When Should You Book A Videographer For A Destination Wedding?

Proper planning is essential when organizing a destination wedding. Having a clear schedule will help you reduce the possibility of mistakes, and maintain focus on what you want.

In the planning process of your dream event, hiring the perfect destination wedding videographer who will capture the magical moments for you is almost as important as getting married; for example, you must have a strong foundation first in order to ever build a dream home later.

As we know how important it is to hire a videographer as early as possible for your wedding, we also have some tips to help you with this important decision.

How soon should you look for a destination Wedding Videographer?

The ideal time to start reviewing wedding videographers and their work for your destination wedding are ideal when you know you’re getting married. Even though that may not happen and here you are now, time is of the essence and you do not want to wait until the last minute to search and make the same mistakes many brides seem to by placing videography at the end of their list. In most cases, popular wedding videographers have a busy schedule. So, make sure you hire at least one year in advance if at all possible.

You would be surprised to know how many inquiries we get from brides looking for videography a week before their wedding. Usually, they didn’t know if they wanted it, or if they had the budget for it but then they decide at the last minute. They cause last-minute changes in your vendors, planning, and schedule, and require a full investment in booking with a vendor you may not desire. Had you hired video when you did your wedding photographer, then you would have had a lot longer to manage the planning and also spread out the financial investment.

Define what you want to accomplish with your wedding video.

Do some research on destination wedding videographers before making a decision. Make sure the videographer loves destination weddings and has experience filming these types of nuptials; this can make them an excellent source of advice, and means you will be able to better explain exactly what you want your video to look like.

It may be hard to believe, but a lot of vendors do not like Destination weddings. We love them, but many hate sand, warm weather, lack of parking, and multiple site changes in tourist areas. They also struggle to adapt their processes and style to environmental change, whereas we tend to be well-versed in the more difficult settings of unplanned weather, direct sunlight, excessive wind, loud waves crashing, and unpredictable crowds. We also know how to be efficient in the local markets and get you in touch with other experienced destination wedding vendors.

Be clear from the start.

An experienced videographer already knows what to do when hired for a wedding. Still, if you are looking for both – a professional photographer and videographer – talk with them well before the day of your wedding in order to ensure that everybody is on the same page, and has the same goals, expectations, and outcomes for the final products. Communication is everything in this business. To avoid stress and setbacks later, be clear and ask them everything you want to know. They should have answers that are clear and concise if they are full-time professionals who specialize primarily in weddings and events.

Tell the videographer how many people are going to attend your wedding.

It is a good idea to inform the videographer about the wedding planning details, so let the videographer know how many guests will be in attendance, give them a timeline, and the contact info for other vendors. This will help them determine their setup for the day, as well as how to navigate throughout the event. Do keep in mind, while the guest count is important for strategy, it does not typically play a role in an investment like it would catering. Most wedding photographers and wedding videographer charge by the coverage hour.

Knowing what you’re looking for will allow the videographer to capture all the special moments for you, as well as the reactions and interactions of your family and guests. But if it’s a reasonably large room or area with over a hundred and fifty guests, we usually recommend a second shooter just to ensure the best angles and so that nothing gets left out.

Just Remember!
No matter how foolish you think your questions are, ask your videographer about each detail you want to know so you can plan and make sure that the style of filming will be perfect for your big day! This will give you peace of mind, too, that everything that’s important to you has been covered. If you are looking for an experienced destination wedding videographer, you can also contact us for more tips and advice; we are happy to help you (even if you are still deciding on who you would like to work with)! If you choose us, though, know that we are a committed team that simply loves shooting destination weddings; we have traveled to many events worldwide and would be honored to be a part of your wonderful journey.

Photography/Videography: Dalton Young Weddings