Wedding Videography Advice

Wedding photography can eat up a huge chunk of your overall wedding budget, simply because the best wedding photographers tend to charge both for their time and their services. When you're creating your wedding budget, keep in mind that your attitude toward snapshots and home videos should determine how much money you end up dropping on your wedding photographer and wedding videographer.

So how do you decide how much to spend on your wedding photographer (or videographer)? Consider your preferences and your lifestyle. Are you the kind of person who regularly pulls out photo albums to browse through your well-organized and cataloged photograph collection? Or do your family photos sit unloved in boxes that haven't seen the outside of your attic for a decade? How would you feel about sitting down to watch someone else's wedding video?

If pictures mean the world to you, hire the best shutterbug you can afford-cut back on the hors d'oeuvres if that's what it takes. On the other hand, if the thought of looking through your photos bores you to tears, you may want to consider stocking your reception tables with disposables and calling it a day. The same goes for wedding videography -- if you think that you (or your spouse-to-be) will treasure your wedding video for the rest of your days, spend more money on it so you get a superior product.


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Choosing a Videographer

Choosing a wedding videographer isn't easy, considering that you first have to choose whether you want a videographer at all. Some couples are content to have still photography and nothing else, while others feel that having a wedding video is very important. If you do decide that wedding videography is for you, don't just choose someone from the Yellow Pages! If you take care when choosing your videographer, you'll end up with a beautiful record of one of the most important days of your life.

So how do you choose the right videographer?

• Ask for recommendations from banquet managers, photographers, friends and family, religious officiants and your wedding coordinator, if you have one.

• Make sure that prospective videographers do not use a regular VHS camera. The standard video camera for professionals is S-VHS, although if you have the money and you want television quality, find a videographer who uses a Beta Cam or JVC KY27.
  

• Ask that your final copy be given to you on a standard DVD. Some videographers can create cool menus and special features, so ask for these if you want them!
  

• View full-length demonstration tapes of prospective videographers and check them carefully for lighting, sound and the inclusion of important wedding traditions. If a videographer hesitates to share samples, move on.

• Finally, check to make sure that your ceremony site allows videotaping. Some don't, and you wouldn't want to be disappointed.
  

Once you've chosen your videographer, it's time to get a contract. Trust is, unfortunately, not enough these days, but the good news is that contracts protect both you and your vendors. Most of the time, wedding vendors are happy to provide a detailed contract outlining services, fees, and penalties for cancellation by other party. If your videographer does not want to draw up a contract, you should do it yourself or find another videographer.

What is included in the standard contract?

• General event information -- the date, times and locations of all events, the number of people in your wedding party, your name, how long the videographer will be shooting and the videography company's information.

• A description of the video -- what you want included in your video (music, baby pictures, any special effects, captions, etc.), the number of cameras that will be used in the shooting, the name of the cameraman, how many final copies you will receive, any editing that will be done and the length of the video.

• Other information -- what package you're getting, the cost, how many hours it includes, your deposits paid thus far, your remaining balance and when any remaining payments are due.

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