Wedding Central Forum

Hi everyone, just wondering your thoughts on videography. It is probably the only thing I haven't organised. At first I thought nah don't need it but was wondering if actually it is more essential than I first thought. Also wondering people's experiences and recommendations. Thanks guys!

I havnt booked one for my wedding but I would love to have it. With any big event time flies and I have a shocking memory at the best of times..I want to be able to remember the little bits and see the things I originally maybe missed..I think if we did get one I would definitely do the entire ceremony and the speeches/first dance at the reception. Photos will help tell the tale but videography will help re live it...And after spending so much time, money and effort planning I want to be able to relive it everytime i stick it in the dvd player

I personally decided not to have a videographer with my principal reason being that I wanted to have a bigger budget for photography which was much more important to me. Having said that I will be lending my camcorder to whoever wants to use it on the day and asking them to record as much as they want to - doesn't have to be a work of art, that's what the photos are for.

Zenyatta wrote:

I personally decided not to have a videographer with my principal reason being that I wanted to have a bigger budget for photography which was much more important to me. Having said that I will be lending my camcorder to whoever wants to use it on the day and asking them to record as much as they want to - doesn't have to be a work of art, that's what the photos are for.

I totally agree. My family's just going to record it for me and im spending extra on a photographer that I love. I figure I'll watch the video once maybe twice but the photos will be on my wall forever! I know alot of people think it's very important and if you have the money to spend then why not but I'll personally be going without!

I think the key moments in a wedding that would be nice to capture on video would be the ceremony/Vows and the speeches.... which can be done with any camera these days. Although If I were to consider video at all (i think more then just a photographer while we were getting ready would be a bit much/annoying) and had a HUGE budget I'd do the whole cinematographer thing and do something really awesome

But I'm happy just to have a awesome photographer

Robot_Movie wrote:

I think the key moments in a wedding that would be nice to capture on video would be the ceremony/Vows and the speeches.... which can be done with any camera these days.

It's not what kind of camera...professionals use directional microphones. If you have a family member plop a camera in the back of the ceremony, or even close to the front, and the celebrant / priest doesn't have a PA system then your vows will not come out. People usually speak softer when they do their vows due to the emotion. Without a lapel mic on the groom (which most professionals use) you won't hear much.

I think if we could have added it into our budget we would have but the photographer we chose is fantastic and hopefully there are family there that will record the ceremony and some getting ready bits and pieces.

To me videography was not necessary. But I am spending quite a lot on photography. At the end of the day we figured we were far more likely to get an ongoing benefit out of photos that we can pull out and see all the time rather than a video that we will probably hardly watch.

Just our opinion though!

Personally, I would highly recommend videography to everyone! DH and his family were completely against it at the start, but when we received ours, they could not stop raving about it and could not believe they said no! ours was edited quite well and we got to see all the little things we missed as the day goes sooo fast!

We definitely spent more on photography, but the videography captured things that photos/and our memories obviously can't hold onto for long like our vows (and the emotions), readings and speeches, and funny things that happened during the photo shoot and reception...

Just like our photos,its not something I will be pulling out to watch every day...but definitely something to cherish and I cannot wait for my future children to be able to watch our wedding..I so wish my parents had videographed their wedding, it would have been fantastic to watch!

You don't have to go all out with videography as that becomes quite exy (e.g. cinematic experience, extra lighting, second videographer etc)..the standard packages most companies offer are perfect to capture everything with professional equipment and experience.

we went with hitched productions http://www.hitchedproductions.com.au and I highly highly recommend them!

I'm spending $2,200 on photography and $1,000 on videography. To me, videos are non-negotiable because I would sorely regret not being able to see the day in motion again, as videos can capture what photos can't.

I thinks its completely a personal choice.

I cant decide either to have it or not.

Pros:
It will capture the moments u miss
U can make a dvd and send it to guests as a thank you gift.

Cons:
It can be expensive
You will barely watch it

You also have to decide it is in your budget...is it something u really want. Its soo hard to decide...I guess if i have the money to then i will. But if i dont i will always have my photos to look back.

