More than most packages sell. A wedding day usually runs 12 to 16 hours from getting ready to the send-off, and most hourly packages cover six to ten. Count your own day before you compare quotes. Anything outside the hours you buy doesn’t make it into the film.
Count your day
On a planning call, I asked a couple how long their day would be. Their church ceremony was at 2 PM. To be ready by then, with time for the morning shots they wanted, getting ready would start around 11, and the night would end around 11. By the time we added the first few details of the morning, we were talking about filming from 10 AM to 11 PM. That’s 13 hours, for a day that sounded like a 2 PM wedding.
Here’s how to count yours:
- Getting ready. When does hair and makeup start, and when do you want filming to start? Letters, the dress and the last button all happen here.
- The first look and portraits, if you’re doing them before the ceremony.
- The ceremony. A Coptic Orthodox crowning runs longer than most, and every part of it matters.
- The reception. The entrance, first dance, toasts, parent dances and the dance floor.
- The end of the night. The private last dance and the send-off, usually the last half hour.
Add it up from the first item to the last. That number is how long your wedding is on film.
What an hourly package leaves out
I tell couples on calls that a lot of videographers charge by the hour, and I don’t like that way of charging, because it forces you to think about missing the morning or missing part of the night, or paying extra. With a six or eight hour block, one of those has to go, usually the morning letters or the send-off.
Timelines also slip. Toasts start late and the dance floor stays full. With hourly coverage, you either pay for the extra time on the spot or the camera goes home before the night is over.
The day goes faster than you think
The bigger the day, the faster it goes. I woke up on my own wedding day, and the next thing I remember, we were driving back home. That’s normal, and it’s why I film all of it.
If a few hours is all you can do
Spend them on the ceremony and the toasts. That’s where the words are: your vows, your parents, the friend who stands up to speak. Skip the long stretches of setup, and ask the videographer to stay through the first dance if the hours allow.
How we do it
We don’t sell hours. Both of our options are full-day coverage with no hourly limits, from getting ready to the send-off, and the price doesn’t change if the day runs late. You can see what each option includes on the pricing page, how the whole day looks on film in the Nashville wedding videography guide, and the questions couples ask most about coverage on the FAQ.
Questions to ask about hours
- How many hours does the quote cover, and when do they start? Ask whether the clock starts when they arrive or when filming starts.
- What does an extra hour cost, and who decides on the day? Get the answer in writing.
- Do you stay for the send-off? If the answer depends on the hours, count the send-off into them.
For the rest of the questions I’d ask, see questions to ask your wedding videographer, and for what the hours cost, what a wedding videographer costs in Nashville. Our Nashville wedding videography page covers the full day.
Save this for the week you build your timeline.
Bebo
