Top 10 Questions to ask your Wedding Videographer
Thanks to Che Birch Hayes for this awesome shot of me!
This is a similar post to ‘10 Questions to ask you Wedding Photographer’ but I figured it makes sense to do one more tailored to videography.
This should give you a good idea of what to ask if you’re looking to book a wedding videographer, and I’ve put my answers here too which might also be helpful.
Let’s get into it…
1. Do you have insurance?
This was also the number 1 question on my ‘Top 10 Questions to ask your Wedding Photographer’ post and I’ve put it number one again because it is just so important! Not only does your videographer need to have insurance to work at most wedding venues, and to be sure that you’re covered if something goes wrong from them, but most importantly this one question can help sort the legit videographers from the ones just getting into it, or doing a bit on the side. If they don’t have insurance then it’s a red flag.
As for me, I do indeed have insurance: public liability, professional indemnity, and equipment coverage.
2. What happens if you are ill, or there is an emergency?
Another key question, and any videographer worth their salt will be in constant fear of this / have a go-to plan in the event it does happen.
For me, it’s either I can shoot the wedding, but I’m not able to give 100% (due to illness, a broken arm, or something like that) in which event I’ll hire a second videographer or an assistant to make up the slack.
Or, total catastrophe has struck (hospitalisation, broken leg, etc) and I can’t do the wedding at all, in which case it’s onto a national group to find a replacement of a similar style and have them attend on my behalf. Either way communication with the couple is key here.
3. Can I view some full wedding films?
It’s always worth viewing some full wedding films from your videographer. Most of us (myself included) will only put highlight films up on the website or social media.
These highlight films are about 3 minutes long and give a really good idea for the skills + style of the filmmaker, but seeing a full wedding day you can get a feel for how your video might look.
If you do view the full wedding video and you’re feeling the emotion and welling up, then imagine that feeling times100 for your own wedding, alternatively, if you see a full film and aren’t that stoked then maybe keep looking around for something more your style.
4. What do you love about weddings and what you do?
This is a great question to ask that gives you an idea of what your videographer is like as a person, seeing their work is great, but knowing that you’re going to get on well with them on the most important day of your life is pretty key.
Ask them what they love about their job and their answer will tell you a lot. For me, it’s all about that buzz of being with people on the best day of their lives, and just seeing people so so happy. then when I’m done for the day knowing that I’ve captured that for them and that in 10,20, 50 years from now they can look at my work and remember that day all over again.
5. How long after the wedding till I get my videos?
This one is a good gauge of how your videographer works after the wedding and during the edit.
It’s relatively normal for wedding films to take longer than wedding photos due to the nature of having to watch it all back several times and having to creatively cut each wedding (which is unique) together.
Anywhere up to 2-3 months is pretty standard, for me I say 6 weeks (the same as my photos) as that helps keep me on track and prevent a backlog of editing (which is always really hard to get out of)
6. How will I receive my videos?
The delivery of big files like wedding videos has changed a lot over recent years, and knowing how you’re going to get your videos is a good idea.
I do digital downloads of the videos from a central hub, which is hosted on EazyFlicks this allows me to upload the main film, highlights, speeches, and ceremony in one place for easy watching/downloading.
I also send a USB with the same thing, which is really good for watching on a TV or just having a hard copy of.
7. Have you ever shot at my venue before?
Another useful question to ask, it’s not crucial that your videographer has been to your venue before, but some prior knowledge can come in handy.
It also means you can watch a video from your venue and get an idea of how a wedding feels there and what you might be able to expect from your wedding day.
8. Can we pick our own music?
This is one of the questions I get asked the most and I know lots of videographers have different ways of working with music.
For me, I use Artlist.io which has a great selection of music that I’m able to legally use and share on all my videos. I ask my couples to pick a couple of tracks from this site to get started, but sometimes they just want me to edit away and choose what works best for the video.
Using popular music is pretty much impossible, the fees alone would be astronomical and any videographer using commercial music without a license is a bit of a red flag. While I’d love to be able to use people’s favorite songs it’s juts not worth the financial implications of getting caught.
What I am experimenting with however are shorter video clips of the day, made up into Reels in Instagram, what way clips of music can be used and shared on that platform so that is a partial workaround.
9. Do I get a video of the ceremony + speeches?
A really good one to ask, and in fact this can be extended into ‘what videos will I get’. It’s good to know exactly what you can expect at the end of the day from your videographer.
For me, I do include a video of the ceremony + speeches, this is usually a pretty simple one-angle, one-shot video of each so they can be watched back or shared with people who couldn’t make the wedding.
10. How much is the deposit and how do I book?
After a meeting and looking through a few videographers’ work it’s good to get the final decision made and the booking in.
Ideally, you want a contract (it’s a red flag if there is no contract) along with a deposit for the videographer to secure the date as yours. It’s standard to pay in full before the wedding but having an idea of when this is can help with the budget.
For me I require a signed contract and a £250 deposit to secure the date, the remaining balance is then due 28 days before the wedding.
And there we have it! My Top 10 Questions to ask your Wedding Videographer, of course there are plenty more things you can ask but hopefully these should give you an idea of what to look out for and what to expect.
Give me a shout in the comments below if you have any questions, I’d love to hear what you think!
Cheers,
Col-