• Chose a videographer you’re comfortable with. You can fake a smile for a photographer, but you can’t fake it all night on film.

• Book a videographer a year in advance.

• The average rate is around $3,000, which should include full-day coverage and three fully chaptered DVDs. Also ask for raw footage, in case they cut out the part of your Aunt Betty doing the chicken dance.

• Make it clear that you do not want any guests or your wedding party (including you and your fiancé) to be pulled away for interviews during the festivities. They should be done before the ceremony begins.

• Ask what type of equipment he uses—if he mentions a tripod or anything larger than a hand-held camera, reconsider.

• Four to six months is the average time it takes a videographer to edit and finalize your wedding video.

• At the reception, feed your videographer first; you don’t want them to miss any good footage.

• Make sure they are a member of a professional association (such as WEVA, North Jersey Videographers Association, The 4 Ever Group). This is the difference between the professional who does this for a living and the guy who does it for extra cash.

• Make sure your videographer edits his own footage. Outsourcing editing often results in cookie-cutter videos without sentimental value.

• Consider hiring a two-person team. They can shoot multiple angles, and if a camera blows, one is still rolling.

• Ask to include bloopers in the finished version—it can be made as an additional chapter or used for the
rolling credits.