Sorry i havent been much help

One of my friends said the video was the best thing she did. Her kids love watching it and it is a great way to remember those moments and see the bits you missed cos you were so caught up in the whirlwind.
Therefore I am having a video done by a pro. I actually knew of someone through a couple of friends and he is AMAZING! I can't wait.

In the 'old' days you may not have watched your wedding DVD unless it was a special occasion (i.e. anniversary) and only then if you could find the VHS/DVD. But today thanks to the marvels of the internet we have online video which means you can have some beautiful video clips hosted online for everyone to share for years to come.

I shoot wedding videos here in Brisbane and it wasn't until a few years ago when I got married myself that I understood just how special a wedding video can be. Photographs are fine, but there is nothing like watching your wedding on TV or computer. Everything comes back to life, it is such a time capsule and one that gets more valuable as the years go by.

I definitely recommend having your day filmed

I only decided to have a professional video recorder about 8 weeks out from my wedding. I am so glad that I have done it now because honestly the day is a blur. I hope that the video will bring back some of the little things i have forgotten and remind me of the special moments. And with the way tecnology is going I think it will be a shame not to have it. We only spent about $800.

I have seen some shocking videographers. I have worked with almost 50, most of them are creating shots to fit within their standard editing (every wedding video turns out looking the same). I have actually seen a videographer ask a bride to get back into the car and re exit 3 times because he couldnt get the shot he was after. If you do get one make sure they are creating a video of what happens on the day rather than staging shots to fit with their standard film. If you are unsure, ask to see a couple of their sample tapes and see how similar they are - trust me a lot of them are "insert couple here" packages.

Interesting how most of the posts here are form people in the wedding industry who have a vested interest in people spending money on a video.

I am not having one - according to some people that means I do not "value my wedding", but I simply have a budget and had to choose what was important to me. I have a paid for a good photographer, which I wasn't prepared to skimp on, nor was I prepared to skimp on quality food and drinks for my guests, everything else is done as budget a physically possible.

Chief Pancaker Maker wrote:

I have a paid for a good photographer, which I wasn't prepared to skimp on, nor was I prepared to skimp on quality food and drinks for my guests, everything else is done as budget a physically possible.

I find it interesting that people willingly pay through the nose for a good photographer but will only spend $500 on video and expect the world from it. The last few years have seen the emergence of wedding cinematography. If you don't know about it then Google it and see who does it your area. The new DSLR film cameras are amazing and couples are no longer getting wedding "videos" per say - they are getting wedding films with an edited story.

To each their own and I completely understand that everyone has a budget to work with. But here is a short example of a wedding trailer from one of the world's best. You can be the judge if a photo album stacks up to modern wedding film and if it's something you want to invest in.

http://vimeo.com/12014034

And for those who say "I will barely watch it..." I think you would love watching something like this over and over and sharing it with your friends and family.

It was a definite for me! There's so many things that the photo's can't capture. We're writing our own vows and learning a Latin dance for our first, they're things that I'd love to be able to relive. A lot of companies now are doing an extra thing, quite often at the same cost, a short film of the wedding. Most guests, including family don't really want to sit through the 3 hour bore that is the normal wedding video but they do a gorgeous film of all the highlights with some nice music. It's the perfect size to attach to an email so it's easy to share with all the family.

For ours it cost $1000, but that's for two cameramen and the entire day, from me getting ready to the first dance. Given that our photography was only $1500 I figured $2500 for the both was a fairly reasonable price considering some brides pay that alone for photography.

I guess it's just a personal thing, I'm a very sentimental person and I want as much as I can to remember the day.

Of course everyone is different. Unfortunately it's not something you can appreciate until after you have been married and want to remember everything. I can't tell you how many times people have said they forget so much after coming back from their honeymoon.

Our video is priceless to me. I love it so so much more than the photos. Sure photos are nice, but to actually re-live your day through the video is amazing.

I watch my video over and over and in all honesty, our big day was so busy and surreal that it went by in a blur. It wasn't until I got the video and sat to watch it on my comfy couch with a glass of wine did I truly enjoy my day.

If it were me, I'd skimp on the reception, on the dress, the photographer, basiclly anything else... The video was the best spent money ever!!