Well… we’ve come up with some quick tips to help you along your way to finding the perfect wedding filmmaker for you. We answer questions like what do you look for in a wedding videographer, what questions should you ask them, and how much should you budget for a one?

1) Hire the Person Whose Style Most Closely Matches Yours

Just like photographers, videographers take different approaches to their craft. Documentary-style videos present the events chronologically, without many special effects, while a cinematic film is generally more dramatic, using interesting angles and camera movements for a Hollywood-movie feel.  Many cinematic style wedding filmmakers take great artistic license to edit a wedding film non-chronologically, jumping, seemingly randomly, from scene to scene.

“This is not our approach.  Our style is cinematic in nature but we also tell your story mostly chronologically usually starting with the getting ready clips, progressing to the ceremony, and then to the happenings at the reception. Sometimes we flash forward or back to a particular theme like the vows or reception toasts but overall it is in chronological order. Our goal is to give you a true reflection of how your wedding day unfolded, not just the filmmaker’s stylized interpretation of it.”

2) What to watch for when watching sample wedding films

All wedding videos are not created equal. When you’re watching sample videos, there are a few things to keep in mind. A good film will be well lit, have good color, have clear, easy-to-understand audio and appropriate music, and will be edited so that transitions are smooth and special effects complement the story. And the key to a good wedding film… it should evoke emotion in the soul of the viewer.

“We will let our films speak for themselves. Check them out here:”

http://www.traciegrizzle.com/wedding-videography/

3) Questions to ask potential videographers:

How did you get started filming weddings and is it your main business? How long have you been in the weddings industry?

“I’ve always had an artistic nature. When I was little I loved to draw. I’ve got all kinds of pencil drawings from my childhood. When I discovered photography I couldn’t put the camera down.  I was always trying to push the limits of what a camera would do.  Photography naturally led into video. Filming weddings is a combination of being both technologically and artistically inclined.  Both of those qualities suit me to a tee and we’ve been doing it professionally since 2001.”

4) How much should you budget for a wedding film?

The quality of wedding films varies as much as the prices.  The main question to ask yourself is how important a high quality wedding film means to you.  Your wedding is one of the most special, most important days of your life.  It is something that you will (hopefully) do only once in your lifetime.  The memories that you have of that day will be one of your most cherished possessions and one that you will want to share one day with your children and grandchildren!

I get it.  I’m a very frugal person.  Just ask Tracie!  I hate to spend more than I have to for something especially when it doesn’t mean that much to me one way or the other.  But, I will pay up for things that are very important to me.  There have been a few times in mine and Tracie’s lives when we have looked back over the years and we wished we had splurged a bit more upfront for something that really meant a lot to us and we could have really enjoyed it all these years that we have been together.

So how much should you budget for a wedding film?  Depending on how important a really good wedding film is to you, you can expect to pay a good wedding filmmaker similar prices to that of a wedding photographer.

Got a question for about wedding films?  Hit us up.  We’ve got an answer.

God bless,

Jeremy Grizzle (lead videographer and editor)