This is a late-night, can’t sleep blog post. Recently, I’ve had a lot of clients asking me about videographers. “Is it worth it?” And “Do you recommend having one?” are two of the more popular questions.

First of all, let me just say, emphatically, YES.

As much as I love wedding photography, I am totally willing to admit that it doesn’t capture everything. Having a picture of your best man telling a joke isn’t the same as being able to hear it, the same way a picture of you exchanging vows won’t be the same as hearing the emotion in your voice as you said them. Videography adds additional sensory information, that photography can’t. You’ve heard it a million times, but your day goes fast. I’m a fan of anything that helps you remember it longer.

But there is a caveat – as in anything, if you are going to do it, do it right. Spend the money on a trusted professional. A bad or untrained videographer can really hinder your photographs, or otherwise disrupt the day, and in some cases, may not deliver on final products.

Brian and I always teased each other that we are pretty sure we never actually said “I do” at our own wedding. For our videographer, we hired someone who was interested in getting into the business for a heavily discounted price. While we were fortunate to get a lovely highlight reel and a reception tape (that I am SO grateful for), we didn’t get anything from our ceremony until two and a half years after our wedding. Truth be told, in that time, I couldn’t think about those memories being lost without getting a pit in my stomach. I recently reached out to the videographer recently and was SO grateful to know that he had our footage, and that those memories were not, in fact, lost. I had a really happy ending to my story. In the end, I got the footage, but not everyone is so lucky. (We were able to confirm that, in fact, we did not ever say “I do”)

The weird thing was, not having that video didn’t bother me much the first year. Everything was fresh in my mind. As we quickly approach our third anniversary, I realized how much I had forgotten from our day. I wanted to remember what was said at our ceremony. I wanted to remember how my sister delivered her speech. I can only imagine how grateful I will be in ten years, twenty years, and beyond.

My advice to you is this, if you are considering a videographer, ask your photographer for recommendations. It is so important for your photographer and videographer to be on the same page, so that we ensure we both get what we need to give you the most awesome final product that we can. If your photographer can point you in the direction of someone who they have a good working relationship with, they can be more at ease with asking each other to step out of the shot, or even share ideas with each other.