Videographer Issue Post-wedding

Was there only one shooter? We had two shooters so if one didn't get something the other should have.

You could definitely ask for a partial refund, but unfortunately nothing will give you back that moment. I am so sorry.

Ugh I am so sorry! When the videographer reached out to tell you this, did they offer any remedies? Or were they just like "So FYI..."?

I would definitely ask for at least a partial refund.

Were they only hired to capture the ceremony, or do they have other footage of the day as well?

Oh no, this is awful! So sorry this happened to you. I agree they should give you some sort of refund. Errors do happen, but they should have been prepared for something like this. How does a high end camera over heat? You paid for a service and they didn’t deliver what you paid them for. Get your refund and then post an honest review. If they don’t refund you, be brutally honest. Good luck.

Oh my goodness! If they are unable to recover it I would ask for a 100% refund if I was you! That is terrible! 1 job!

You should get, at minimum, a 50% refund.

If this is what they do for a living, I'd think they should offer you a full-refund and still give you whatever footage they can. A wedding videographer's most important job is to capture the ceremony (in most cases). If they are missing ANY of that footage, I'd expect them to bend over backwards to apologize and try to make things as right as possible. Yes, things happen, but this particular thing was CRITICAL to them being able to perform the service you contracted them for. For the sake of customer service to you and for the way this reflects very badly on their business, they should do everything possible to try and make things right with you. I'd be upset by even a 50% refund -- it's not like you only wanted them to film half the wedding. Their most critical tool -- the video camera -- malfunctioned when you hired them to use it.... I'm so sorry!

So I'm a photographer, and while I've only dabbled in video, many videographers use DSLRs or mirrorless cameras these days, the cameras themselves of which I am super familiar with. Most professional cameras have have dual media recording slots in case of failure. Without knowing what equipment your videographer was using I cannot say for sure, but it seems unlikely that an overheating battery would destroy footage from a portion of what was recorded without your videographer being aware of an issue at the time. So while equipment does malfunction and it's possible some coverage would have been lost, I honestly feel like if more than a minute or two was lost at most, it's something that could have been prevented by a well prepared professional. Most pros use the dual media slots for backup, have multiple batteries on hand, and then also have a backup body on site in case of failure. Switching from one body to another should take maybe 30 seconds AT MOST. That's enough time to miss an important moment - such as the kiss - but it sounds like more than that was lost. Additionally, I'll point out I've never heard of an overheating battery destroying footage - batteries can overheat, which impacts their battery life and can cause an error, warning, or device shut down (which can be resolved quickly by switching the battery or using a back up device) - but they generally don't result in a recording error or footage being compromised or erased, and you typically know what is happening when it happens, not after the fact.

A full refund is ABSOLUTELY justified in this case. Regardless of whether or not the issues were preventable or a back-up could have been in place, your videographer should feel absolutely horrible, as those moments are not replaceable and they failed to capture them, which was their job. I'm really sorry you lost those moments being recorded.

If I were the videographer I would provide the best product I could with the footage I had and issue a full refund and my deepest, most sincere apologies to the couple.

Oh no girl ! I am sooo sorry ! This could've been completely avoidable and by no means should you have to pay for a service that didn't even deliver!! Like what footage did they even get?