Is a Wedding Videographer Worth It? 10 Years Later.
If you’re asking yourself is wedding videography worth it, you’re not alone.
Not long ago, my wife Whitney and I were cleaning out a drawer and found an old USB stick from our wedding day. We plugged it in out of curiosity and immediately said, “Why are there video files on here?” We had never really gone through it before.
We clicked one.
There were about ten short clips, all only ten to fifteen seconds long. One of them was me and my guys goofing off in the groom suite. Another was just random behind the scenes chaos. We were honestly shocked. Ten years later, we were suddenly watching little frozen moments of our wedding day come back to life.
And that is when it really hit us.
Watching Yourself 10 Years Ago Changes Something
What hit me the hardest was not just seeing our wedding again. It was realizing how young we were. Baby faced twenty year olds. Now we are adult thirty year olds with a decade of life in between.
Friends have moved different directions. Careers changed. Life changed.
After the shock wore off, the overwhelming thought was simple.
How cool would it be to have had that entire day captured as a real film?
Not just tiny accidental clips, but the full story.
Do I Regret Not Having a Wedding Film?
Honestly, no. It was ten years ago. Wedding filmmaking was not what it is today. It just was not part of the conversation in the same way.
But if we were doing it today, if we renewed our vows right now, we would one hundred percent hire a videographer without hesitation.
Because now I do not think in terms of just this year. I think in terms of what moments I will wish I had preserved when I am forty, fifty, and sixty.
Every year you age, that film becomes more valuable, not less.
What I Wish I Could Tell Every Bride on the Fence
When couples ask, “Do I really need a wedding videographer?” I always think about this.
Nobody has ever received their wedding film and said, “Yeah, I regret that.”
I have had grooms come up to me years later and say, “Dude, I cannot believe we almost skipped out on the video. It is our favorite thing from our wedding. We watch it every year.”
And I believe that. I have seen it firsthand.
You technically do not need anything at a wedding. You do not technically need a videographer. You do not technically need a dress. You could wear Crocs and a muumuu if you wanted.
But once couples actually have their wedding film, once they watch it on their first anniversary or their tenth, there is no regret. Only gratitude.
You get to hear the vows again.
You get to hear the emotion in the voices.
You get to relive a day that went by in a blur.
Wedding Videographer vs Photographer: The Difference Nobody Explains Well
Most couples go straight to booking their photographer first. That is just how the industry works. People want those framed photos. They want the picture with grandma and grandpa. That makes total sense.
But here is how I explain the difference as both a groom and a filmmaker.
Imagine you are looking at a picture of your dad from when you were little.
Now imagine that picture starts moving and he is talking to you.
That is the difference between photo and video.
Photos are powerful.
Video adds voice, mannerisms, emotion in motion, and personality.
Hearing my wife’s voice from our wedding day ten years later, even in those tiny clips, was unreal. I cannot imagine what it would feel like to have a full cinematic film of that day.
The Moments You Do Not Even See on Your Wedding Day
On a wedding day, couples are on a schedule. Portraits. Timelines. Family photos. The day moves fast.
Meanwhile, all these things are happening around you.
A friend cracking a joke during group photos.
Someone making the entire bridal party laugh at once.
Moms and dads quietly crying in the front row.
The groom absolutely losing it when the bride walks in.
Here is the truth most couples do not realize until afterward.
You usually do not see those moments in real time.
You are focused on the aisle.
You are focused on the photographer.
You are focused on not tripping.
But the cameras are not.
Brides almost never see the groom’s face as they walk in. And grooms cry a lot. I see it every weekend.
That reaction becomes one of the most loved moments in every film.
What Wedding Films Become Later in Life
Here is where it really sinks in for me.
We do not have a full wedding film to sit down and watch today. All we have are those short little clips we accidentally found on a USB stick. And even those few seconds hit us emotionally ten years later.
That is what made me realize how powerful a full wedding film would be twenty, thirty, or forty years down the road.
I think about sitting together at forty, fifty, sixty years old and being able to watch a real cinematic version of who we were when life was just beginning for us. Younger faces. Younger voices. Different energy.
Everyone likes flipping through photo albums at grandma’s house.
But imagine your kids or your grandkids opening a digital frame on a table and watching a film of you and your spouse when you were young, full of nerves and excitement at the start of your life together.
Not outdated.
Timeless.
That is why I film the way I do. I do not chase trends. I aim to make films that still feel right thirty or forty years from now.
Because that is when their real value shows up.
So, Is a Wedding Videographer Worth It?
You do not need one.
But I truly believe once couples have their film in hand, it becomes one of the most meaningful pieces of their entire wedding day.
If you have ever imagined sitting together decades from now and reliving this chapter of your life, I think the answer becomes pretty clear.
And if you ever want to talk through what that could look like for your own day, I would always love to have that conversation with you.
