When we got engaged, I knew I wanted to having a wedding video. At the time, I thought that meant I wanted to hire a professional videographer, but as explained in our About section, I started to realise they weren’t necessarily the same thing.
When you’re looking to start married life together, it’s hard to know how much money you should spend on things like wedding videos. We did our homework and realised it can get very expensive very quickly (with the national average in 2023 sitting at around £1,780), particularly if you want a really high quality videographer. However when we really thought about it, we started to realise that having one of those high end videos, that starts off with some drone footage of spectacular scenery (strangely reminiscent of the intro to most BBC crime dramas), wasn’t necessarily what we needed to capture the emotion and essence of the day.
If you want to get married in 2023 or beyond and have a cheap wedding video, these tips will help make your wedding video budget stretch further.
Want a cheap wedding video? Don’t hire a videographer at all!
Uh oh! Maybe not what you want to hear. But if you’re on a budget, you could consider not hiring a wedding videographer at all.
Wait! That doesn’t mean you won’t have a video. You can make your own video with the help of friends and family. If they know how to use a smartphone (who doesn’t?), they’ll feel more confident taking videos on that than if you give them an expensive camera with which they are unfamiliar. Of course, we’re biased, but our advice would be to film the wedding yourself using one of our packages, which are specifically designed to help you get a cheaper wedding video.
You could also consider hiring an amateur (or professional) filmmaker who wants to experiment with different styles and techniques but doesn’t have the resources or time to put together an entire film project on their own.
Pick an up-and-coming videographer who is charging lower rates to build their reputation.
Another cheap wedding video tip for 2023 is to find an up-and-coming videographer who is charging lower rates to build their reputation. If you want someone who is building their business, they’ll be more willing to work with you on a lower budget because they need referrals and recommendations from clients in order to grow their client base. This will also mean that they have a good reputation in the community, so when people ask around about your wedding video, everyone will have great things to say about them!
Facebook Groups are a good place to find people that are looking to build their portfolio.
All that said, it’s important that you look at the portfolio of work before hiring any videographer or photographer — make sure that they capture everything that was important on your big day! Also make sure that they have good lighting skills; after all, it’s dark out there sometimes…
Meet with several videographers and choose the one who offers the best overall value.
When it comes to wedding videography, you’re going to want to be sure that you are working with someone who has the right equipment and experience. It’s important that your videos look as good as possible, so make sure they have high-quality cameras and lenses. Don’t just go based on price either: instead, ask them about their process—a good way to do this is by asking what their typical day looks like; do they shoot all day or only during certain times of day? How many hours of footage will they get? How long will it take them to edit your video? Do they deliver the final product on a disk or flash drive? What kind of contract are they using for payment plans (if any).
To save money on your wedding video production costs:
- Meet with several videographers and choose the one who offers the best overall value by checking out their equipment (cameras), experience (have they shot weddings before), quality of work (do their samples look great), cost per hour/day/weekend etc., process (how does it work from start-to-finish) payment schedule options contract terms delivery timeline
- Make a spreadsheet to compare them all against each other on these different competencies, and choose the one that is best for you
Choose a less-experienced assistant of an experienced videographer as your primary shooter.
You may want to consider using an assistant alongside a full-time videographer. An assistant will provide a more affordable wedding video than a full-time videographer, but they can still capture all the great moments of your wedding day—and then some!
If you choose an assistant over a full-time videographer, you will benefit from:
- Being able to save money on your wedding video budget. Instead of paying for someone with years of experience as well as equipment and editing costs, you’ll only need to pay for their assistance on your big day.
- More flexibility around scheduling and travel plans (since they’re not running their own business).
- A better eye for video (because they haven’t spent years shooting weddings). Since this person is new at it and will have learned from observing his or her mentor(s), he or she may come up with more creative shots than what you would get from someone who has been doing this type of work for years (and who might get stuck in his/her ways).
Some videographers offer a “basic video” option for smaller budgets.
A “basic video” option is more common in the wedding industry than you might think. It’s not just for budget weddings, but it does tend to be more popular at smaller budgets. If you’re looking for a shorter, simpler and cheaper video than what other videographers offer, this may be the route for you.
Some basic videos are as short as 5 minutes and only include footage of your ceremony or first dance and highlights from throughout the wedding day—and nothing else! You can get some really beautiful results with a basic video because they don’t have to include all of your extra footage like dancing around in formal wear or eating at your reception (although some do). The point is: if you want two hours of edited footage that tells even more about your story than one hour could provide—or if having full-length coverage is important to you—then go with a full-length traditional or cinematic wedding film instead of choosing a basic option.
But if you don’t need all the bells and whistles…
Choose a shorter video.
If you’re looking for an affordable wedding video, consider getting a shorter one.
A short video is more likely to be viewed, after all. If you only need to set aside 5 minutes for a quick reminder of your special day, you’re more likely to watch it more often than if a whole evening is required.
Shorter videos are cheaper to produce and less likely to go over budget. Production costs will be lower because shorter videos require less editing time and flexibility in shooting locations, which means fewer hours of work from your team!
Limit the number of locations where the videographer films your ceremony and reception.
It’s important to limit the number of locations where the videographer films your ceremony and reception, as this will likely bring down their costs. The more locations you have, the more expensive it will be for them to film. If you are having a small wedding, you can get away with just one location (i.e., your venue). However, if you are having a large wedding at multiple venues all over town or even in different states, then hiring two videographers becomes necessary.
Hire a still photographer/videographer combo (or use someone you know).
If you want to save money on your wedding video, consider hiring a photographer and videographer combo. The two will be able to work in tandem during the day and night of the wedding, saving you time and money. A still photographer can also take still photos that can be used in your video, which saves you even more money!
With this strategy in mind, think of who would work best with each other: Do they have similar styles? Do they know each other? Would they get along well enough to work together all day long? If so, then go for it!
Find the perfect suppliers to save money on your wedding day
If you are looking for more ways to save money on your wedding day, take a look at Find a Wedding Supplier as they have a huge directory of suppliers, creating the perfect opportunity for you to cross reference suppliers and choose one that works for your budget!
Wedding videos are expensive, but they don’t have to be!
Cheap wedding videos are hard to come by. If you have £1,500 in your bank account and no idea what else to do with it, then sure: Go ahead and spend it on a wedding video. But if you want to save some cash and still get an amazing video of your big day? Well, we can help with that!
At FIY Wedding, we have 2 options for filming your own wedding:
- hire our HD cameras and equipment for your friends to film it
- guests use their smartphones to film and send footage to us via provided QR codes
Either way, we edit all the footage together for you, and all this at a fraction of the usual cost of a wedding video. If you want to learn more, get in touch with us for a chat.
