5 Tips for How to Choose a Wedding Videographer

Take the Cheese Out of Your Wedding Film

If you grew up in the 90s, you probably remember wedding videos as a grainy VHS that comprised shots of mostly forced waving at the camera, scratchy sound and questionable fashion choices. The final video more often than not was watched once and then returned to the VHS shelf like the Arc of the Covenant, never to be watched again. Fast forward to 2024 and much has changed. The fashion is less questionable (for now), the camera equipment is smaller and the ease of sharing video has meant that no longer is the wedding film destined to a life gathering dust on a shelf. What hasn’t changed, though, is the desire to capture the laughter, the moments big and small and Uncle Glen’s outrageous dance moves.

Is 2024 the year of the wedding film revival?

Capturing every moment of Loren + Finn’s wedding at The Winehouse in Queenstown

While the wedding film never fully died, it has undergone change from the early days. With the standards higher than ever and the choices more abundant, how do you choose a wedding videographer? Lucky for you, we’ve had 10 years to figure this out and we know what works and, more importantly, what doesn’t work. Here are our 5 tips for how to choose a wedding videographer:

1. It’s all about the vibes

Call it intuition or instinct, but vibes are everything when choosing a wedding videographer. From the get go, you’ll start to pick up on what kind of videographer a person is and how comfortable you are with them being there to capture your big day. Are they responsive to your questions? Do they listen to your needs? Do they sound like they’ve done this before? These are things to think about in those initial conversations and emails. Trust your gut and pay attention to those vibes.

Double Cone provides amazing views of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu

2. Have they updated their social channels lately?

Trends change and styles evolve over time. This should be reflected in the videographer’s most recent work. Life is busy and we don’t always have time to post regularly, but videographers who are proud of their work want to share it with the world and, importantly, satisfied clients are happy for their films to be shared. Whilst not a major red flag, it is a consideration all the same and a good indication of how engaged a videographer is and indicative of their current style.

Up for an adventure? Mt Creighton provides the goods with epic views.

3. Quality vs quantity

Let’s address the elephant in the room – video is one of the major cost considerations when planning. Like with any other wedding detail such as venue or food, there are a range of options across different budgets. When it comes to video, there really is no substitute for quality across the entire production process. To create cinematic, professional video takes time and specialised equipment. The most amazing wedding films feature a range of angles, multiple filmmakers, drones and high end audio.

After filming, each frame is painstakingly edited together and coloured in a way not dissimilar to photo editing, though each second of video contains anywhere from 25 to 100 frames. Needless to say, there are no shortcuts to producing cinema quality footage and this is a consideration when deciding how much to budget for video.

A moody Coromandel Peak in Wanaka

4. Decide what’s important to you

The breadth of wedding videography services are broad. Some filmmakers offer longer cuts of key moments such as the ceremony or speeches, others condense everything into a highlight film and some offer a combination of both (Toast, for example). Drones are not always included nor are two shooters.

In 2024, social media is one of the primary ways in which video content is shared. Editing deliverables for use on social media (e.g. in vertical format, shorter Reels and TikToks) is something to ask your videographer about if this is important to you.

An epic backdrop at Lake Erskine in Fiordland

5. Keep it fun!

Above all, planning a wedding or elopement should be fun! Yes, it’s filled with lots of stress and choices, but it’s important to keep in mind that the journey to getting married should still be an enjoyable one and the wedding day itself is a celebration and opportunity to share that joy with each other and your guests. Most of us working in the wedding industry love to help couples and can provide great recommendations even if you don’t book with us.

We’re here to help so don’t be afraid to get in touch and let us help you make your day amazing!