Expert Advice: Choosing Your Videographer

Weddings require many moving parts, and it can’t be overstated how critical vendors are to the outcome of your celebration. Among all the wedding-related vendors, however, the companies you choose to handle your video and photography are two of the most important. Subpar food and floral options might disappoint on the big day, but if you’re unhappy with your wedding video, that unhappiness with your choice of videographer will replay every time you watch the footage. A wedding video should have the opposite effect. It should be something you eagerly and fondly revisit and show to loved ones for the rest of your life.

Achieving a wedding film that meets this expectation is easier said than done. We spoke with a few leading area videographers to get some solid tips on what you can do to make sure you pick the right team for your video footage and how you can extract the best possible results from them.

Courtesy of Watertown Films

Craig Flood of Watertown Films says it all begins, of course, with doing your homework before you make your choice. “Watch as many wedding videos as you can, find [a videographer] you love and then ask yourself if they can execute on that for you.” He also suggests that couples look for work that is consistently good, which means you should watch several full videos, not just a single reel of highlights.

Emily Basile of Moving Pictures in Portland advises that many of the factors involved in making the right choice become evident soon after making initial contact with a videographer. Before you even meet potential filmmakers, she suggests that you take careful note of how they interact in their communications with you, which can often shine light on how prompt and professional a videographer is—or isn’t.