Videographers

chrispygal

Who is using one and who is not?  What are the prices you are seeing in your research?  We were going to forgo one, now I'm having doubts and am worried I'll regret not having it. 

dmcphee

I really didn't want a videographer, because I hate myself on video, but FI talked me into at least having the ceremony and traditional parts of the reception (i.e. cake cutting, first dance, toasts, etc.)  recorded.
Since I didn't even want it in the first place, I didn't want to spend much.  So, my MOH got me in touch with her videographer, who does it as a side-job.  He is charging us $400, which is extremely reasonable, and much less than anyone else I saw. 

meg213f

I'm totally in the same boat! I figured it was an added expense we didn't need but now i'm rethinking it. I'll be interested to see what others say!

hcorr34

Definitely not in the budget for me.  A good friend has offerend to record the ceremony for us, and that will be good enough for me. 

fickrj5

It really isn't one of those necessary things for us,  we cared more about the photos and definately splurged on our budget for that.  I think we are just going to buy a flip camera or something and have my brother record the ceremony and other important things, and then we are going to take it on our honeymoon too. 

jchow009

I found a videographer which will charge $450 for raw video.  I figure I don't need all these fancy edits.  She is going to come for 5 hours, I thought it was a pretty good deal.  I was not going to get it, but then my FSIL told me how amazing that she saw her kid's reaction when they watched her video.  So I decided to do something simple so that I have something on tape.

littlefieldmj

 A full-day photographer isn't in our budget, so we definitely aren't going to spring the $$ for a videographer. We have a flip camera that we'll set-up to record the ceremony, and then have my brother pick it up and rush over to record the receiving line (my dad insisted on having the line recorded).  Bro will set up the camera, not stand there and hold it the entire time.  We have friends who like to watch their wedding video, but it's not as important to us. 

Good luck in your search!

slwager

i didn't think we needed it but my dad thought we did.  since he's paying i said go ahead!  we're using media northeast (josh swan).  he has been great to work with so far.  he came highly recommended from our photographer kim chapman.

we are using his least expensive package plus having him at the rehearsal dinner.  it is $1600 and includes 3 hours on the friday dinner, 9 hrs for the wedding day including 2 ceremony cameras, 1 reception camera, 3 dvds, and all editing.

so no, not cheap. 

chrispygal

Thanks everyone for the feedback!  I'm surprised how many of you found something for under $500. We were totally going to go the flip camera way (and even bought one!) but I've had more and more people tell me to think about that decision. Those with families say that their kids love to watch the videos and watch them fairly often (and ask why they weren't there - haha!).  And I've had others comment to me that it's priceless to them to go back and watch the video of their grandparents and parents, some of which are no longer with us.  It was those two things that really got me.  Pictures are great, but videos do show more.  We had decided to opt out of video because the style I like can be super expensive.  I was willing to spend about $1,000.  I've actually found someone for $1,500, McCormick Media, and I really like her work.  My FI and I disagree on this issue too which doesn't make it easier.   He'd be fine without it, but my gut and my heart are telling me we should do it.   Agggh!!!!  lol

jelenybeany

We're just having a family member record it. I honestly didn't want a videographer. My grandmother started insisting, and when I looked into it, the prices I were getting were insane.

I agree, it would be nice to have the video, but for us, it's not $1500 nice. I'm just going to have our family record the ceremony.

I don't even want that because I know I'll start blubbering like a bafoon, and who wants to relive that?

beWell10

I'm in the same boat! This whole time I thought it was unnecessary and that I would rather spend my $$ on something else. Then I saw someone elses and videos are not what they use to be. It is almost like a music video with a story line. It was very nicely done.  I change my mind daily.

plato79

This is something that is super important for me to have, but I was having trouble finding a vid that I liked within our generous budget. In the end, I found McElroy Weddings. I paid in the $1500-2000 range (to be truthful I'd have to go look it up...not sure what the end total was), but it's so worth it for me (and I negotiated them down a bit from one of their larger packages). I used to work at the local cable station in high school and so this type of memory is very valuable to me. 

http://mcelroyfilms.com/services/wedding-videography-boston-ma That's the website - they have quite an array of packages. 

Good luck! 

MrsCraigtoBe09

Yeah, we used Rebecca at www.curtisweddings.com and did a raw footage package for $450. We were on a strict budget, but we wanted to be able to relive the day and see our toasts and ceremony again and everything, plus have our kids see it someday. She got everything on film, it was great and well worth the money. I love my photos but it's nice to have the actual day played back, too.

tommeredith

My friend came across a company that rents out Flip Cameras for weddings; they are called Cutterfly. She used them and it was pretty simple. They sent the cameras a week before the wedding and friends shot the wedding. Once Cutterfly received the cameras back, they edit the video too.

It all came out pretty well.

Here's a link to their site.

http://www.cutterfly.com