So if you’ve read my other posts reagarding my wedding next year, I’ve mentioned how fiance & I are paying for it…keeping it small, and are working with a reasonable budget. Basically it’s VERY difficult for us to shell out our own hard-earned $$$ on “stuff” for the shaadi…we don’t want to look back years later and say “oh we could’ve skipped that”.
Now DF (dear fiance) thinks that video is unnecessary and we should skip it. He says after months pass by…no one really looks at it and yet people shell out thousands of dollars to have it professionally done. I’m conflicted. On one hand I always thought I’d have a video done (part of my “shaadi fantasy”)…but on the other hand…I don’t want to regret spending the $$. DF told me that if I really want a professionaly videographer…he won’t oppose it…but he thinks it’s a waste.
Now since the wedding is small, I’m sure I can ask some close friends to take small videos of the ceremony…our first dance…cake cutting…entrance etc. with their cameras. But as far as having a professional video of the ENTIRE day…those of you who have been married at least 1 year…what’re you thoughts? How often do you watch the video from your shaadi day?
IMHO, wedding video is waste of money. I will suggest you to invest money on photographs.
Just in case, if you are going regular desi venue location, they do provide both in 1000 bucks. but i m not sure about video quality. i think those videos are not like abcizak kind.
I looked at my wedding video a few times in the first few months...four years later I really don't even know where it is (storage somewhere) I spend a lot more time on the photos....their displayed in our home.
I would say if you're trying to be budget friendly shell out the money on a good photographer and leave the video to family and friends.
im inshallah getting married next year i would definantly go for having dvds made of my wedding day, in my eyes u only get married once for me its ur day video is a big part of your wedding day cuz u will always look back at the special memories your shared together pics do to but its not the same , im sure if u look around there maybe u will find someone that fits into your budget:)
I think it's personal choice. Chances are, YOU, yourself probably won't watch the video -- but remember, the video will act as a wedding keepsake. Your husband and you can go back and watch the video when you're older, your children and your grand-children can watch it. Whether it's professionally done or not, and how much that matters, is completely upto you! If you don't care about the professional quality, then yeah, it makes zero sense to spend so much money on it! But remember, you can get cheaper videos done, some desi uncles can do it for $500 or so, maybe even less..
^agree with sahar. Just make sure someone who would make the video is there with their cams.
I never got my mehndi video done since it was a very small, segregated function and hubs family wasnt supposed to come. But at the time of the dances and all the fun, everybody forgot to make the video and joined in. That's something I always remember with a twinge of regret because the night turned out to be such a hit. And my dad later kept saying we should have had the video done.
But I didn't want dances captured by some male videographer so didn't go with it!
I think getting a video of your shaadi is a must. Sure, you may not view it everyday five years in to the marriage, but like someone above said it really does become a keepsake that you can share with others. My brothers barely watch their wedding videos, but my Mom watched it almost everyday for a year, haha, it was a little crazy! I think for her alone it was worth it to invest in a video. If you have parents or family members that you know will be wanting to see it then it's worth it. For instance, I know I'll have a million relatives in Pakistan(especially my Khalas) who may not get to come to the U.S. for mine so they'll impatiently be waiting for a video to see everything. Pictures are great, but with a video you really 'experience' it.
Plus, I feel it would be cool to have your kids watch your wedding or even your grandchildren. Watching my parents wedding video was one of the most special moments for my siblings and I. It was very rare to have wedding videos back when my parents got married so we cherish it even more. It's funny to see our uncles and aunts as little children in the video and when we have family reunions we pop the video in and it gets everyone excited.
My brother and bhabhi said the day goes by so fast and the couple have no idea what's really going on during the event b/c they're busy so it's nice to see everything 'live' the way it happened and have that memory captured. And if your budget is an issue, you should look up private desi videographers who are much cheaper like someone said. When I was looking for my sibling I found tons of guys in my city who were charging $500 and their work wasn't phenomenal, but it much better than someone from the family making a home video. I think that's a good compromise as far as budgeting is concerned so you're not dishing out thousands. Also, I think handing the camera to a family member during the wedding isn't a great idea b/c that one person can't just sit back and enjoy your wedding as a guest. My dad was known as the 'video guy' in our family and poor guy had the task of recording every event and wedding and he'd constantly be running around and never got to sit with everyone and enjoy the events. And most likely a family member won't be able to capture all the important moments like entrances the way a paid video guy would. Having a shaky video with random clips isn't a video you'll ever watch or that you will ever want to show someone...and that's what most family members will get you in the end. Just my 2 cents.
i didnt have a video and i don't regret it at all. we put all of our media budget into our photographers and im so happy we did! they captured our day prfectly and even 4 years later, we can look back and remember exactly when that shot was taken and what we were up to in that moment. so its definitely not a must, esp if your budget will only allow someone mediocre for both photo and video because you're making it stretch. you're better off putting it all into an amazing photographer and asking someone close to you to record the speeches, really the only unique thing at any wedding. everyone else does the dances, the entrance, etc, but speeches are all individual and worth recording.
There are some amazing videographers out there these days .... but they charge an arm and both of your legs for it! Is it worth it? I don't think so ....
Even if you have the money for it, I like the idea of putting it towards an amazing photographer (or towards your down payment for your own house)
Could you compromise by asking around / advertising at a university for a film student or someone similar to do the video? Or even someone amateur that is interested in film but wouldn't charge professional rates. Then they could do it perhaps much more cheaply than a professional but they would still be tasked with getting shots throughout etc.; and you could edit yourself later or also pay them to do that. That takes a bit of pressure off the relying on friends and relatives to capture the important moments...
I’d go with the suggestions of someone just starting off who is cheap. Since they won’t be part of the event, they can capture everything. With some editing, I think you can do a pretty good job with it. Okay it won’t be one of those shiny, professional videos where everything is perfect but I think there’s something more charming about a more home made movie. At the end of the day, it’s for you, your family and possibly your friends. It’s sole purpose is not to end up on youtube/vimeo so people can drool over it.
I recently saw on T.V. here in the UK, two women set up a wedding movie company. They hire out professional equipment, which key family members have for the day. So you get different people shooting different stuff. Then this company takes all the footage and makes a proper movie out of it. Shoot It Yourself - Oxfordshire Wedding Videography and Wedding Vlogging
i think wedding video is defo needed, i mean after a while some years later you would want to go down memory lane and somtimes pics are just not enough! so if you cant afford professional im sure u have a friend or family member with a handy cam who can shoot the whole event for you?..... :D
like groomdoc and many other have said a wedding video is a must. For keepsake, to show your children/grandchildren - its always fun looking at relatives when they're younger! Its useful when showing relatives who couldn't make it. sometimes photo's don't capture everything especially all the rasms. I think you should try and find a small cheap videographer and just say look just record the day but don't have any of the special effects blah blah..maybe that'll decrease the price?
^ a cheap photographer will produce a cheap video. i saw this firsthand at a close relative's wedding and it was terrible. the bride cried for days over the poor quality, the lack of proper editing, or even any good footage to begin with! its a waste of money because you get what you pay for. either find room in your budget for a decent videographer- doesn't have to be cream of the crop but shouldn't be the pits either - or forgo video entirely. there just isn't any point to, or sense in, paying someone $500 to make a piece of crap video that will only remind you of how horrible that vendor was!
^ Actually my brother and his fiance decided to spend money and got the videographers to organize a live webbroadcast. That was really exciting for a lot of the family members who couldn't attend. it cost money, but it was good quality, and really worth it, especially for the mehndi/shadi.