If you’re getting married you’ve probably viewed a wedding video or two. When they’re done well they’re absolutely beautiful. However when they’re not done well they can be downright painful to watch. Some are too long, others too short. Some videos are so fuzzy that you can barely tell who’s getting married, or the camera moves so much that it makes you sick every time you try to watch it. Most often the sound is so bad that you can hardly hear anything clearly, if at all. If you’re interested in getting a quality video of your day, step one is to turn down your sweet Uncle Bill when he offers to do your video.

While photographs capture a moment in time, they don’t capture the events as they happened like a video can. Your wedding is the most important and unique milestone in your life. You deserve to have memories captured in a professional manner that you can enjoy for years to come, and even share with your children and grandchildren.

Rule number one for getting great video is hire a professional videographer. I don’t mean someone on Craigslist who calls himself a videographer because he has a business card and a camcorder. I mean find a professional videography service with the experience required to capture the very best of your wedding day. They’ll be able to edit and compile a video you will be proud to share with family and friends for years to come. While it’s not cheap, this is your wedding day. This is no time to be a cheapskate.

The cost of recording your wedding depends on the videographer and package you choose. The minimal wedding video generally requires 4 hours of footage, while a comprehensive video of your day can require up to 9 hours of footage or more. But don’t expect that you’ll have to watch all of that video. A good video production company will compile the footage to make a 60 to 90 minute DVD of your day.  The price for one of these productions generally ranges from just below $1000 to upwards of $2000,depending on what is included in the deal. It really depends on the footage you want in your wedding DVD. If you prefer to focus on the ceremony itself, your videographer will be happy to oblige. If you want footage of pre-wedding preparations and the post wedding celebrations, you can get that too. After all it is your day, your videographer will want you to be happy with the final product.

Sometimes because of budgetary reasons, wedding videography gets put off the list. While it may seem like a great way to trim the budget,you need to keep a few important things in mind prior to crossing it off of your list. You’ve spent a great deal of time and effort on making your day perfect. Although you’ve probably spent a tidy bundle on your dress, odds are no one will ever wear it again. Did you want to wear your mom’s dress? I didn’t think so. And I’m sure that the flowers you’ve chosen are quite beautiful. But like the cake, the meal and the music, they’ll all be gone before you know it. And how about the tearful toast from dad, the special words from the best man and the maid of honor? You can’t capture that with a photograph! Just a few years down the road they’ll all be fading memories, slowly lost to the passage of time. Your wedding photographs and video are your only hope to preserving those memories and the legacy of your love. For all of these reasons, you need to think twice before crossing video off your list.

Tags: Indianapolis Wedding Video, Wedding video tips