OMG!! The proposal just happened, and you are to be congratulated on the wonderful event that will now take place in the not-too-distant future, as you express your mutual desires to spend the rest of your lives together! Now the work begins in earnest planning the wedding day. It may be a short engagement or a longer one, but you’ve probably envisioned it many times. Invitations must now be sent out and you’ll invite as many friends and family members as your budget will permit. Despite the fact that you may select a wedding planner, you will immediately start getting input from everyone regarding every (and I mean, every!) aspect of this special day. Flowers, music, food, location and so many others, you’ll get opinions that reflect age, backgrounds, experience, musical tastes…you name it.

Sooner or later, the question will arise regarding how you will remember the day. For sure, you will have beautiful photographic representation of the wedding, but what about motion? Voices? Music? So much of this can be faithfully captured in video, and cannot in still photography. Consider the walk down the aisle…the exchange of vows…the first and last dance…the best man’s/maid of honor’s toasts, and so many more nuances of your wedding, that just can’t be captured in a photograph. Full disclosure: This is not a “dis” to photographers! I work with them and hold their skills in the highest regard, but it would be wrong to ignore the true value of video as an essential part of the “memories stash.”

Just as important: while it might be tempting to simply have a friend shoot some of the more relevant parts of your wedding to save money, beware! These are lifetime memories being captured and do you really want to put that kind of pressure on a friend who is there to enjoy the event? What if, because they are having a little too much fun with other guests, they miss a crucial part of the ceremony or reception? For the same reason that you entrust lifelong memories to a still photographer, you should be equally willing to commit that same trust to a videographer.

A professional videographer is there to not only record the events of the day; he or she is also charged with editing all the footage together into a well-constructed “movie,” so that years later, watching the video will bring back all the cherished memories, laughs, tears and emotions of your celebration. To enable this, the professional will have top level cameras, tripods, audio equipment, lighting (where appropriate) and computers for compiling and editing the raw footage and sound.

Think back to a special time that you had in the past and ask yourself if you wish you’d had a video to help re-live it. This is one time you can plan on future memories, for one of the most important occasions in the life of the couple-to-be. Keep professional video in your wedding day plans, and enjoy those beautiful memories…forever!