When planning your wedding there are many decisions to be made and many choices to choose from. There are certain things that you may want to leave out of your wedding because it is over your budget, and just too expensive. My recommendation to you is that you don’t skimp on a photographer and a videographer. These are the two people who will capture your day in the most professional way possible, enabling you to relive your special day whenever you want to, with your children and grandchildren in the future.

You may be tempted to hire “uncle Bob” as your wedding videographer, afterall he has the latest smartphone and has taken many home videos that you like, why waste money?! This is one of the biggest mistakes I see clients make, and you cannot relive your wedding day to capture your love story a second time around. Uncle Bob refers to any friend or family member who is not a professional videographer, even if they think otherwise.

If you aren’t convinced as to why you should hire a professional videographer, here are a few good reasons to reconsider:

Capturing the Emotion

Photographs can capture the raw emotion the same as pro video can do. A video can be a special keepsake for you and your family. A professional videographer can get up, close and personal with you on your wedding day and also create a beautiful wedding “movie” or story that has been creatively edited. This video will be the closest thing you have to reliving that day, make sure it is captured the way you want it to be.

Surprise Shots

On your wedding day you are focusing on your partner and enjoying every moment together. It is not possible for you to be part of every moment with every guest at your wedding. The fact of the matter is that you will miss out on parts of your wedding, having a professional capture these missed moments will help you to see everything that your guests enjoyed too. You may watch your wedding day back and be surprised with many moments that you missed while dancing, taking photos or cutting your cake. Once again, a professional is trained to capture these moments without being in your guests faces, whereas uncle Bob may seem a bit rude zooming his camera phone in while guests are eating.

You Get What You Expect

Uncle Bob may promise you an academy award winning wedding story, but there is no guarantee that you are going to be happy with what he captures. A professional videographer has the high tech cameras and editing software that will deliver the type of wedding video you have always dreamed of. By hiring a professional it lessens the chance of you being disappointed that your wedding day wasn’t captured as the romantic fairytale you had hoped for. Just like a photographer, a videographer will have a portfolio that you can view to see if they have the style that you envision for your own wedding.

Experience

This goes without saying, your uncle Bob’s camera reel on his latest iPhone doesn’t count as good wedding experience. A professional videographer should have video and photography training, as well as be able to edit using professional software. Capturing raw footage is one thing, editing it to create a real life love story is another. Your videographer should have a few years of experience capturing weddings.

Don’t be tempted to hire someone who works in other fields of videography, weddings are a specialised niche.

Let Friends be Friends and Professionals do Their Work

Let your “uncle Bob” or any other friend enjoy your wedding, it only happens once. You hire professionals to work together because they know the ins and outs of weddings and can work well together without annoying your guests. Your friends and family have been invited to enjoy and celebrate your special day with you, not to work behind a camera or smartphone.

Once you have hired your videographer, there are a few things that you need to discuss with them to ensure that they work well with your photographer.

Your photographer and videographer will be working very closely on your wedding day as they capture most of the same moments. Here are a few things that your videographer needs to be aware of when working with your photographer:

Position

Your videographer needs to have their own “route” of footage to take, they need to give the photographer space to capture photos that need to be captured. The advantage of a video is that footage can be taken from various angles and distances and can be edited to create a beautiful story. Photographs on the other hand, need to be taken at good angles for light and position of the bridal couple in order to capture moments in a beautiful way. The videographer needs to be aware of the photographers space and try to not get in the way.

Communication

Both your photographer and videographer need to be comfortable communicating with one another. It is not your job to play the middleman on your wedding day. It may be a good idea to have a meeting with both of your professionals to discuss the timing and layout for your wedding day, and for them to discuss the way that they like to work as well as the do’s and don’ts for the couple. If you have clear communication before the wedding day, your wedding day will run a lot smoother.

When choosing a videographer you need to ensure that they have an excellent portfolio that you are happy with. They need to have the right equipment for capturing excellent quality videos, most professionals should have different cameras that can capture different angles. Ask about their editing techniques and software. A wedding day video is more than a bunch of raw moments out together, it should be an emotional rendition of your special day. Your video should be tastefully edited with music and creative additions that make it special and unique. Finally, always choose someone who has a lot of experience. You don’t want to give the “new kid” on the block a chance at your wedding, you may be greatly disappointed with what you get. Hire someone who knows weddings well and has been doing it for any years.

The most important thing to remember is that on your wedding day you need to leave your worries at the door and enjoy every single moment with your partner. You won’t be able to relive your wedding day again, give your photographer and videographer loads of beautiful moments to capture by really being present in them.