You pick the venue.
You pick the caterer.
You pick the DJ.
You pick the color of the napkins (or whatever — I don’t know, my wife did all that stuff).
And somewhere along the way, the question might come up:
“Should we hire a videographer?”
Even the couples who know from the start that they want a wedding film — the ones who say “video is important to us” on day one — still seem to let it fall through the cracks until after all the other vendors are booked.
Even in these modern times, where kids are more apt to pull out their phones in the face of danger — like an oncoming tornado — ready to record the violent atrocity at the cost of their lives rather than seek shelter, only 39% of couples in 2024 hired a videographer for their wedding.
And, again — while completely unbiased — I think that’s crazy.
Because almost everything about your wedding day disappears the moment the night ends.
The cake gets eaten.
The flowers wilt.
The music fades.
The dress gets stored away.
The guests scatter, never to be seen again.
All that remains are the photos (for some reason 90% of couples hire a photographer — but what’s so great about a photo? It doesn’t even move), the memories stored in your head (which will fade over time — sorry, it’s true), and a handful of phone clips from your friends.
You know the ones — a little too dark, a little too shaky, the audio blown out so you can barely hear what’s happening. The kind of clips that make you think, “This makes me so angry! Cancel the rest of the wedding!” (I know, I’m bitter. I don’t like amateurs encroaching on my turf — even if mobile technology is amazing.)
Oh, and you have each other, I guess.
Basically, a tornado just blew through your life.
Remember how I said kids pull out their phones when they should probably be running?
Well — why do they do that?
Yes, social media has shifted the paradigm of social behavior, and for some, it’s become instinctual.
But the deeper reason behind that instinct is because video conveys so much more than words or a photo ever could.
It can show you exactly how a moment in time looked.
How it sounded.
How it smelled (eh).
How it tasted (sure).
Basically — it reminds you how it felt.
And that’s the key to the question of whether you should hire a wedding videographer.
Do you want to remember how it felt?
Because I’ll be honest:
Raw footage is boring.
If you have someone film your whole day and just hand you the raw footage, you might find some nuggets — an offhanded comment while getting ready, someone falling on the dance floor, a tornado destroying the building.
But at the end of the day, a day is just a day.
It’s the moments inside them — the ones you barely realize are happening — that make them unforgettable.
It takes an artist to find those moments.
To capture the feeling.
To craft something you can actually experience again — not just watch.
It’s like trying to grab the wind.
You can feel it — but you can’t hold it.
When you walk down the aisle, there are a million emotions moving through you.
A phone can show you the walk.
But a filmmaker can show you everything else:
your excitement, your nerves, your partner’s smile barely holding it together, the guests wiping their eyes, and even nature itself pausing for a moment to recognize it — as the music swells.
That’s the difference.
That’s the feeling you want to hold onto.
Anyone can hit record.
Not just anyone can craft a story.
Or, maybe you shouldn’t.
If nothing I said hits home for you, then maybe hiring a videographer isn’t for you.
Maybe you’re perfectly fine leaving it as a beautiful moment in time, never to be touched again.
And honestly, that’s a pretty incredible way to live, too.
But for those that do want that —
hire a filmmaker.
Yes, it’s expensive.
Yes, the budget is already ballooning.
But once the day is over, it’s gone.
You can’t restage it.
You can’t redo it.
And the you ten, twenty, fifty years from now will thank you for it.
Editor’s Note: Despite my jabs at photographers (all in good fun), I actually do think they’re vitally important — and, gasp, you should absolutely hire a photographer before a videographer. Not just for the photos, but because a good photographer knows how to run a wedding day in ways even the best filmmaker can’t. Also, hire a coordinator. Your wedding day you will thank you for it.