Watch at least two full films from every filmmaker you’re considering. In each one, listen for voices you can understand, look for the people around the couple, and ask yourself whether it feels like a real day. Then notice how you feel after your call with the filmmaker, because stress on the wedding day shows up on film.
The moments you’ll want back
On a call in April, I asked a bride for the three moments she couldn’t lose. She named the first look and the crowning, then added her family. They cry together, she told me, and it starts with her dad.
A lot of videographers miss that part. When I first started, I did the same during the first dance: I filmed only the couple, and in the edit that’s all you saw. Now, during your slow dance I want your sisters’ reactions too, and when you dance with your dad, I want your mom’s face. Those reactions are what make you feel something when you watch. In any sample film, count the faces that aren’t the couple.
Watch a whole film
Reels on Instagram pull the best few seconds from many weddings, so mostly they show you what the camera can do. To see whether someone can tell the story of one day, from getting ready to the send-off, you need a whole highlight film.
When I send couples example films after a call, I tell them that if they don’t have time to watch the whole thing, they should at least skip to the ceremony. That’s where we spend the most time in the edit. Ask any filmmaker for a film from a wedding like yours, too.
Listen before you look
Our films are led by voices: morning letters, vows, toasts, the priest’s prayers and the hymns. Voice is the most powerful way I know to tell the story of a wedding, so it’s the first thing to check in anyone’s work.
Play a film and look away from the screen for a minute. Can you understand the vows? Can you hear the toast over the room? If the sound is muddy, or one song plays over the whole film, you lose the words.
Does it feel like the day?
A film should feel the way the day felt. If your wedding was slow and emotional, the film shouldn’t come back as a trailer with hype music and fast cuts. Questions to ask your wedding videographer covers how to find that out before you book.
Watch for how much the filmmaker directs, too. We stay out of the way during the morning, the ceremony and most of the reception, so what you see is what happened. The portrait session is the one time of the day we direct.
Notice how you feel after the call
If I point my phone at you for a photo and count down from three, you’ll smile even on a bad day. Video keeps rolling, so stress shows, and there’s no way around it in the edit. That’s why I think the most important thing a filmmaker can give you is peace of mind.
So pay attention after your first call. Did they ask about your day? Do you know what you’ll pay in the end? I got an invoice during my own honeymoon because a vendor stayed an extra two hours. I just hate that.
If you’re comparing Nashville videographers
What a wedding videographer costs in Nashville breaks down what each range usually gets you, and the Nashville venue guide covers the places we film most.
Before you book anyone
- Ask for two full films from weddings like yours. Watch the ceremony in each one.
- Listen without watching for a minute. You should follow every word of the vows and the toasts.
- Count the reactions. A good film has your family and friends in it, too.
- Ask what the final price includes, and what happens if the day runs late.
- Notice how you feel after the call.
Our films are on the films page. Watch any of them the way I just described, starting with the ceremony. How we film the whole day is on our Nashville wedding videography page.
Save this for the week you start watching films.
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