with your photographer you simply won’t get the best either has to offer. And while their answers to your questions over the phone might sound great, your photographer knows how it all plays out (or not) in real life from first-hand experience. Stick with the recommendations of your photographer or other professionals who have already worked with a video team you are considering.-Hire a planner. I know, it sounds like just another line item on your ever-growing to do (and budget) list. But hear me out. The right wedding planner isn’t just there to keep the binder organized. A great wedding planner is like a great coach. They bring together the right mix of players, under the right team philosophy, and like the magic of the Chicago Cubs #Bryzzo bromance, you get a World Series championship wedding day. Once you’ve found a planner that truly understands your classic-with-an-edge aesthetic (hello, velvet & mixed metallics alongside requested black-tie attire), you can trust them to curate the best team for you, photographers and videographers included. Learn more about hiring a wedding planner here! 

DON’T:

-Hire someone just to hire someone. Like everything else wedding related, you want to choose the right details for the right reasons. You don’t want to make day-defining decisions based on the last bits of budget you have (or don’t). If wedding videography is a priority, make sure to budget appropriately from the beginning. If you’re close to the finish line and still debating the “what ifs” around not capturing video of your wedding, it’s probably not the right decision. -Leave a decision this big decision until the last moment. If you’re mere weeks away from the big day and you still can’t shake the idea of capturing it in video form, this is where we would actually recommend recruiting Uncle Ted, the hobbyist with a nice camera. Odds are, he won’t obstruct the professionals and will capture only the moments you really want without having another camera in your face all day. This situation is 100% more preferable than rushing to make the decision on a videography company simply because they are the only ones still available, only to realize that they don’t mesh with your photography team. -Forget to tell your photographer. We have said it before but it is worth repeating: for the best results, your wedding photographer and videographer need to work seamlessly together. When your wedding day arrives, all you need to focus on is enjoying every.single.moment. Yes, one way or another you will have photographs and video to look back for the rest of your lives but you will also always remember how you felt and the experience of having it all documented. The last thing you want is tension between the professionals to define your memory. Instead, you probably want something like this behind-the-scenes moment captured by the amazing documentary team Coco & Seth put together...While wedding photography documents everything from your first look to your I Do’s and the little moments in between, there is one thing it simply cannot do: capture the words that are said, the songs that are sung (and danced to!) and the toasts that color the night. Imagine watching your wedding video in 20 years with your spouse, hearing that inside joke you snuck into your handwritten vows and sharing the sounds of everyone’s laughter with your children. Approached and managed properly, it’s totally worth it. Want to know my top recommendations for wedding videography? Click here to shoot over a message and I'll be happy to share!