<p>My DD is getting married in August, and the planning is well underway. Initially, DD and fiance said that photography was very important to them and not interested in a videographer. Contract has been signed with photographer - over the original budget, but again, no plans to have video. Fast forward a couple of months, and we attended a small bridal forum last week. One of the handouts had a list of 7 Biggest Regrets of Brides. Guess what is #1 on the list - not having a video of the wedding. </p>
<p>So now DD is rethinking her earlier decision to NOT have video. Groom’s grandmother won’t be able to travel to the wedding, and they think that she would enjoy a video. If that’s the only reason, it seems to be an expensive way to share their day, IMHO.</p>
<p>Pre-video when I got married, someone took a movie of our wedding. I think we have watched it once, and I don’t miss it and don’t even know where it is. </p>
<p>I would love some feedback both from those who made the investment in a wedding video and those who didn’t. Glad you did or didn’t, regrets?</p>
<p>My first D to be married had a video done and it was nice but also expensive. My second and third D to be married also had a video but they were done by first D’s H who has an excellent video camera. He did just as nice a job overall and it was free. I agree that a video is nice when there are grandparents or, in our case, great-grandparents, who cannot attend.</p>
This. If it’s mainly for Grandpa to see, get a friend or relative to just film from the back. It is highly unlikely that anybody will watch it more than once–at least more than once in every ten years.</p>
<p>Get someone to film it with their camcorder, and be done with it. Professional videographers are expensive, and intrusive, and sometimes the memory you have of the day is better than the cold reality on tape!
If someone can’t come, you could also Skype the wedding. I was recently at a reception where a family member was undergoing chemo and unable to attend, so a smartphone was dedicated to the tasking of representing him. We passed it around, talked to him, showed him the sights — it was actually pretty fun, and we only lost the feed a couple times.</p>
<p>My kids love watching video from our wedding, but it was not the ceremony, and not a professional. It is video of posing for pictures, entering the reception, spreading cake on each others faces, etc. They really enjoy seeing their older cousins in it.</p>
<p>I will agree with the intrusive comment. I spent a great deal of time choosing a photographer but just chose some random videographer. The video was not important to me which may explain why I didn’t focus on it. Anyway—photographer and his asst arrive with 1600 film so that they can shoot w/o flash in the church. Video guys shows up with HUGE overhead lighting equipment.</p>
<p>I had to edit out shadow’s from video guy’s equipment in still shots I took at my brother’s wedding a few years ago. </p>
<p>I agree with those who suggested you ask a family member…and you can then import the video footage along with still shots into iMovie and create a nice product for grandmother or anyone else to watch. Middle schoolers know how to work iMovie. The actual videotaping is slightly more of an art, but with editing, you can fix bad filming.</p>
<p>We watch our video a lot. And there are family members who are no longer around and it’s lovely to see them in it. But I would not spend big bucks. These days you can have a handy guest or friend use a good camcorder - just take a lot of footage and edit as others have suggested</p>
<p>We have a video of our wedding 25years ago. H recently transferred it to a DVD. I LOVE we have this. It is fantastic to see Grandparents/ friends that are no longer here. We were one of the first of our friends to have a video of our wedding- no regrets. My d’s have both watched it. I would strongly urge you to do this - for the future.</p>
<p>How about a teenage relative that would otherwise be bored at the ceremony and reception. If none is available, you should be able to find a local teen that could film and edit it to produce a decent end product. One of D1s HS classmates had a nice side business as bar/bat mitvah photographer along with a classmate who was a DJ.</p>
<p>Does Grandma have an ipad? My FIL was unable to attend my daughter’s wedding due to health reasons. He bought an ipad and his aide (who also had an ipad and so was very familiar with how to use one) helped him to watch the wedding on the ipad. My SIL used her iphone to record the ceremony and it was send directly to my FIL’s ipad. Sorry that I am not using the correct technical words here but I’m sure you understand my meaning. I can ask my husband for more details if you’d like. We were unaware of this option until we had a sudden need (for my FIL to see the wedding) and this was a perfect solution.</p>
<p>We did not videotape our wedding and we’ve never regretted that decision. It would have been rarely ever watched. Two of our children have gotten married and neither videotaped their wedding. It fell out of budget and it wasn’t all that important to them that they were willing to pay extra for it. </p>
<p>Your daughter is already over budget (evidently the photography is already outside of the budget) so what is she willing to remove from her list in order for this to fit in. If the answer is nothing goes off the list, then you will know that she doesn’t value this as highly as they may think she does. And don’t forget that bridal forums exist to drum up business for the wedding businesses rather then to support brides in budgetary decisions.</p>
<p>bear in mind that bridal forums are solely designed to get you to think you “need” things that you don’t, and spend more money.</p>
<p>I don’t know anyone who watches their wedding video, and very few people who had them done. I watched the video of a wedding that I had actually attended with the B&G, and all she could do was obsess about the fact that her veil was slightly hiked up on one side, something that I can assure you NO ONE noticed at the time.</p>
<p>If you have aged relatives who can’t make it, by all means recruit a teen to video it. I was asked to do it at a relative’s wedding, and it really detracted from the experience to have to be peering through a viewfinder the whole time. But a teenaged boy would like prefer it.</p>
<p>We have a video of our wedding ceremony 29 years ago. It is one of my most treasured possessions. We have watched it many times and the kids really get a kick out of seeing it. I love being able to see the emotion on our parents faces (behind us) as we said our vows.</p>
This is what my daughter did at her wedding last year. One of her cousins videotaped the processional, ceremony, and recessional from his seat on the aisle in the second row. That’s it. He did a great job and, surprisingly, those 20 minutes were all any of us wanted. We aren’t sorry not to have the toasts, first dances, etc., on video because the photographer captured these beautifully. Of course, if there are teens looking for something to do at the wedding, having them video more of the festivities is great. I think Consolation is right that not many people watch their wedding videos. It’s nice to see that the posters here who have them enjoy watching them.</p>
<p>My d and son-in-law budgeted about 20 percent of their wedding costs for the photographer, and she was worth every cent. Somehow a good photo is more enjoyable than a video - or so we think.
