Why hire a professional Videographer?

Let’s set the scene:

I was filming at the Citadel Beach House the other day which overlooks the Atlantic ocean on the beautiful Isle of Palm beach. The wedding party and their guests had just finished their meal and the bride and groom had their first dance. After their first dance ended, the bride’s father had the DJ play the Karaoke version of “I loved her first,” a song traditionally known for it’s tear-jerking capabilities.

To make it even more powerful, her dad decided to sing it to her while she danced with her new groom. Needless to say, there were absolutely no dry eyes in the room (including mine) while he sang to her.

You can quickly see how this may be one of the most compelling reasons to have a wedding videographer film the ceremony and reception. Moments like these are so special and powerful and they are simply priceless.

During the song, at about verse two, one of the servers who was working with the caterer walks up to me and says, “I don’t want to tell you how to do your job, but…”

“Uh Oh, what is this?” I thought.

“There is a beautiful sunset outside that you are missing,” she reports.

I was silent. Not just because I was floored that someone would choose a sunset over dad singing to his daughter who he truly did hold first.

I was silent because the microphone on my camera was the one recording the audio of her dad singing and I did not want to record my voice.

I am hoping that it did not pick up her voice on it when she freely gave her video advice to me.

This story brings up an interesting point that many simply don’t realize. Peoples’ perception of what is important for a video can be radically different so couples should be careful when they select a videographer to record their wedding.

What if this caterer was a videographer on the side? Is that why she had the guts to “tell me how to do my job?” There are plenty of people on the Internet today, calling themselves videographers, and duping brides into hiring them to record their once-in-a-lifetime memories. The truth is, their idea of what a wedding video should be can be pretty low quality. My advice is to be very careful when you select your photographer and videographer for your wedding. You will be glad you did.