Questions to Ask a Wedding Videographer
Style + Storytelling
These questions to ask wedding videographers are important because they will help you pick the right wedding videographer for you. This will help you determine which videographer to choose based off of how you want your memories captured and presented to you. That will be what you will cherish for the rest of time.
A documentary style approach and a cinematic style approach are going to give you two completely different videos of your wedding day, so you want to make sure that you not only know what style you want, but you also know what style each videographer specializes in. Check out our blog post here that explains the difference in documentary versus cinematic style wedding videography.
How would you describe your filming and editing style?
Can we see a few full wedding galleries (not just highlight films or teasers)?
How do you approach storytelling — do you focus more on the events on the timeline or focusing on the couples’ story?
Do you record natural audio (vows, speeches, laughter) or mainly set everything to music?
How do you choose the music for our film?
Experience + Team
These questions are important because you need to know if your wedding videographer is professional or someone with a camera or two that does this on this side. While years of experience shouldn’t be the only factor in your decision, it does help you understand how comfortable and confident your videographer is on wedding days.
After capturing over 175 weddings over 8 years, there are so many things that we have picked up that allow us to make your experience on your wedding day incredible and memorable.
How long have you been filming weddings?
How many weddings do you typically shoot per year?
Do you work alone or with a team?
Have you filmed at our venue before?
What happens if you’re unavailable or sick on our wedding day?
Coverage + Equipment
These questions are very technical and while you may not understand the lingo, this is a great way for you to learn a little more about the industry. It will also give you a good idea if your videographer knows how to handle difficult situations.
These are great conversations to have as well to make sure that all of the key moments YOU want covered are in fact covered. Whether that’s talking to your videographer about adding coverage or just making sure they have backups in case of a technical mishap, you want to ensure everything you want to remember is there!
For example, we always bring at least 4 cameras, plenty of lenses for us to have extra,, a book of SD cards, (our cameras write to 2 SD cards simultaneously!), batteries, and chargers!
What moments do you typically film throughout the day?
How many cameras do you use during key moments (like the ceremony)?
Do you use drones, gimbals, or other cinematic gear?
How do you handle low-light situations during receptions?
Do you bring backup equipment?
Packages + Deliverables
The answers to these questions to ask your wedding videographer will give you a wide variety of answers. Again, these are important for you to understand and know what you want so that you can end up with all of the content you’re looking for from your wedding day.
We have a whole post breaking down some of the common types of wedding videos – so you can decide which ones are actually right for you!
What’s included in your packages (teaser, highlight film, full ceremony, speeches, etc.)?
How long are the final films?
Can we customize our package or add extra edits later?
How long does it take to receive our final films?
How will our videos be delivered (digital, USB, online gallery, etc.)?
Pricing + Policies
Questions about pricing and policy are fairly typical for any wedding vendor. You should ask these and make sure that nothing screams red flags and make sure there are no hidden fees or surprises. This can also help you understand what is actually included in the package and when you can expect your videographer to be there on your wedding day.
Check out our post explaining the costs associated with wedding videography!
What’s your retainer fee, and when is the final balance due?
What’s your cancellation policy?
Are travel fees included in your pricing?
Do you charge extra for additional hours on the wedding day?
Do you offer payment plans?
Creative Process
These questions are also some of the more important questions to ask your wedding videographer. These may help you with how to choose a wedding videographer as it will give you an insight into your videographer as a person and what your expectations should be.
This not only gives you a brief insight into how they actually work on your wedding day, but also what you can expect throughout the process.
For example, we like to have a video call with you and your fiance to get to know you better before your wedding day. This helps make sure that we are comfortable around each other and know the best way to keep you at ease throughout the day.
How do you prepare for the wedding day (do you send questionnaires or schedule planning calls)?
Do you work well alongside photographers, DJs, and other vendors?
How do you handle last-minute changes or unpredictable weather?
How do you make couples feel comfortable on camera?
Rights + Usage
Finally, these last few questions to ask your wedding videographer are simple but important for you to know. These will help you with understanding how the videography world works and hopefully help you steer away from a nightmare situation that could end in a legal battle.
Can we share our film on social media?
Will you post our wedding on your website or social channels?
Do we get access to the raw footage if we want it?
Who owns the rights to the finished video?
If you would like to ask us any of these questions, please feel free to reach out and ask away! We LOVE questions! We know we aren’t a good fit for everyone, and that’s okay. We want you to be happy and comfortable with whomever you choose, even if that’s not us!
You can also check out our experience page on our website to read through what to expect when you choose us as your wedding videographer. We also have an FAQ section at the very bottom of that page that cover some of these very questions to ask wedding videographers!
