Why we're NOT hiring a videographer

Yes, it's true. The Foxy wedding will be sans videographer and sans lust-worthy highlight reels as such:

Meredith and Tommy from Monachetti on Vimeo.

::sigh:: My ultimate lust.

In all honesty, this decision has been a long battle and a big concession on my part. From the instant we got engaged and started planning a wedding, I always just assumed we would have a videographer.. I just saw it as another staple that you book: venue, flowers, officiant, photographer, videographer, etc. So I started researching local vendors for work samples and pricing, and quickly realized that it would be a huge stretch on our budget if we were to get a videographer. As is often the case, the companies and styles I love are too expensive, and the ones I can possibly afford, I very much dislike. When I finally mentioned all of this to Foxy, his eyes got all buggy and.. hive? He didn't even really know that people got videographers for weddings. Really.

So I freaked, wrote a little post on the boards on how dense he must be, realized that it's apparently not as common as I thought (or, more appropriately, while a lot of people do have a videographer, a lot still don't). This may not be shocking to you, but it was definitely news to me (I blame it on my NY roots!). And so, after 20 months of researching, wiggling the budget, saving, un-saving, more research, and extra work hours.. we're not having a videographer. Here's the reasons:

1. Money

This is a given, but it needs to be said. We simply don't have the budget for one, no matter how you look at it. The overall cost of our wedding is already 2-3k higher than we anticipated it being, and to add another 2k+ to that for video is simply unfeasible. There was a point about two or three months ago where I thought I found a videographer for a decent price (based out of south Pennsylvania & willing to travel); Foxy saw how enthusiastic I was about it and decided (on his own) to work extra overnight shifts one week to help come up with some of the money so we could hopefully afford it. To say this put a strain on our relationship is putting it lightly - I basically didn't see or talk to him for an entire week. We just got our pup the week before, the house was a mess, I was incredibly busy with work.. it just didn't work for us. We're definitely a couple that thrives on quality time with each other, and the whole "passing each other in the night" thing doesn't allow for that.

Furthermore, I'm thinking the reason the PA videographer may be so affordable is because he is just terrible at returning emails or calls. Each email took at least 3 weeks to return; anyone in the wedding world (or with my lack of patience) can tell you that's not good. So I nixed him, and with that, most dreams of having a videographer that we could afford.

2. I have super awesome friends

There was a night about a month ago where I was expressing my videographer conundrum with some girlfriends, one who got married a year and a half ago, and another who is getting married a few weeks before Foxy and I. You know what? Both were incredibly set in their respective decisions to forgo a videographer. They brought up several good points:

a. we have an amazing photographer who, if she's as good as she seems to be, should be able to recap the entire day in beautiful pictures;
b. in this day and age of social media, pretty much everyone has some sort of video recording device (namely, a phone), and will likely tape some part of the wedding (especially if we ask them to);
c. I really just want certain parts (ceremony, toasts, first dance) recorded and, as mentioned, it should be easy enough to ask someone to do so on their phone or a provided video camera.

Hearing all this reinforced the idea that our wedding will (or should) be well documented and there will likely be no shortage of pictures or video for me to enjoy after the wedding!

3. My Flip Wedding

I originally heard of this through one of the wedding blogs I follow, and I was amazed by its pure geniusness (yes, it's a word). It's basically a service where you can rent Flip video cameras to be used by friends or family and later have Storymix edit various clips taken throughout the wedding day (or weekend!) into your very own highlight reel. The great thing is, after the wedding is done and you upload your videos online, YOU get to choose the content of the video - the clips, the transitions, the titles, the music, etc. Plus, you still get to hang on to all the original content after the edited video is created, so you will still have access to every moment captured.

Image via 1888Stylist

One of my favorite aspects is how customizable the service is - you can rent 1, 3, or 5 cameras and choose from a slew of other options. Prices start as low as $99 (hello, affordable!), and you can even take one of the cameras on your honeymoon in case you want to include any of that in your film as well (preferably not a la Kim K). The more I read into this option, the more I'm loving it - not only would we (hopefully) get the key moments on film, but likely a lot of random, candid shots that would just make it so much better. It's basic, but it's definitely a viable option.

4. I'll live.

While a professional videographer would be the bee's knees (pun totally intended), it's totally ok that we won't have one. I mean, if you have a couple thousand to burn and love us a whole bunch, I will surely take your money and hire someone. However, in the event that no one is willing to host a bake sale to fund a videographer.. I'll live. Happily ever after with Foxy, I might add.

So there you have it. Why we are NOT hiring a videographer. And why we ARE ok with it!!

Anyone else opt against a videographer (or other aspect that you originally thought you'd have)? Why?