Hi! I'm Taryn, a writer, designer and soon-to-be-bride from Atlanta, Georgia. Sit a spell with me and catch up as I plan the wedding of my beer-loving, confetti-throwing dreams to the wonderful Mr. Williford.On Videography
We’re not hiring a videographer for our wedding. I know. Please hold your gasps.
I’ve heard all of the advice. I’ve heard regrets from brides who didn’t have one. I’ve seen the relief first-hand of a friend watching her wedding video after her father convinced her—at the very last minute—that recording their wedding ceremony is something they could not pass up on. I totally get it.
With a bigger budget, I wouldn’t hesitate to hire an amazing videographer to capture the day. The things modern vendors are doing to the humble wedding video—it’s just amazing. I remember watching Mrs. Lioness’ wedding trailer from Three Ring Media in complete awe (they’re number one on my “if we had the money” vendor list). It’s so full of emotion, and must be such a treasure for them to have. A great videographer is worth their weight (plus the weight of all their crazy heavy movie making gear) in gold. I totally get it.
Coastal Video
Or maybe I don’t. Because, you know, we’re not having somebody record our wedding. At least not on video. We’ll have plenty of photos. Beautiful photos, thanks to my insistence on spending every possible penny on somebody to capture our day on film (er—memory card, but you get the idea). If the dollar amount on the “capturing memories” line of our budget was doubled, I wouldn’t hesitate to book an amazing video team. But I don’t want to scrape together a few hundred dollars for a mediocre videographer “just to have it,” as a few people have suggested.
Then again, maybe my priorities are out of whack. We did find room to hire a photo booth, which wasn’t originally in the wedding plan. Could have put that cash towards a videographer instead? Definitely. But every decision we’ve made for this wedding has had our guests in mind, first and foremost. Specifically, we want this bash to be a good time. Having all our friends and family together and laughing and taking silly pictures in the photo booth is going to be such a wonderful memory for them. For us. If past weddings are any indication, our circle of friends will have photo strips tacked to their refrigerators for years to come. You know what our guests won’t ever see? Our wedding video.
Robot Booth
Frankly, I don’t think we’d ever watch a wedding video either. Maybe once, when we first got it. And I would probably burst with joy. Then a few short days later, it would be regulated to the back of our TV console to be covered in dust. Maybe we would dig it up again in 20 years, when our children are curious. Maybe. I’ve never seen my parents wedding video. In fact, I don’t even know if they have one. Nobody ever talks about it. But you know what they do talk about? The memories. The uncle who thinks he can dance. The cousin that had too many glasses of wine. And if they’d had one, I’m sure they’d have stories about the fun they had in the photo booth.
I don’t want anyone to try and convince me we need to film our wedding. I’ve had so many wonderful memories in life, and almost none of them were captured in photos. Even fewer made it to video. That doesn’t make them any less special or important. If we had the budget for an artistic wedding documentary, I would have written that check like yesterday. But we’ve made a decision not to hire a videographer just to have some video. For us, there’s more value investing in great fun with great friends.
I’d love to hear how you decided for or against a videographer… spill it!
