Wedding Videography: Pros and Cons

One of the most common wedding regrets I hear from brides is not having good videography on their wedding day. Sure, a picture is worth a thousand words, but videography can capture the “feel” of the day in a way that photography sometimes can’t. On the other hand, I often hear couples who DID have videography complain that they spent too much on it and don’t pull it out often (or ever!) to enjoy it. There are plenty of factors that you and your partner should weigh when deciding whether or not videography has a spot in your budget.

This list is specifically aimed at looking at the pros and cons of hiring a professional videographer.

Pros:

A video can capture the entire ceremony from start to finish, including your vows.

You will be able to look back on specific moments and memories for years to come in a more lifelike way.

Your wedding day will likely be a whirlwind- videography can capture moments in real time that you may miss or will forget.

Video footage of your guests gives you more “time” with them.

Even if you may not watch it very often, your children and grandchildren may love seeing the video of your wedding day.

Emotion is oftentimes more easily captured on video than in photos.

It’s better to have it and never watch it than to regret not having it years down the road.

Cons:

Videography can be very expensive, especially if added on top of photography

In some ways videography and photography together can be redundant.

Your videographers will need to follow you around all day, which can feel like an intrusion if you don’t know them or aren’t comfortable with them yet.

Many couples say they rarely, if ever, watch their wedding videos (but some certainly do!).

Wedding ceremonies are important and arguably dignified, and having videographers run around trying to capture the whole thing can detract from the intimacy of the moment (in fact, some houses of worship don’t allow videography at all for this reason).

Many couples choose the third option of having a family member take video of the ceremony, which has its own set of pros and cons.

Pros:

Your friend or family members know you and your partner- they won’t ever feel like an intrusion, and they may recognize the particularly special or intimate moments better than a professional.Asking a friend or family member to records the special moments of your wedding will be much cheaper than hiring a professional videographer (and maybe even free!).

Cons:

A standard video camera run by an amateur videographer will typically be lower-quality than professional videography (shaky, lower-resolution, poor audio quality)- consider renting a nice camera and professional microphone.

With amateur videography, you run a higher risk of technical errors (dead battery, full memory card, etc.) that could mean missing important parts of the day.
Asking a friend of family member to take video of your ceremony means they will be working instead of just enjoying the wedding.

It’s important for you as a couple to decide whether or not videography is important to you. Only you can decide whether you are the types of people to pull your video off the shelf to reminisce about your wedding day for years to come.