Is a Videographer worth it?

I was weighing around this same option. The advice offered to me was, if you have room in your budget, go for it. Especially if you're sentimental. It took me a while, but I shopped around and found the right one for the right price. But if it comes between the photographer and the videographer, I would pick the photographer.

The videographer is nice to capture the ceremony, I think. But you just gotta be aware how quickly it can be dated. If you decide to go with one, look at their portfolio/previous work to make sure their style (cinematic, artistic) matches your vision.

Go to

www.orangefilmsNY.com and

www.mikesimonsvideo.com ( I believe they are both here) and you'll get a sense of whether it's worth it.

(hint; my couples are on each website ;-)

I hired one. We found one for 8 hours for $1375 they have been doing it for 25 years. It's something I really wanted. Looking at pictures to me instead reliving the day as much as seeing a video. I didn't want to regret it. If you can find one under 2k I'd do it.

If it was within my budget I definitely would have hired a videograher. However, Since I already had an amazing photographer I couldn't see spending $1,500 on a vidoegrapher. Plus it probably would be something I only watched once and never watch it again. Whereas with photos they will be all around my living room and in albums.

1375 seems like a great price! The ones i have been looking at have been 3,500-4,500. Guess I should keep looking for lower priced ones.

It's worth it! The day went by so fast, FH and I are glad we can relive all of it in a video

No. If you're going to do it, as photography, you spend what a good person costs. If you can't afford or justify the expense, don't do it.

I agree with Celia every time this topic comes up. Good videography comes at a price. I was going to skip videography at first because I was seeing average vendors and the product wasn't impressive. As soon as I found our videographer I knew I had to have them despite the cost. I cry watching random couples videos every time I go on their website.

Worth it. I did my research and found someone great for a great price!

I definitely think it is worth it if you can afford it.

Memories fade and I want to remember it

Celia what do you think is a good price?

I am hiring one! FH and I were on the fence about whether we wanted to spend the extra money. After talking to coworkers, every single one that had a videographer at their wedding said it was the best decision they made. The ones that didn't have one said they regretted it and wished they had hired one. FH and I plan to watch our wedding video every anniversary to relive our day it will also be nice to see aspects of the day that maybe we didn't get to see or notice on the day of.

(We also found one under 2k that did the type of style we like! You don't have to spend a fortune to get good quality.)

We skipped it and instead hired a very good photographer. We set up two camcorders for the ceremony (a front view and a back view) and we have no regrets! The only thing is I wish we also set up a camcorder on a tripod to record the reception from a distance, just to hear the speeches again. Mostly my grandpa's speech (he's 90 and he drove all the way from NY to MN and gave a speech during the reception. I wish we had a recording of that since it was so special to us).

I was married in 1982, a year in which video cameras were available to professional organizations, but for John Q. Public, they were seriously expensive and weighed as much as rocket launchers (and were positioned similarly on the human body). This wasn't a viable option when I was married, but I'll tell you why I wish it had been.

1. Me. I would be able to see me...a size four, almost four decades ago, in the bloom of youth, wearing a gorgeous white gown, looking more beautiful than I ever had...watching the images that would have proved to me that my guests, the ones who said, "You're a vision", were telling the truth, lol. Photos are one thing. Moving images...in real time? Well, that's another thing entirely. That is life, not slices of life.

2. I'd want to see my friends, Carolyn, Debbie, and my sister Karen, in their 20'a...walking down the aisle in burgundy and blush (there's nothing new under the sun -- more than half of our weddings booked last year and this year feature those two colors). Everyone has gotten older, and Karen, my sister, survived a bout of cancer. She looks great and is currently in good health, but to watch her walk the aisle, in perfect health and with her youth so obvious against the background of emotional music...well, I'd dig up a lot of money to make the impossible happen...if it could. But it can't. However, for today's couples, it most certainly can.

3. Him...Wherever we are today, we were at our height back then. I'd love to revisit those heights -- almost four decades later. I want to focus on those tears he said he had in his eyes when he saw me cross the threshold. In fact, I'd want to focus on my own that I know were there.

4. My family. My father...at 45, not 80, now an unearthly gray (in hair and complexion) and failing (as he was last week at my son's wedding), and my mother...at 42, not 77 (as she was at my son's wedding last week). Did they look fabulous last week? Yes...both of them, but whatever their ages, they always look perfect at formal affairs...it's just that, I'd like to see them, once again, in action -- as I know I remember them.

I love to see my paternal grandmother -- the Irish Catholic Matriarch (capital letter on purpose) -- the woman who always made it seem like Thanksgiving Dinner was the preamble to the big deal -- Christmas Dinner. She was a resilient, tough, "bring it on" woman, widowed at 48, who endured much, but enjoyed much -- including her five children, 18 grandchildren, and when she passed at 96, her 31 great-grandchildren. To watch that emerald green dress with the crystal brooch moving to her generation's music as she danced with her sons -- not in photos, but in action -- that would be something I'd give a lot o see.

I'd love to see My Uncle Fred, a retired NYC police officer, father of four, tough, but soft, alive, and lifting a glass to toast us while he was inadvertently positioned in front of a bowl of salad at our reception (I still remember those small wooden bowls, lol)...not someone we buried nine years ago while his wife and children broke down. My Aunt Eleanor, making everyone hysterically laugh at something silly that happened during our ceremony, not someone I now think of because she is a name on a mass card that I keep on my vanity mirror.

My children and my grandchild..they'd love to watch a video of our ceremony. They've told me that many times...well, the kids more than the grandson. He thinks anything that happened in the 1900s is cool because it's ancient. As far as the little guy is concerned, I don't know if he'd choose my wedding video or a video of the latest Dan TDM performance, lol....but one day he'd make the right decision (if he had the option).

I can't give you a harder sell, and this isn't even a product I can produce. If you can find a way, pay for it and cherish it...decade after decade after decade.

Im in the same boat. I actually got quoted for $1500 for 6 hours.... but edited down to a 2 minute highlight video.... $1500 for a 2 minute product is crazy to me.

The search will continue.

I say do it if your budget allows it, the day goes by so fast, happy we decided to have one.

My wedding was Saturday & all I thought about after was how I can't wait to see that video!! It was all a blur & I can't stress enough how I do not remember a. single. thing! I would be kicking myself if I hadn't hired one! Being able to relive everything was so important to me!

As a video major in college- I know how to edit a good video and shoot one. In my experience newlyweds are the only people who watch their wedding video. Most people only watch it after the first year and then forget about it. So in my opinion- not worth it

It's worth it! We just decided to hire one last week. I think I would have regretted it if I didn't.

DH and I always knew a videographer was a priority for us. One thing I love about having our video is seeing the moments I missed. You don't realize how many directions you are going to be pulled that day and there were some precious memories that I missed seeing first hand. I can experience them in our video more than I ever could through our photos.

@Celia is right, an amazing videographer comes at a premium. But do your homework! There was a guy here in STL that DH and I loved but there was no way we could swing what it would cost to hire him. DH is a news producer so video is his thing and he asked around and found the videographer we hired. They were not quite as good as our first choice but they still did an amazing job and were much more budget friendly.