I’m sure she would. It’s not the same thing as seeing the ceremony, but the custom in our family is for the bride’s bouquet to be given to a grandmother or great-grandmother who wasn’t present at the ceremony. We’ve been lucky that we haven’t had more absent grandmothers than bouquets. Also that there’s always been a family member who was able to get the bouquet to Grandma while it was still in good condition.</p>
<p>Whether you watch it often, or at all, it will be nice to have in the future for their kids to see, and it’s also wonderful to have family members and friends recorded. You never know when someone may no longer be around, and that video may be all you have to remember them by, or to show to future children and grandchildren. It may sound morbid to think that way, but it happens far too often.</p>
<p>It would be surprising if there isn’t a friend or family member who has a camera capable of recording the event.</p>
<p>Don’t bother paying for a video. 20 years from now it’ll be collecting dust in the basement. Honestly, it’s not worth paying for someone to video the wedding. </p>
<p>Remind yourself that the wedding ceremony and it’s momentos have very little to do with the success of the marriage. Too many people seem to focus on the wedding ceremony rather than the reality of what it means to be married.</p>
<p>Photos are enough to record the event (or any event for that matter).</p>
<p>I didn’t have one and don’t regret it. I also find, as a guest, it is intrusive, especially when the videographer sticks the camera in my face and asks me to say something to the bride and groom. And it makes me feel like I am at a staged production where everything is done for the camera. JMHO.</p>
<p>When my DH’s niece was planning her wedding, she asked me for a favor- my quip- “as long as it’s not me in a bridesmaid’s dress, sure”. Note to self- next time, think of the multiple possibilities of an answer… ;)</p>
<p>She asked me to take video of her wedding to include the wedding rehearsal, wedding prep, wedding, reception and opening presents. All I have is a Nikon D90- great camera that also takes video. I use it to take pictures of the kids while they play sports- I’m pretty good at action shots…which a wedding …isn’t.</p>
<p>But that’s all she asked for. I stressed myself out over the whole thing. Didn’t want her wedding day to be ruined. All she wanted was an inexpensive wedding before he/they moved to Spain.</p>
<p>It was a great success. I am still traumatized by the event, but have to say the pictures and video I created for them turned out great. I had her pictures printed at Walmart and the photo place thought they were professionally done.</p>
<p>I also created a montage video which included pictures of bride and groom as little kids and how they met- playing an online game. Put all sorts of background music, including head, shoulders, knees and toes- at the part that showed her little sis proving that she could indeed bring her foot up to her nose while standing.</p>
<p>So if you can do it for free…why not. You won’t watch your video as much as you may think, but it is nice to be able to show relatives that can’t be at the actual ceremony.</p>
<p>Oh god, those interviews! Absolutely horrendous. Thankfully, no one in my family has gone in for that. Actually, none of them have had it videotaped at all. The couple I mentioned were actually the only friends who had it done, now that I think about it. The lights were horribly intrusive.</p>
<p>And the early days montage revealed to me for the first time that the bride dyed her hair! :)</p>
<p>I think that with today’s equipment, a friend or relative could capture the important parts without a lot of fuss.</p>
<p>If you can afford it, go on ahead. There is no telling how much it will be treasured, enjoyed, ignored or reviled. If you have it that’s when you find out–in the future. </p>
<p>I don’t like watching those things as a rule, but I did at a friend’s house, of her first wedding, a marriage that ended in divorce. BUt the the video, one done by a friend, not a professional one, had so many of us that were friends, acquaintances, contact way back them, and to see them on the screen, nearly 40 years later brought some sentimental reacitons. Some who have passed away, some who are famous now, and oh, my, everyone looked so young. I looked like I was 14 maybe those days. </p>
<p>So, yes, go on ahead. She’ll have to do what she pleases with it. Without it, the options end with that day.</p>
I agree that a video is nice when there are grandparents or, in our case, great-grandparents, who cannot attend.</p>