I want to start by acknowledging something: I am probably the least impartial person in the world to answer this question. I'm a wedding videographer. Of course I think you should have a wedding videographer.
But bear with me - because the reason I believe it so strongly has nothing to do with wanting the work. It's because of what I hear, almost every single time I meet a new couple. One of two things:
“Oh, I wish I'd had my wedding filmed. It was my biggest regret.”
Or: “It was the best thing we spent our money on.”
I always feel like I'm selling it when I say this, and I'm aware of how that sounds. But I genuinely believe every couple should have one - not because I want people to pay me to do it, but because I've seen what it means to the couples who have it, and I've heard what it means to the people who didn't.
Your day goes faster than you think
People spend a lot of money on their wedding. They always have a photographer. But some don't budget for a film, or they decide against it - and the reason I think that's worth reconsidering is simple: the day flies by.
You will not be able to take it all in on the day itself. Nobody does. You're in the middle of it - greeting people, having photos, trying to eat, trying to be present in a hundred conversations at once. What a film does is give you the day back, properly, when you're ready to actually sit down and watch it.
I'm there from bridal prep right through to around an hour after the first dance - usually around 10 hours. In that time I capture everything: the sound of guests mingling outside the church, the laughs, the cheers, the speeches, the quiet moments between the two of you that even you didn't notice were happening. All of it put together with a carefully chosen soundtrack and edited so it looks like a cinematic film. That's what you get to watch afterwards.
What photographs can't do
A great photographer is irreplaceable and I'd never tell you otherwise - I've worked alongside some of my closest friends who are photographers and the work they produce is extraordinary. But photographs don't capture sound.
They can't capture the way your partner's voice sounds when they read their vows. They can't hold the laughter when the best man's speech goes brilliantly off-script. They can't play back your dad's voice, or the toast from a friend who flew in from the other side of the world, or the moment everyone erupted when the first dance started. A film does all of those things - and in my experience, it's those sounds and moments that people find most affecting when they watch it back.
‘I’m worried I’ll feel awkward on camera’
This is probably the most common concern I hear - and honestly, it's usually the reason couples who regret not booking a videographer give when they explain why they didn't.
Gone are the days of a giant shoulder-mounted camera following you around all day. I have two very compact but incredibly capable cinema cameras, and I stay in the background for the majority of the day - interacting just enough to enjoy the day with your guests, but not drawing attention to what I'm filming. I've had so many couples tell me they were shocked when they saw moments in their film that they had no idea I'd captured. That's the aim.
I take maybe 5 to 10 minutes of your time during the day - usually around the same time as the photographer - where I might ask for a couple of posed shots. Everything else is natural. If you've watched wedding films that felt forced or cringeworthy - the staged walks, the 'look at each other now' moments - that's a stylistic choice, not how it has to be. Watch a filmmaker's work before you book them, and if their films feel authentic and real, that's how your day will be filmed.
‘We already have a photographer - isn’t that enough?’
They do completely different jobs. A photographer freezes a moment. A film unfolds it. Both are valuable, and in my experience working alongside photographers day after day, the two things complement each other rather than overlap.
Most couples sit down to watch their wedding film for the first time a few weeks after the day - once the adrenaline has settled and real life has resumed. Almost every couple I've heard from describes it as unexpectedly emotional. It gives them back something they couldn't fully absorb on the day itself. That's what the film is for.
‘We can’t afford it’
This is the most honest objection and I respect it completely. What I'd say is this: to book, I only require a 20% deposit. You don't have to pay in full until two months before the wedding, and you can split payments into two or three instalments if that helps. I try to make it as manageable as possible.
I also keep my prices as low as I can for the amount of work involved - the hours at your wedding, the travel, the meeting beforehand, and then the editing, which I spend hours and hours on for every single film. I'm a perfectionist and I don't rush anyone's film. I won't offer discounts because doing so would mean cutting corners somewhere, and I don't want to do that.
If budget is genuinely tight, I'd just ask you to honestly consider what you're comparing. The flowers will fade. The favours will be forgotten. The film is the one thing that actually gives you the day back, for the rest of your lives. I've heard 'it was the best thing we spent our money on' more times than I can count. I've never once heard the opposite from someone who had one.
What happens after the wedding?
I try to get a 1-2 minute trailer to you as quickly as possible after the wedding - usually within three weeks - delivered via a private Vimeo link. The full film follows within 2-3 months. Once both are ready, I package everything up and send it via a link that looks like your own personal Netflix page, where you can stream it and download all the files.
When it genuinely might not be for you
I said I'd be honest, so here it is. If your wedding is very small and completely informal - a registry office ceremony with a handful of guests and no speeches - a full day of coverage might be more than you need. If budget absolutely doesn't allow for it and something else matters more to you, that's a completely valid decision. A great wedding doesn't require a film.
But if there's any part of you that thinks you might feel differently in a few years' time - it's worth at least having the conversation.
About Ben
I'm Ben - a cinematic, documentary wedding videographer based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. I've been doing this for 10 years and I still find it genuinely hard to believe how lucky I am to do it. I film weddings across Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset, and beyond - and internationally, including Spain and Italy.
My whole approach is built around being a calm, discreet presence - someone your guests barely notice is there - while capturing everything that makes your day feel like yours. If you'd like to see my work or have a conversation about what I do, I'd love to hear from you.
