Wedding photographer or videographer?Vendors:List your businessVendor login

WEDDING PLANNING GUIDE

How to Choose a Wedding Videographer

A step-by-step guide to finding the videographer whose films and way of working fit your wedding: styles, which films you’ll receive, sound, pricing, the questions to ask, and what the contract should cover.

Photos hold the moments; a film holds the voices. Your vows, the toasts, the music you walked in to and the way your people laughed are the things a wedding video keeps. The right videographer is the one whose finished films you love, whose way of working fits your day, and who you’re comfortable having nearby with a camera. This guide walks through how to find that person, step by step.

Our videographer city pages help with one step most couples can’t do anywhere else: you can watch each videographer’s films from the places you’re getting married, sorted by ceremony, couple and wedding party, and reception.

Start with your date and your locations

Many couples book their videographer soon after their photographer. Popular Saturdays fill early, so if your date is in peak season it helps to start looking as soon as your date and main locations are set.

Have these details ready before you reach out: your date, your ceremony and reception locations, a rough guest count, how many hours you’d like covered, and who your photographer is if you’ve booked one. A videographer can tell you right away whether they’re available and which films each package includes.

Decide which film style feels like you

Videographers have a style just like photographers. Most blend more than one, so use these as a vocabulary for what you like:

  • Cinematic: movie-like films with dramatic camera work, careful color, slow motion and a strong soundtrack.
  • Documentary: the day as it happened, in order, with real sound and very little staging.
  • Storytelling: built around your own words, from vows, letters or toasts, so the film tells your story in your voices.
  • Traditional: complete, straightforward coverage of each part of the day, focused on capturing everything clearly.

Watch a few films you love and notice what they share: the pacing, the music, how much you hear people talk, and how the couple is filmed. On our city pages you can filter videographers by style and see each one’s styles on their listing.

Know which films you'll receive

Video packages are described by the films they include, and names vary from one videographer to the next. Ask what each film is and roughly how long it runs:

  • Highlight film: a short film of the best moments set to music, often a few minutes long.
  • Feature or full-length film: a longer edit that covers more of the day and more of the speeches.
  • Full ceremony: your ceremony from start to finish, usually from more than one angle.
  • Speeches and toasts: each one in full, with clear sound.
  • Short social clip: a quick teaser that’s easy to share.
  • Raw footage: the unedited clips. Not every videographer offers it, so ask if it matters to you.

Watch full films, not just the trailer

Every videographer’s highlight reel looks lovely. A complete film tells you more about how they handle a real day. When you watch one, notice:

  • Sound: can you hear the vows and toasts clearly, without wind or room noise?
  • Steady, well-framed footage during the ceremony, when nobody can stop and redo a moment
  • Dim receptions: are the first dance and toasts clear and true to the mood?
  • Story: does the film flow, or does it feel like a string of pretty clips?
  • Music and pacing: does it fit the feeling of the day?
  • Consistency: does the color hold together from start to finish?

It’s completely normal to ask a videographer for one or two complete films from weddings similar to yours.

Sound matters as much as the picture

Great audio is what makes a wedding film worth watching again. Ask how they record the vows and the toasts: many videographers place small microphones on whoever is speaking during the ceremony and record the speeches from the microphone or the sound system, with a backup recorder. Ask what happens if a microphone fails.

See their films at your locations

On Photo and Video Pros, videographers add their own films from the churches, venues, parks and gardens where they’ve worked, sorted into ceremony, couple and wedding party, and reception. Pick your locations at the top of a videographer city page and the videographers who have filmed there rise to the top, with their films from each place.

It’s one helpful signal, not a requirement. Many venues and churches have rules about where cameras can stand, lighting, and drones, so ask whether they’ve worked there before, and if not, whether they’ll check the rules ahead of time.

Make sure they work well with your photographer

Your photographer and videographer share the same moments and often the same aisle. Ask whether they’ve worked with your photographer before, how they stay out of each other’s way, and whether they’ll talk before the wedding about the timeline. Some couples book a photo and video team from the same company for this reason; others mix and match. Either works when the two communicate.

Understand what affects the price

Wedding video prices vary widely, and a starting price only makes sense next to what it includes. The biggest factors are:

  • Hours of coverage: a full day is different from the ceremony and a few hours of the reception.
  • Number of videographers: a second shooter means more angles and two places covered at once.
  • Which films and how long: a highlight film alone costs less to edit than a highlight film, a full ceremony and every speech.
  • Extras: drone footage, raw footage, a short social clip, or a faster delivery.
  • Travel: some videographers charge travel fees outside their area.

When you compare videographers, line up packages with similar hours and films. The “Starting at” price on our listings is set by each videographer and is a starting point; ask for their full package details.

Questions to ask before you book

  • Are you available on our date, and are you the one who will film our wedding?
  • What happens if you’re sick or have an emergency on the day? Do you have a backup?
  • How many hours does each package cover, and what does extra time cost?
  • Is a second videographer included or available?
  • Which films are included, and roughly how long is each one?
  • How do you record the vows and the speeches?
  • How soon after the wedding will we receive our films, and in what format?
  • Is the music in our films properly licensed, so we can share them online?
  • Can we ask for changes to the edit? How many rounds are included?
  • Do you offer drone footage, and is it allowed at our locations?
  • Do you offer the raw footage?
  • Have you worked with our photographer or at our locations before?
  • What is the deposit, when are payments due, and what happens if our date changes?
  • Do you carry liability insurance? (Some venues require it.)

What the contract should cover

Once you’ve chosen, read the contract before you pay a deposit, and look for:

  • Your date, locations, start and end times, and who will film
  • Exactly which films you’ll receive and roughly how long each one is
  • How many rounds of changes are included
  • The total price, deposit, payment schedule and any travel or overtime fees
  • Delivery timeline and format
  • Music licensing and how you may share your films
  • Cancellation, rescheduling and refund terms, for both sides
  • What happens if the videographer can’t attend
  • How the videographer may use footage from your wedding

Talk before you decide

Have a phone or video call with your top two or three choices. Your videographer will be close by during the most personal parts of your day, so it matters that you feel at ease with them. Notice whether they listen, ask about your plans, and explain things clearly. Then choose the person whose films you love and whose company you’ll enjoy.

Quick checklist

  • Set your date and locations, then start looking
  • Watch films you love and name the style
  • Shortlist videographers whose style matches
  • Watch their films from your locations
  • Watch at least one complete film from each
  • Ask which films each package includes, and how long
  • Ask how they record vows and speeches
  • Check they’ll work well with your photographer
  • Read the contract, then book

Find wedding videographers near you

Pick your city, then choose your ceremony and reception locations to watch videographers’ real films from those places.

State College, PAHarrisburg, PALancaster, PAYork, PAGettysburg, PAReading, PALehigh Valley, PAPoconos, PAPhiladelphia, PAScranton & Wilkes-Barre, PAPittsburgh, PAErie, PAAltoona, PAJohnstown, PA
Cleveland, OHYoungstown, OHColumbus, OHDayton, OHAkron, OHToledo, OHCincinnati, OHCanton, OH

Add a location

Tell us about the church, venue, or park and we'll add it once we've checked the details, then invite local photographers and videographers who have worked there.

Type of place
What does this location offer? (choose all that apply)

Leave your email and once the location is added, we'll tell local photographers and videographers a couple is getting married there, and email you when their photos or films go up.

Adding a location doesn't list any photographer or videographer there. Listing a location doesn't mean it endorses or partners with any of them. We only use your email to reply about this location.