When it comes to wedding planning, budget is often a deciding factor. There are certain essentials that must be included. Lets face it you are going to have to have a wedding dress and a wedding cake! Often it’s a matter of making a list and then going down it and sorting out the must haves from the maybes or the we can do withouts.
Although most couples do engage the services of a professional photographer, not every couple choose to have a professional videographer to make a wedding video. Perhaps this is on the grounds of cost or perhaps they just don’t feel the need.
Even if there is no full wedding video I do think it’s a good idea to film the speeches. I have witnessed many speeches and naturally they vary enormously. Some are highly polished, well written and entertaining, others are verging on the painful. This is not a criticism as I admire anyone who is not used to public speaking for having the courage to stand up and have a go. Whether the speech is good or bad in terms of content and delivery there are going to be some classic moments and you never know what these are going to be. It could be an incredibly funny joke which brings the house down, a brilliant ad lib or a very warm and moving expression of tenderness and love. These moments cannot be captured in a photograph. Only a video will do.
My first choice would always be to hire a professional videographer if you can stretch to it. They will have all the right equipment to do the job properly. They will have proper microphones to ensure good sound quality and so on. They will also be geared up for editing to your satisfaction.
An alternative to hiring a professional is to find a friend who films as a hobby. This is not ideal but is better than no video at all. You might strike it lucky and find someone who does a first class job but a hobbyist is unlikely to have the kind of equipment used by a professional or the experience and expertise.
As a last resort you could ask one or two of your guests to take some video for you. All digital cameras can do video these days and somebody is bound to have a camcorder. This is a bit of a lucky dip approach but it’s better than nothing.
When I got married ( it seems a very long time ago ) I had an army friend who was doing wedding videos on the side. He very kindly offered to film my wedding. He did a great job and I am eternally grateful to him. Unfortunately he had to leave before the wedding breakfast was over. My Best Man made a brilliant speech and there is no record of it. Sadly it’s lost forever.
If you are going through the decision making process and you have reached wedding video, yes or no. My advice is a definate YES.
Share your thoughts on wedding videos here. Is it a yes or a no and why?
