Not all couples decide to hire a videographer to document their wedding day, while others believe it is an absolute necessity. A DVD copy of your wedding could come in handy for out-of-town relatives, or for reliving the memories once a year on your anniversary.

video camera on a tripod

There are certainly some extremely talented videographers in our area who offer a variety of unique services and specialty effects for your wedding compilation. (Please email me for more detailed contact info.) However, if you are interested in having the memories captured but are not feeling too fussy about having a 100% professional movie, consider hiring a student!

We are fortunate enough to be in an area that is saturated with colleges and universities that almost always offer some type of audio/video coursework. By looking for a student, you will save a great deal of money (since they are amateur and usually just starting out in their media careers) and the work they produce is often just as professional, if not more so, than professional videographers.

Sure, you run the risk of hiring someone who may not have top of the line equipment, or someone who may get distracted and accidentally miss the cutting of the cake, but then again you could also get extremely lucky and find someone who has a lot of passion and creativity to offer! Remember, we all started our careers as not fully experienced individuals, and someone somewhere along the line took a chance on us. Look at where we are now!

If you and your spouse-to-be are perhaps more laid back and casual about videography, try contacting a media or visual arts department at your local university, or putting an ad on Craigslist. You can always ask for a demo reel, or a link to their YouTube account which is a great place for them to display their work. If you aren’t too concerned about a pristine movie, take a chance on a rookie; it’s a win-win situation because you save $$ and they gain a professional reference if they do a good job!