The Inside Scoop on Wedding Videography

Let's talk about wedding videography, why get it? What's the benefit? What should I be looking for when I search for one?

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We sat down with Ryan & Sarah from Zandolee Media to chat about Wedding Videography and get some questions answered.

Why should couples consider getting a videographer for their wedding?

"When we talk to couples it's very obvious that planning a wedding takes a lot of effort and emotional energy. It's a huge investment to get everything right for their biggest day. Most couples sometimes overlook that it's a big day for their loved ones also. It's a big day for dads and moms, grandmas, and cousins. Family coming together to say I do to this new journey. That's why you need a wedding video. You'll want to professionally document this everlasting I do as dad/mom or loved one walks you down the aisle or your first walk as a married couple, the first dance, and the drunk uncle. Our couples get a video because 30 years from now they want to remember the moment as if it was yesterday. In 30 years many people in the video may be gone and new loved ones may have entered into their lives. A well-done video immortalizes a moment in time. Their moment in time."

What part of the wedding day do you find couples love seeing again when they get their video back?

"I think our biggest moments are the coming down the aisle shot and the announcement shot, first time as a couple. Those moments are the first time forever moments... It sticks with you."

What parts of the day do you often capture that couples never see until their video reveal?

"It's all very experiential. We've found that most couples can live through their wedding day and experience something completely different when they watch their wedding film. There's a saying, "it goes by in a blur." Most of the wedding day is like that. There are so many emotions tied to the moment and all the details, that it's hard for couples to experience it for what it is. So the film allows the couple to see themselves in the moment for the first time. It also gives them the opportunity to experience what their guests did."

What is the difference between raw footage, cinematic features, edits and so on? What does it mean?

• Raw footage is everything the videographer captured on the day. It includes all the messy unprocessed footage in several clips and does not come edited into any sequence or format.

• Cinematic Feature is the specially edited version of your day that can run from 3-5 minutes.

• Long Form or Full Day Edit is the edit that showcases all the key moments from your day including ceremony, toasts, first dances, cake cutting etc. This can run anywhere from 60 - 90 minutes and can also include your cinematic feature.

Other things to keep in mind for your video,

• Raw Footage - Does the couple own the RAW footage if they hire a videographer?  No. The raw footage under copyright law belongs to the creator of the content. In some cases, couples can acquire it for free or a fee.

• Choosing a song for your wedding video: The biggest thing for couples to understand when choosing a song is that they need permission from the artist to put the song in their film. It's called licensing. How it works is that a fee is paid to the composer of the song giving the ok for the song to be placed and shared online.  Most of the time our couples let us choose the song for them... otherwise we direct couples to musicbed.com and other music licensing platforms. We've also created a Spotify playlist that we update as we find songs that couples may consider.

Why did you choose to get into wedding videography? What is your favorite part about being a wedding videographer?

"Through a business associate, we met The Wedding Guys and Bruce Vasser believed in our style and showed us the ropes of the business. On the personal side, we love people, we feel as much anticipation as our couples do. We love capturing their moments, we love making it memorable, and we love bringing our fresh energy and vision to the market."

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Questions to ask your videographer when looking to hire for your big day:

• What is your videography style? (Much like photography, videographers have their own style too.)

• What is included in the package? Is raw footage an additional cost?

• Do you offer a drone video option?

• When can I expect to get my wedding video back?

• Have you worked at my venue before? If not, are you willing to tour it in advance to find the best locations for various parts of the video?

• Is a second shooter included?

• Do you have a backup person, should something happen to you on my wedding date?

If you don't know where to start looking, head over to our featured videographers page and see if any of their styles catch your eye!

Overwhelmingly, when brides ask for advice on the Minnesota Brides page questioning if they need a videographer the stand out answer is usually YES from past brides. Take it from us - you truly don't realize how fast your day will go by and how many moments you will miss! It is so nice to have something beautiful to look back at. There isn't a price you can put on being able to go back and see all of the emotions, hear the voices of those who may have passed, and just experience your wedding day all over again.

Here is an example cinematic feature from Zandolee!

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