There are a lot of wedding videographers in the wedding industry and they offer a wide array of services, price ranges, and qualities, which can be a bit confusing on what you need for the wedding.

Well, today, I want to go over everything wedding video so you can better understand what best to look for and how to best narrow down your search.

What’s the difference between a videographer, filmmaker, and cinematographer?

Truthfully, they are one and the same.

Sure, they may differ in how they go about capturing your wedding, the gear in which they use, and the overall end product, but they are all doing the same function, to capture your wedding day.

Many times, people will use different terms to elevate the way their brand or persona is perceived, however essentially, creating a video for you is the ultimate goal here.

The term filmmaker or cinematographer is another fancy way of saying you record video, although the end result of the filmmaker/cinematographer is to be more creative in the storytelling process.

Very few people are going to capture your wedding on a film camera or cinema-grade camera which can easily get into the six figures.

Types of Wedding Video in the Marketplace

That brings me to my next point, what you finally receive.

Some will provide just a highlight video, which is sometimes called a short story, feature film, or highlight story, then you have the simply ceremony video which sometimes is combined with reception footage or you could get a separate reception video.

In years past, couples would get a 1-2 hour long video filled with smaller ‘montages’ if you will. Often times this would be a drawn-out video that most couples would rarely watch.

Fast forward to 2021 and wedding videos are more story-rich than ever before.

Couples love the shorter story and many opt for a short video filled with narration, drone footage, licensed music, fluid movement shots and it shows.

We recently asked 192 wedding videographers what types of services couples tended to book. The overwhelming answer in the poll was that couples opted to buy a short film, more so than anything else.

That tells you that couples want a short, cinematic, dramatic type video, something they can show off and ‘WOW’ friends and family.

The Traditional Video

I want you to think of this as a long video. It’s something that was popular 20 some odd years ago and it’s hardly ever done in 2021. It’s a video made up of several different pieces, like small montages.

I actually used to make these a long time ago.

There was a 1-3 minute opening, then the ceremony, post-ceremony, and reception piece. They can typically last upwards of 2 hours long, although most couples don’t like them because they are long and drawn out.

Roughly 2% of videographers in the marketplace today offer something similar to this and the demand is just not in the marketplace.

Below is an example I did in 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Ceremony Edit

For the ceremony, couples tend to opt for this line item. It usually starts with the family walking into the venue and finishes with the couple walking out. There are usually multiple cameras, wireless mics, and everything is edited down to make a nice ceremony video.

The edit is fairly straightforward and easy to watch.

You’ll find that most videographers offer something almost identical to the sample above, switching between the cameras and using a couple of mics as the audio source.

Reception Edit

This is exactly what it says, its highlights from the wedding reception. Many professionals will attach this to the ceremony or make it a separate video and it will include all the major components of a wedding reception:

• introductions

• first dances

• cake cutting

• garter/bouquet

• exit

• dancing/mingling

The length honestly depends on what’s taking place for the evening, the more stuff that happens, usually the longer the video. In my own experience, these can range from 20 minutes to just about 2 hours long depending on the night’s events.

Highlight Film, Short Film, Feature Film

Perhaps the most popular among the video types today is the short film. While it goes by various names depending on the video pro (we call it a feature film), the idea is to create a short video that's usually in the 3-8 minute range, that tells a story.

It usually has licensed music and often (but not always) is it narrated by the couple, sometimes the officiant, speeches, or a combination of the three.

Although shorter than the other types listed above, it’s harder to edit and usually takes longer to develop. Couples love this type of film because it weeds through the boring parts of the day and makes it entertaining to watch for the couple and for friends and family.

Long Film

While not as popular, the long film is similar to the short film, but ranges in the 8 to 30-minute range. You usually find these with high-end video pros and there is a lot more production value placed on these types of films.

I normally don’t make these types of videos but below is an example that’s as close to one that I make.

Live Streaming

Although it’s not new, it has become VERY popular since COVID-19 in 2020 with weddings. I started offering live streaming back in 2014 and the technology wasn’t that great, fast forward a few years and the tech has become much better.

It comes to a wide variety of flavors, from single-camera raw feeds to elaborate switching of cameras and mics, videographers now have the ability to offer you various levels of live streaming depending on what they want to provide.

Not all Professionals are Created Equal

I can tell you this, you truly get what you pay for when it comes to videographers.

A few years back, I had a couple that came into my studio to book a wedding video with me. The couple wanted to explore other options and they found a guy that offered what appeared to be the same service for a fraction of what I charged for a ceremony-only video.

To that end, I asked the couple if I could come and film the ceremony free of charge and compare it to the guy that they hired.

They agreed.

