The overall budget for your wedding is one of the hardest things to determine when planning a wedding. Things always cost more than you realize when planning your event.
When it comes to the cost of a quality wedding film, many factors come into play. Wedding Films come in all different shapes and sizes and all different price points. One of my biggest pet peeves is the lack of education that exists about what a quality wedding film costs. I get many inquiries from couples saying my budget is $1500 and wondering why they are having a hard time finding someone to film their event.
A wedding film is a customized movie of your wedding day. There is an extensive amount of skill in what wedding cinematographers do. Not only is there the creative element of the shots they are filming, but there is also the technical element; the camera and lense knowledge as well as the audio component. Then there is the editing, which is a whole other ball of wax. The expectations of a wedding filmmaker are high but what couples are told to expect to pay is low.
Budget calculators on websites and in magazines often recommend to spend a specific percentage on your wedding film. That methodology is flawed! Let’s say that you are having a $15,000 wedding; Most publications and blogs will recommend that you spend 3%-5% on a wedding film. Well that would mean that you would spend $750 on a wedding film, and that isn’t going to happen if you want something of good quality. In Phoenix a quality wedding film will cost you from $2900-$6000.
Determining your wedding budget needs to be based on how important that element of your wedding is to you. If a wedding film is important to you then you need set that as a priority in your budget based on your wedding and needs – NOT what a magazine or blog told you you should pay. The best thing to do is price out the wedding filmmakers in your area and determine what the ballpark is for the type of wedding film you want. It is not about what percentage you spend of your budget; If it is important to you, you budget accordingly to get the quality and style that you want. And if that number doesn’t jive with your budget then you move on and look for low cost options or tweak your budget to make it work. A quality wedding film is a worth while expense. You will not truly understand its value until the day after the wedding. While it may be more than you thought you should spend it is one of the only tangible items you take away from the day. Long after the champagne is drunk and the appetizers eaten you will always be grateful that you have a wedding film to look back on one of your most important days.
