Thrifty Tuesday - Saving money on your wedding video

One of the first things to be cut off the wedding vendor list when money is tight is the wedding video. I have heard the notes made to justify not getting one and I will admit that I agree with many of them

• unnecessary expense for something you watch a very limited amount of time and largely gathers dust
  
• disillusion on having seen all the cheesy wedding videos in the past
  
• general discomfort with a video camera around
  
• the thought that wanting to see yourself on video or having others watch it is vain and egocentric
  
• etc.

But at the other end of the spectrum, when you step away from it all there’s a different perspective to take. A perspective that is hard to sometimes really grasp until the day has passed and the moments are gone. The day flies in a whirlwind of activity and bliss. The moments that are most cherished become cemented into your memory and you battle with memories going forward for the space in your brain. The ability to relive the details diminishes over time. People who were of great importance leave this universe. Sure, the pictures are there and they are beautiful and detailed, but have you ever watched an old movie, especially and old family movie and marveled at the voices, the actions and the ‘reality’ of the person on the film.

That is what video helps to capture: The hiccup of nervousness upon saying your vows, the emotion riddled speeches in the toasts made in your honor, even the general craziness you might not even want to have recorded let alone remembered now but which will bring smiles and giggles in the future. But how do you manage to capture that when your budget just doesn’t afford for it?

Most logical answer here would be to ensure that someone is recording it. Now, I see you all expecting me to tell you that you should stay away from amateurs and family using their personal camcorders since we offer video. I’m not going to do that. If that’s your choice between having and not having a videographer then go for it. I’ll admit that is what Rob and I did. It didn’t work out smoothly. Much to my dismay our ceremony wasn’t taped (timing logistics didn’t work out for the person doing it) and our reception is taped from a tripod on the stage (i.e. far away) but we have something. In hindsight I wish we had someone actually manning the camera at all times, but it’s hard to ask that kind of dedication from a friend or family invited to the celebration when you want them to enjoy themselves too.

What other option is there. RAW FOOTAGE. Did you know you can hire a videographer JUST to shoot? No editing at all. Did you know that the price of this is significantly less. You can even negotiate to just have the ceremony taped, or to have only the first part of the reception taped.

You know we at Colorblind Productions offer this option right? We offer 2 camera coverage for the day in our raw footage package. When all is said & done, we not only give you the actual tapes of the footage so that in the future you can edit your own, but we also give you all the footage burned onto a DVD for you to watch at your leisure. We’ll even offer you the option of a short highlights DVD if you wish that generally condenses your entire wedding into a convenient music video. You can even come back to us a few years later and decide to have your video edited.

There are options out there that are inexpensive or even free. Do what you can to make sure there’s a video of that day. I guarantee you won’t regret it.