It's a tough question.
The most common thread is that videographers are, on average, very low on a bridal couple's priority list but also the most regretted item when left off the list.
Here are some of the reasons the people I chatted to on the topic missed having a videographer capturing their wedding day and therefore recommend having a videographer to soon-to-be brides.
In-between moments
Photos are awesome but they are static. They're still frames of a moment. Perhaps the moment the bride looked at the groom or the moment he brushed a strand of hair from her face. Videos capture the moment just after that. The moment after the groom looked at the bride and gave her a playful wink or the way he brushed her hair out of her face and then they both burst into laughter. It's the capturing of reactions and of subtle nuances in body language that is so very special about video.Of course, it can be argued that a skilled photographer could capture these moments with a quick shot succession but there's something about reliving the moment exaclty as it was that makes video that much more magical.
Having said this, I by no means believe that a videographer could take the place of a photographer at a wedding, I just lean towards the side of making space in the budget for both. Plus, with two people capturing the day in different ways, you'll get to watch the whole thing unfold twice, with different moments and memories to enjoy. The vidoegrapher capturing your grandad squeezing your grandma's hand while your photographer captures the bouquet toss.
Sneak Peek
There are moments that you won't be around for. Video offers a little window into the preparation that went on behind the scene to make your wedding the perfect day it was as well as the way your guests interacted with each other when you were powdering your nose or noshing on dinner. It brings the day and your guests so much closer to you. And allows you to be a part of those moments, reliving aspects of your day into infinity. You didn't get to chat to Aunt Sue for as long as you would have liked to but there's a great snippet of her on the video animatedly telling a story to a group of people followed by hearty laughter. That old Aunt Sue is always quick with a joke.Movement and sound
The addition of both movement and sound has a massive impact.I remember seeing a video of my cousin's wedding in the 90's where half the guests were busting out the most perfect macarena moves you ever did see (including my same-aged cousin and I as flower girls in awesome poofy-sleeved peach satin dresses in the front row).
The macarena. Now that was something.
I attended my cousin Sam's wedding this year. My fellow flower girl at the Macarena wedding. Sam married Mike. They are both winning humans. The ceremony was catholic and traditonal. The first hymn we sung was truly dismal. Mostly because the organ was too loud so you couldn't even hear if you were hitting the correct note or not. We came to the second hymn of the ceremony and the minister, who obviously did not enjoy our rendition of the first, said that we should just skip over the hymn and carry on with the ceremony. What many of us didn't know was that the second hymn had been specifically chosen by the groom as it was one that he had sung in school and it meant a lot to him. We were only to find this out when, later at the reception, a close family member and St John's old boy mentioned the fact in his speech. At the mention of this song every old boy in the room spontaneously started belting out the song in perfect unison. They sung the entire thing unaccompanied and with such enthusiasm that the rest of us had goosebumps (well I did at least). A moment that could not have been more beautiful. And a moment that could never have been captured adequately in a photograph.
So, when it comes to the question of wedding photographer my advice will now and always be:
DO IT!
Here's a video snippet from my friend Kate's wedding to Schuyler in Cape Town. It's an oldie (2012) but a goodie.
Video by Cape Town Videographers
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