How much should I pay for a wedding video?
Ah yes, the age-old question. How much should a wedding film cost? We’ll tackle this question from a few different approaches.
What is the average cost of a wedding video?
According to recent analytics, the average cost of wedding video services in the U.S. is right at $1,800. However, that number should be taken with a grain of salt. It represents the midpoint between professional videographers, (usually priced between $3,500-$8,000) and Uncle Steve, who offers to film your wedding on his handy-cam for $150.
What is the high end of wedding videography?
Wedding videographers who capture celebrity weddings at exotic destinations charge as much as $125,000. There may be even more expensive ones out there.
What is the low end of wedding videography?
A competent videographer, or a student filmmaker might charge $2,000 or so to film a wedding. They’d also likely do an acceptable job. Of course, there’s always Uncle Steve! If you look hard enough, you may be able to get a friend or a family member to film on their iPhone. In the right hands, even this might be pretty good. However, these sorts of prices are not sustainable for a professional wedding videographer to make a decent living in today’s market.
What does is it cost a filmmaker to make a wedding video?
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Darn! Why do wedding videos cost so much?
It’s a common misconception that a wedding videographer simply shows up on your wedding day, works for eight hours, zip your footage through a computer and then deliver a video. Quality wedding filmmakers must often invest in the following:
expensive cameras
expensive microphones
mobile lighting equipment
assistants
editing software subscriptions
high-performing editing computers
digital storage for backups
royalty-free music licensing
website maintenance
advertising
company insurance
tax preparation
travel
car rentals
city parking (this can add up in big cities)
hotels
Beyond that, after spending a day capturing a wedding, it can take weeks to professionally and properly edit footage. It’s not unusual for a wedding videographer to spend an entire month or more on a single wedding. Factor in the years of training and the ever-evolving demand for high quality imaging, and you can see why a single wedding video package can easily cost thousands of dollars.
What is a wedding video worth?
That’s up to you. How do you want to remember your wedding? Do you want a video at all? Some folks are just fine with a clinical, single-camera approach to capturing a wedding. If that’s you, great! However, others want a dream-like memory that they can look back on in awe. They want to capture a vision of their wedding that will honor the reality of the commitment that they are making before God.
It’s also important to consider what you’re getting with your wedding video package? Is it just the ceremony? Is it just highlights? Does it include bridal prep? Drone footage? These are all important questions.
Some folks want the most beautiful way to capture their most beautiful day. If that’s you, I think you’ll find that Stella Maris Weddings is likely a good fit.
