This wasn’t a question that my wife and I even considered when we were getting married. We knew we wanted a quality photographer, a pretty venue, and for Jennifer to have a nice dress, but having our wedding day filmed didn’t even cross our minds. But you know what? We aren’t alone…

In 2010, the XO Group did a nationwide survey and discovered that only 4% of couples in the U.S. budgeted a Wedding Cinematographer (Videographer), and of those who budgeted, less than 25% of them choose to invest to have the most important day of their life filmed. For those of you that are a little more visual – take a look at this pie chart.

Why is it that so many people choose not to invest in having their wedding day filmed? Here are my theories:

1. Non-thought. It doesn’t even enter into their mind, exactly like my wife and me.
2. Low priority. They cross off the ‘big important’ things for their wedding day… photographer, dress, venue, flowers, etc… and then after they’ve spent all their money they think it would be nice to hire a wedding videographer, but no longer have any money.
3. Misinformation. For the longest time when I thought of wedding videography I thought of interviews, over-the-top transitions, and my ceremony. These ideas are reasons why engaged me wouldn’t have invested in having my wedding day taped. (This type of videography, however, is not the type of work now me does.)

I’m sure there are more, but those are a few reasons why someone might not have their wedding day filmed. So, I thought I’d come up with a few points on why you should have your wedding day filmed!

REASONS TO HAVE YOUR WEDDING DAY FILMED

1. Blur. You spend weeks, months, and sometimes years planning this day… and in the end that’s all it is. A day. 24 hours. Simply put, a wedding day goes by so fast! Speaking from experience, I remember snippets of my wedding day. Waking up 2 hours before my alarm went off, seeing Jennifer walk down the isle, a ‘cheesy’ joke made during our ceremony, hating the pineapple punch from our wedding toast… Looking through pictures I can remember events, but it would have been nice to see them unfold, rather than have to remember them. Recently, I was talking to a friend, and he told me that he wished he had had someone film his wedding day simply so he could remember what he said to his wife during their vows.
2. Lasting. The flowers that were ordered will wither. The cake will be eaten. Your beautiful white dress with get dingy. The tuxes you rented will be returned. Your centerpieces you spent hours on making will get thrown away. The two most important choices for your wedding day are photographer and cinematographer. These are the only people that can give you a lasting documentation of what happened on your wedding day. This is the best way to ‘relive’ your wedding day, and share it with family, friends, and hopefully one day children and grandchildren. 
3. Story. I have a high respect for photography. I appreciate it. My wife is fantastic at her craft, and I cannot downplay the importance of photography. In saying all of this, film tells a story that photography cannot. Don’t get me wrong – photography evokes a lot of emotion (one photographer had me in tears at WPPI just by showing his photos), but, film showcases emotion in a way photography does not. Last December my wife and I shot a wedding together – let me show you the sequence of events from the first look.

In both of these examples you can see the emotion. You can see the love between Christian and Amy. You can sense and feel their excitement. But, film has the ability to tell Christian and Amy’s story in a way that photography simply cannot.

A lot goes into your wedding day. I know. I’ve been there. But, when it’s all said and done don’t you want it to last? Don’t you want not only to remember your day, but also experience the joy, emotion, and uniqueness that is your wedding day? I wish I would have.

Enjoy! Nick