Weddingbee Blog

Your wedding, your decisions. Period. They can do what they want in THEIR wedding! And if they’re this catty about your choices now, I can’t imagine the pain it would be to deal with them if hired….

I think Miss Strawberry hit the nail on the head! Nobody should begrudge a bride or groom how they want their ceremony or their party. But to add to the controversy, I’ll put this out there: I’ve seen some absolutely gorgeous videos of friends’ weddings and I asked FI how he felt about getting a videographer. I talked about how fleeting the day will be how we might not remember the exact words and we might not catch all the great little moments that happen when we’re not right there. And his was response was that he didn’t want a video replacing his own memories of the day. He’s afraid that if he sees a video of the event, that the video will supplant his own memories. And I have to say, I think I see his point.

I’ve been listening to a lot of the shows on Wedding Podcast Network, where one of the regular hosts is a videographer. He repeatedly whips out this complete BS speech: “If you could see your grandmother’s wedding photos, or your grandmother’s wedding video, which would you choose?” Well, duh, the photos, because those are real. A video from 1935 is imaginary.

There’s a concept called technology orphaning. All those floppy disks and zip disks full of information you can no longer access? They are orphans. They are coasters. And someday, your wedding DVD will be the same.

Fifty years from now, will technology have advanced so little that today’s DVD will still be playable? I sincerely doubt it. Fifty years from now, will your grandchildren be able to look at a photo in an album? YES.

I don’t think it’s “become” a minor part of weddings — videography hasn’t yet become a Major part of regular people’s weddings. Face it, the videography folks cater to the people with an extra two, three grand to throw around on them. If your bank account isn’t limitless, you must go with an affordable solution.

WOW, those people have high opinions of themselves. Complaining about their customers? (love that customer service!) Whining about being ignored? (like the bride and groom have nothing better to do than chat up the videographer!) Threatening to leave the video biz b/c no one appreciates them? Go ahead!!

If anything, I think that they have done a disservice to themselves by having negative things to say about a bride who posted their thoughts about HER own wedding. I wouldn’t care if he was just mouthing off but he posted the link to your blog! Not cool in my books. I would think twice about working with someone like that.
It’s your money and your vision and I think that whatever you do will look beautiful!

Instead of whining that you’re not convinced you need a videographer, they should (professionally) try to convince you, and thereby all the other naysayers out there.

If they really wanted your business, they would start off by saying that they know it’s an expense that’s typically unbudgeted for, but here are x number of ways they can help offset that cost. Give you some concrete persuasion instead of bashing you behind your back. Then, when you hire them and love their work, you refer them to more people than their advertising could reach (since, you know, you’ve got a whole fanbase of wedding readers eager to hear everything you have to say!)

I’ll be the first to say I don’t have $3k to spend on videography (or $2k for the ceremony alone - what a rip-off!) My catering isn’t going to cost $3k, and that’s for 130 guests, a full meal of DAMN good food, a champagne toast AND all of the service for the night!! Show me how videography fits into my budget and then we’ll talk.

The thing I hate about services like that is there’s not really a benchmark for what to charge. So these “experts” slap a price on it, hype it up to be this luxury that only the high-class can have (I mean really, if EVERYONE had it, would you still want it?) and then whine when they can’t sucker in those of us (like myself) who are paying for every penny of our weddings through our blood, sweat and tears.

Even if a videographer taped 6 hours of wedding-day coverage and spent an entire 24 hours (not necessarily all at once) editing that footage, that still comes out to $100/hr! Ladies let’s see a show of hands - how many of us make $100/hr? I know I certainly don’t.

it’s YOUR wedding and you can hire a clown to make balloon animals for 2k if you wanted to! don’t even let their comments get to you — just a bunch of whiners

Yeah, don’t let it get to you. Every vendor will feel that their service is of utmost importance, and every bride will see certain wedding aspects as more valuable than others. I know it’s hard not to take it personally when people criticize your blogs — but be confident in your choices and what’s important to you, and don’t let it bother you if others don’t agree. Where would the fun be if every bride prioritized in the same areas?

I personally would have liked a videographer if I could afford it — but it was too low on the priority list to make the cut. Could we shift things around to make it fit? Probably, but we’re happy with how things are now — we have a fantastic photographer and the nicest stationery set we could ask for — things important to me as a designer, and I honestly don’t think we will ever regret how we prioritized and spent the money. A videographer might feel differently, but I’m not one of them!

Well, take all the advice for what it’s worth. For or against videography is up to the individual - just as having a certain number of bridesmaids or just your one best friend as your maid of honor. It’s a choice - but like photography, video will be a record of the day as it unfolded, and having both photos and video of the vows if nothing else is important for so many reasons. Ignore those ‘university’ people! Post away, that’s what this is for!