I created a snippet to show you the difference between $350 vs someone like me that at the time charged $1,200 for the ceremony.

I allowed the paid guy to position his gear (single camera) where he wanted and I tossed up three cameras around the church.

You can not only see the difference but hear it too.

Here is my point, with anything that you purchase, you get what you pay for with regards to quality.

The $350 guy, yeah had one camera, no microphone, and a cheap non-fluid head tripod.

You’re Actually Paying Mostly for Post-Production

When you’re getting married, you’re only thinking about the time a professional will be onsite, but truth be told, most vendors work long hours, usually pre-wedding or post-wedding as is the case with photographers and wedding videographers.

In fact, most good professionals tend to stick with a 1:3 ratio, meaning for each hour worked onsite, there are typically 3 hours of editing, backing up, creating, and processing.

Usually, an 8 hour day can translate into 32-33 hours:

• 1-hour prep time

• 8-hours at the wedding

• 24-hours in post-production

That means that while you think they’re making a lot of money from the wedding, they are actually making far less, let’s explore that a moment.

What a Wedding Videographer Truly Makes

Professionals that do video are similar to their photography cousins and yet, a LOT different too. Most video pros will spend a lot more money on gear, mainly because they need it to create the videos that couples demand.

Things such as drones, sliders, gimbals, microphones, multiple cameras, tripods mean the overall cost is far greater, yet the returns are usually smaller than photos.

Couples forget that the money they pay wedding vendors doesn’t always translate it being put into their pockets.

Taxes, insurance, software, advertising, replacing hardware all costs money.

Take the national average of a wedding videographer which is about $1,800. After they pay into the business, the money left over is about $33 per hour, which’s roughly the same as dental hygienists, landscape architects, market research analysts, and educational administrators according to CareerBuilder.com.

My point to all this is simple, the money you pay the wedding vendor doesn’t all belong to them, much of it is fed into the business for various purposes.

The Myths and Excuses to Skip Wedding Video

Allow me a moment to tell you this, when you’re on social media, video is king.

Everywhere you turn to video in some form or fashion is taking up your day, from Facebook to YouTube, to your streaming accounts on the TV or computer, even billboards are popping up that are video billboards.

Many wedding photographers will tell you something like this:

In years past, the video was regarded as more of a “want” than a need, usually intended for those that were having more expensive affairs, but over the last 3-5 years that mindset has changed, at least in couples’ heads.

One of the most common myths people will say is something to this effect:

• You can’t hang video on a wall, so it’s not worth the money.

  • While that is true, it’s misleading. Let me put it to you like this, would you dedicate your HDTV (or UHD) just for the wedding images and nothing else? No, you wouldn’t. While images have their place, the video does too.

• You’re ONLY going to watch it once, then never again.

  • Again, that’s a myth. In fact, according to Brides.com and the HuffPost, both say that not having a video of their wedding was one of the top line items couples wish they had followed through with.

  • According to a Facebook poll conducted in 2020, nearly 91% of couples that have a video watched it was least 5 times or more annually.

• Photos are the ONLY thing that can capture your day and will last you a lifetime after the fact.

  • Not true. Video too can capture that, plus it offers a couple of things photos can’t, sound and motion. Together, those two features help you remember what your grandparents said during your day, perhaps you forgot what the vows were or you forgot that Aunt Sammie danced the night away like never seen before.

What to Seek with a Wedding Videographer?

While there are tons of great options in the marketplace, they all should have a few similar things in common that you’ll want to make sure of before you book with them.

• First, do they match YOUR budget?

  • You want to make sure that the people you hire will match your budget is. If you are considering someone grossly over budget, I would suggest that you rethink that. Either consider spending the additional money or seek someone within your budget range.

• Make sure they have Quality Gear or Backup Gear

  • Make sure they have more than just one camera, tripod, or microphone, especially if you are doing a ceremony video. A step beyond that is to make sure that they have camera systems that have dual memory card slots, that helps ensure that your videos are on two cards, not one. If by chance one is corrupt, they should have a backup.

• Experience Counts

  • While newbies are a good way to save money, expect mistakes to happen. Years ago, the best way to get into the wedding video business was to work for someone, then branch out onto your own. Today, that mindset has changed some, but we recommend seeking someone with a few years under their belts.

• Make Sure You Have a Signed Contract

  • Finally, two things, make sure you have a signed contract and NEVER pay in full upfront, to ANY wedding vendor.

    • make sure a contract has provisions that protect you, protect the company you are hiring, and make sure the price, what you are getting in return and the details are correct.

    • Next, never pay more than 50%. Here’s the truth, you really don’t know them and they in turn really don’t know you. While it’s rare for someone to close up shop and you never see them again, it does sometimes happen.