Planning Guide
Questions to ask a wedding videographer before you book
Twelve questions that tell you a lot more than a highlight reel does, plus what a good answer sounds like.
Planning Guide
Twelve questions that tell you a lot more than a highlight reel does, plus what a good answer sounds like.
A highlight reel can tell you if you like someone’s style. It can’t tell you how they’ll handle your actual wedding day, how long you’ll wait for your film or what’s tucked into the fine print. That’s what these questions are for.
For each one, I’ve added what to listen for and how I answer it for my own couples. Feel free to steal this list and bring it to every call.
Obvious, but ask it first so nobody wastes time. Have your venue and a rough guest count ready too, since both can change the quote.
Some studios send whoever is free that day. If you love someone’s work, make sure that person is the one showing up.
For my couples, that’s me. On collections with two filmmakers, I bring a second filmmaker I trust.
Highlight videos are the best few minutes of a long day. A full ceremony film or a longer feature shows you how someone handles audio, low light and the parts of the day that are harder to film.
Ask about hours, how many filmmakers, which films you’ll get and how long each one runs. Then ask about travel, overtime and rush editing so you’re comparing quotes fairly. If it helps, I broke down what wedding videographers cost in Ohio.
Turnaround varies a lot, from a few weeks to many months. Get a real number, and make sure it’s in your contract.
Mine is within six weeks, and priority editing gets your films to you in four.
This is the one people forget, and it matters a lot. Listen for things like microphones on the officiant or the couple during the ceremony, and a plan for recording toasts straight from the DJ or the microphone.
Some filmmakers stage a lot of moments. Others mostly hang back and capture what happens. Neither is wrong, but you should know what you’re signing up for.
I stay out of the way for most of the day and only step in for portraits, so it feels like your wedding and not a film set.
Ask about backup cameras, extra batteries and memory cards, and what happens if they get sick. A good answer sounds like they’ve thought about it long before you asked.
Most videographers ask for a retainer to hold your date, then the rest closer to the wedding. Ask how much it is, when it’s due and whether any of it is refundable.
I ask for a signed contract and a 50 percent retainer, and the balance is due two weeks before the wedding.
If your venue is a bit of a drive, ask early. Some videographers include a certain distance and charge for anything past it.
With me, travel within 60 miles of Youngstown is included.
Some videographers include it and some don’t. Know the answer before you book so there are no surprises later.
I don’t offer raw footage. Everything I deliver has been edited, color graded and paired with good audio, and that’s the version of your day I want you to keep.
Your photographer and videographer will be side by side all day. Ask if they’ve worked together before, or how they usually share the space during portraits and the ceremony. When those two get along, you end up with better photos and a better film.
After the call, ask yourselves if you’d be comfortable having this person around all day. They’ll be there for the quiet moments and the chaotic ones. The right person makes you forget the camera is even there.
If you’d like to ask me any of these, check your date here. You can also see everything that comes with each collection on my pricing page, or read whether a wedding videographer is worth it.
Let’s talk
Share your date and your Youngstown venue, and I’ll be in touch with availability and a few ideas for your film.
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