Choosing a Videographer

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  T H E   C O S T   E F F E C T I V E   B R I D E

  Vol 1, No. 2                    January 29, 2001

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Kelly Kons, Editor, kelly@bwedd.com

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                 FEATURED ARTICLE

              CHOOSING A VIDEOGRAPHER

INTRO

In the last newsletter I talked about saving money by
having friends and family tape your wedding and
reception.  Today, though, many brides and grooms are
having very creative videos made of their wedding and
for their wedding.  With this in mind, it is my opinion
that if you are going to pay a significant amount of
money for something, then you deserve a quality product
in return.  This issue is dedicated to the quality side
of cost-effectiveness in a wedding videographer.

I had an extensive conversation with Roy Chapman of the
Wedding & Event Videography Association International
(Check out their Bride's Guide at http://www.weva.org).
He shared with me a few ideas for wedding videos and
some questions you should be sure to ask a
videographer.

Before you get excited about the following though, I
want to warn you - you can expect to pay anywhere
between $1,000-$10,000 on these, depending on how crazy
you want to get and how many cameras it will require
(and the people to operate those cameras).  Before you
interview videographers decide how much you are willing
to pay and STICK TO IT.  It is very easy to get out of
control with the following ideas.

PART 1

Ideas:

1) One idea that was new to me is making a wedding DVD.
The cool thing about this is that you can have
different chapters on your DVD.  One chapter could be a
highlights video of your wedding, while another could
be the entire ceremony, and still another could be
interviews with guests at your wedding.

2) Another idea is to create a "Love Story" video to
show at your reception.  A videographer can interview
you and your fiancé before the wedding about how you
met, the proposal story, and any other romantic stories
you might want to share.  Then they can edit it
together in a format of your choice - for example, you
may enjoy "The Wedding Story" on TLC and want to have a
video like they do. Or, you may want it more like an
MTV interview.

3) A third idea,is to have a video of still pictures of
you and your fiancé as babies, growing up, from
throughout your dating years, and your engagement.
Matt and I did this, and our guests really enjoyed it.
Most of my relatives had tears in their eyes from
remembering me and my siblings as children and I really
enjoyed sharing that with them.

(PART 2 BELOW)

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PART 2

Questions to ask a Videographer:

Interview 2-3 Videographers to ensure that you get the
most for what you pay.  And ALWAYS be sure to view
entire videos done by that videographer.  If you don't
like what you see, no matter what they say, you
probably won't like your video either.

1) How do you record audio at the ceremony? - If your
ceremony is being held in a large church, you may want
your musicians to have a microphone, along with your
officiant, soloists, and yourselves.
2) Ask for a price quote - this should not cost you a
cent.
3) What is the price difference between having just one
videographer and having 2 or 3?  (Or, what is the price
difference between using 1 camera and using 2-3
cameras?)
4) Ask to see the equipment that the videographers will
be using.  You may want to take into consideration the
size and obtrusiveness of the equipment.  If the
cameras are simply huge, they might be distracting to
your guests if they are at the front of the ceremony.
5)Ask for 3-4 recent references - AND CALL THEM!  The
best place to find out about your videographer is from
someone who has experienced their service.  (In fact,
if possible, ask for the couple whose wedding they did
the week before - everything will still be fresh on
their minds.)  Ask the references what they liked and
disliked, what they would have changed, and whether or
not they would recommend this company.

Tell your Videographer:

When you find the videographer that is right for you,
be sure to tell him/her the following:

1) The type of ceremony you will be having.
2) The approximate length of your ceremony
3) The number of guests that will be attending your
wedding.
4) Any special details of your ceremony/reception that
you would like to make sure they record.
5) The style of video you would like - if you
viewed an example of one of their wedding videos and
have chosen that videographer because you liked the
style, make sure to get it in your contract that you
want the same person who taped that video to tape your
wedding.  Often, companies employ a number of
videographers.  Just because you liked one of their
videos doesn't guarantee you will get that
videographer.

CONCLUSION

My number one recommendation is that you make certain
that you are getting a quality video if you are going
to pay such a high price.  Part of being a cost
effective bride is knowing when it is worth it to pay a
little more to receive infinitely more in quality, but
also knowing when that high quality just might not be
worth that extremely high price.

As always, I wish you much luck in all the decisions
you are making and a wonderful engagement!

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** Do you have questions about this or past articles?
Please drop me a line.  I would love to hear from you
and help you out in any way I can! **

- Kelly Kons, Editor
kelly@bwedd.com

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