As you search for a videographer for your big day, you might be researching what wedding videography costs. You may have seen a large snippet at the top of Google from Thumbtack that claims the average cost for wedding videography is $1200-$1500. This is very misleading. These figures are pulled from the videographers on their own site, who are generally new and/or inexperienced.
In the beginning of a wedding vendor’s career, they’ll start by using paid listing sites like Thumbtack, Wedding Wire, The Knot, and others. The vendors charge customers a low price in order to get established and to create a portfolio before moving on to other forms of marketing. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of great vendors on those sites, but most of those vendors focus their marketing elsewhere after getting established. The wedding videography costs reported by these sites are heavily skewed and not representative of the industry at large.
If you want a wedding video company with a good reputation, lots of experience, quality work, great customer service, and excellent communication, you should expect a range closer to $2,500-$5000.
CHOP SHOPS
Entities that help create an artificial low price are what I refer to as wedding video chop shops. They are regional and national agencies who undercut local companies by economies of scale. They book hundreds of weddings a week with videographers they find on job sites like Craigslist and use editors from underdeveloped countries. I know this because when I started in the industry, I worked for a few of them. One of the ones I worked for scammed thousands of brides and videographers before running off with their money. Others have done even worse. I cover these and other stories in my blog post on wedding scams. You’ll find these chop shops all over various wedding directories and in online ads. Be wary of them.
COSTS TO YOU
Much like any other product or service, wedding videography costs vary widely. They are determined by a variety of factors like the ones I’ve listed:
- COVERAGE: the length of time the videographer(s) are on site filming
- EXTRAS: rehearsal dinner, love story, same day edit, extra shooters
- DELIVERABLES: the various films, raw footage, and types of mediums (digital, usb stick, blu-ray, hard drive)
- TRAVEL: based on the location of the wedding and includes destination fee, lodging, car rental, etc
COSTS TO THE BUSINESS
Besides the average 6-12 hours filming your wedding, there’s up to 40+ hours spent editing it. In addition to that are the numerous other costs associated with running a wedding videography business.
- LEGAL: contract lawyer, corporate filing fee, drone license and registration, tax accountant, liability and equipment insurance
- MARKETING: website, domain, email, hosting, cloud storage, paid directories, email list, graphic design, paid social ads
- EQUIPMENT: cameras, lenses, audio recorders, mics, tripods, drone, gimbal, slider, lights, stands, batteries, computer, rentals, repairs
- FINANCE: invoicing, credit card processing, scheduling software, tax software, mileage tracker
All these costs must be covered in order to run a viable business, so don’t be fooled by the low prices of certain vendors. If they’re charging that little they are definitely cutting costs in places you don’t want. Remember the adage, you get what what you pay for. You don’t want to skimp on one of the most important events of your life.
~Patrick
Like this blog post? Here are others you might enjoy!
9 Questions to Ask Your Wedding Videographer Before Booking
15 Wedding Tips to have the Best Cinematic Wedding Film
When is Wedding Season in Florida – Best Months and Times
What is a Wedding Styled Shoot – How Does it Benefit Videographers?
