Do we need a videographer if we have a photographer?

It's one of the most common questions I get, and it's a fair one. Photography is usually the first vendor couples book, and video can feel like a nice-to-have. Here's my honest take, including when you might not need one.

What photos do that video can't

A great photograph freezes a moment you can hang on the wall, frame for your parents and flip through in an album. Photos are faster to share and easier to live with day to day. If you only hire one, most couples hire a photographer, and that's a reasonable choice.

What video does that photos can't

• Voices. Your vows in your own voices. Your dad's toast. Your grandmother laughing. This is the biggest one, and it's the reason I build every film around the real audio of the day.
• Movement. How you walked down the aisle, how your partner reacted when they saw you, your first dance from start to finish.
• The people. Years later, the moments couples come back to most are the ones with the people who aren't around anymore. Hearing someone's voice again is different from seeing a photo.
• The whole story. A photo gallery gives you moments. A film gives you the day in order, the way it felt.

When you might skip video

Not everyone needs it. If your budget is tight and it's a choice between a great photographer and a mediocre photographer plus a videographer, choose the great photographer. And if you're genuinely not the type to rewatch things, a strong photo gallery may be all you want.

What I'd push back on is skipping video only because it seems like a luxury. The regret I hear most often from couples isn't "we spent too much on video." It's "I wish I could hear the toasts again."

If budget is the issue

• Shorter coverage. Ceremony and toasts only, which are the moments with the words you'll want back.
• A highlight film instead of a full feature. A few minutes that capture the feel of the day.
• Ask about the raw ceremony and speeches. Even unedited, the full audio of your vows and toasts is worth having.

For what it costs up here, I wrote a guide to wedding videographer prices in the Hudson Valley. My own collections start at $3,200.

Will they get in each other's way?

Only if they don't talk to each other. A good videographer works with your photographer, not around them: sharing the timeline ahead of time, agreeing on positions for the ceremony and first look, and staying out of each other's frame. When you're interviewing videographers, ask how they work with photographers. It tells you a lot.

The short version

Photos show you what your wedding looked like. Video brings back what it sounded like and how it felt. If the voices of the people you love matter to you, video is worth it.

Want to see what I mean? Watch a few films, or tell me about your day.

— Liam