10 Things You Should Consider Before Booking a Wedding Videographer

Choosing a wedding videographer is no small task. Your wedding footage is an investment in the opportunity to look back and reflect on the happiest day of your life! With that being said, you’ll want to conduct some research on the exact qualities of the company you’re looking for to create the most beautiful representation of your big day. We’ve rounded up a list of ten things you should consider before booking a wedding videographer to make your search just that much easier! Scroll on for our tips, along with gorgeous footage from some of our very favorite local Oklahoma videographers!

1. Check Out Their Portfolio

Summer Nicole Films

Checking out a wedding videographer’s portfolio is an absolute must. Sure, they can all talk the talk, but a quick look at their work will tell you if they can truly walk the walk. Most vendors will have clips of their films posted to their company website, but YouTube, Vimeo and Instagram are also great places to look into as well. Summer Nicole Film’s goal is to capture and illuminate, seek to highlight your natural beauty, preserve your true memories, and document what means the most to you. “You are beautiful, unique, and full of stories worth sharing. Your wedding will be beautiful, unique, and a story worth sharing. I would be honored to be the one holding the camera. Check out my work, and see if we could be a good fit! I’d be happy to answer any questions that pop up!”

2. Know What Coverage You Want

Jordan Miears Photography + Films, LLC

The amount of coverage you’re looking for on your wedding day will determine the type of package you select. If you’re dying for that epic confetti-toss exit at the end of the night, your videographer will need to stick around for a while. You might also consider whether or not you want to capture the moments leading up to the big walk as you and your partner-to-be are getting ready. The Miears of Jordan Miears Photography + Films, LLC are a husband and wife duo that specialize in timeless, romantic reels that you’ll want to watch again and again. Just make sure to have the tissues nearby!

3. Think About the Entire Wedding Weekend

Terri Graves Photography + Films 

Including your rehearsal dinner may be more important than you may think. Most times, a rehearsal dinner will include a few heart-felt toasts that you won’t want to skip out on when it comes to your wedding video. Terri Graves Photography + Films is a husband and wife photo + video team that produces bright, vibrant, and natural photos and film full of connection and joy. Their style includes a blend of flattering poses and those candid, emotion-filled moments that make your wedding day unique. This power couple duo loves working together and they can’t wait to get to know you and hear all about what you envision for your day!

4. Understand Package Details

NB Productions

This may seem obvious, but it’s important to establish your budget in the video department from the get-go! Wedding videographers will likely offer multiple packages for you to chose from, and you need to understand how much requests, like staying overtime, will cost you. Also, if you’re only wanting to capture the ceremony, you might not necessarily need the initially proposed film package that may or may not cost you your first born child. NB Productions all about raw emotion and letting you be you, because at the end of the day, when you look back on your  videos, they want you to remember the laughs you had and the moments that you just got to be yourself and have fun. “I am truly grateful to all of my clients who have allowed me to capture their special moments. Those moments deserve to live on for the decades to come and for the next generations to enjoy just as much as we did.”

5. Find Out How They Capture Sound

Megan Reeves

Let’s be real. We’ve all been subjected to attending a wedding where an obnoxious videographer is shoving a boom-mic in the faces of the bride and groom. You’ll want to make sure that your videographer’s style of capturing sound is subtle, yet effective. Megan Reeves specializes in capturing story-driven wedding films for sophisticated and sentimental couples. Megan loves to creatively and intentionally the personal details, people, and moments that are a part of your story in a timeless, meaningful, and entirely one-of-a-kind way.

6.  Determine Style

No wedding video is the same, and going in with a knowledge of the type of style you want is probably the most important aspect of choosing your videographer. Sure, there is a very special talent that comes along with capturing your precious moments, but the way the footage is combined and your story is told carries the most weight. Styles range from documentary, to storytelling, to short form and many more.

7. How Much Input Will You Have?

Some videographers expect clients with no knowledge in the industry to want to take a hands-off approach, which may or may not be true for you or your videographer of choice! When working with a videographer, communicate clearly upfront what your requirements are if any, and determine how much input you will have and what things your videographer will have final say on. The more transparent expectations are upfront, the happier everyone will be at the end of it all.

8. Ask About Their Familiarity with the Area

Check to see if your videographer has ever worked at the particular venue or event center that you will be married at. If there are architectural structures that might pose a challenge on the day of, if good lighting is nonexistent in certain areas or particular times, or if you will be transitioning between outdoor and indoor wedding scenes, then it is smart for your videographer to determine those things beforehand so they can make the appropriate arrangements with their equipment if needed.

9. Check Their Priorities

Is yours the only wedding your videographer will be shooting that weekend? That day? They may have their tight schedule managed down to a T, but keeping open communications about what time they will arrive and leave is key in making sure no one is left hanging.

10. Build Your Dream Team

Ask your videographer if there are any other wedding pros in the area that they enjoy working with or work particularly well around! Videographers in the wedding industry like tend to stay pretty well connected with both photographers and other wedding vendors of all kinds. If they’ve worked well with someone in the past, you may want to consider hiring that person too in order to build a true dream team of vendors. Remember, teamwork makes the dream work!