Lights, camera, action! Wedding Videography

Capturing your wedding on video can allow you to enjoy the wedding in its entirety without benefit of nervous butterflies in your stomach or pressing demands on your attention as you follow a well-orchestrated schedule. It's also a lovely way to share the day with friends and family who were unable to attend. As with everything wedding related, there are a wide variety of styles and price ranges, with your wedding style and budget being the determining factors. Be sure to check rules and regulations your ceremony site may have with regard to videotaping.

It's also a good idea to have the videographer meet with the photographer at least once before the wedding day so they can coordinate their styles, strategy, and traffic patterns.

The most common video styles are:

Real TV

This is video shot with only one camera, starting at the beginning of your ceremony and running straight through to the end of the reception with no interruptions or editing, live and uncut, warts and all. Since this eliminates the need for editing and only one camera is used, it's the least expensive option. Just be forewarned that there may be parts you'll want to fast forward through.

As Time Goes By

This type of video can be as long as nostalgic as you'd like to make it. It starts by showing photographs of the couple as children, then progress to photos of romantic, fun times they have shared together, followed by scenes from the ceremony, reception, and sometimes ending with shots from the honeymoon. It can include commentary and interviews with family members or close friends.

The Docudrama

This type of video covers the entire day as if filming a documentary. The segments of the day's events tell a story similar to the way the events occurred on your special day. It may start with shots of the bride and groom getting ready, then progress through the ceremony and reception, capturing spontaneous moments and interviews with family and friends, then ends as the bride and groom leave the reception. This video format is the most popular and most commonly used, and can vary in price, according to the quality of the equipment and editing. This style required more footage, sometimes two cameras, and lots of editing time, therefore it's the most expensive.