When Should My Videographer Arrive?

Hooray! You have just decided a partial-day Videography package can fit into your budget! But now you need decide when to have your videographer arrive and depart… Let’s look at some options:

Generally speaking, every package’s coverage is based around capturing the Ceremony, and time is added to best fit on either side.

With a 4 hour package, your options are more limited, but you can still plan to have a lot covered if you keep a few details in mind. For instance-

Say your Ceremony is at 4pm and is scheduled to be 30 minutes. If you’d like to do a First Look, you could do so at 2:30pm and follow it with your Bridal photos with your wedding party. Following your ceremony, you could have your family photos taken from 4:30-5, with cocktail hour commencing from 4:30-5:30. With a Grand Entrance planned at 5:30, you could immediately follow with you and your partner’s First Dance. Let’s Recap:

2:30 - First Look

2:45-3:30 - Romantics and Bridals

4:00-4:30 - Ceremony

4:30-5:20 - Family Portraits and Cocktail Hour

5:30-6:00 - Grand Entrance & First Dance

and BAM! You just booked Videography that still fit your budget, but still captured First Looks, Ceremony, Grand Entrance AND First Dance.

It’s important to keep in mind, however, that while all this great footage is captured, many Videography studios do not include Highlight Films until you reach 6 or 8 hours of coverage. Note: some studios only deliver highlight videos - do not be afraid to ask questions when booking!

Similar story when looking at a 5 or 6 hour booking - you can plan your day around this window to still account for First Looks through a First Dance that follows your Grand Entrance. With that added amount of time it is generally most common to see Toast/Speeches be added on from the 4 hour package, so your new coverage would look like First Looks - Toasts.

So why would I ever book 8 hours?

With all this talk about how easily things can fit into a smaller amount of time (i.e. smaller budget) - its still important to be practical. These pointers do not suggest a universal standard that will work into everyone’s wedding. Many couple’s prefer to have their First Dances take place later in the evening, as well as have their First Look earlier in the day, in which case more coverage would be needed.

The other key bennefits in adding more time to your coverage-

More time = less stress

More time = more footage

More Footage = more options for your edit

(and again - more time also likely equates to an included Highlight Film in your package)

But this is truly personal preference. Several couples I’ve worked with only want their Ceremony captured, whereas several others want to be placed in a music video with footage spanning their whole day from Getting Ready to sunset and open dance floor.

This is truly a personal preference, and as is the motivation with every blog post on this page, we want to empower you to ask questions of your vendors and wedding professionals to make sure you have the right team to support you on your special day and provide the services you are looking for. Its important to book someone who is willing to communicate these details with you and tailor your packages to your exact needs.

And of course, when booking Diamond Lake, you get access to free consultation calls and package customization options to best fit your day.

Andy Meyer, Founder + Lead Shooter

Diamond Lake Productions