Should You Hire a Videographer for Your Wedding or Elopement?
Oct 22, 2026 ยท @kiki
Have you ever seen footage of the very first audiences at the movies or seeing a camera? When moving pictures were brand new, people watched a train roll toward them on screen and reacted like it might come right through the wall. I can’t imagine that feeling: seeing life, in motion, from the outside for the very first time. Pure awe.
I bring this up because I feel a little of that awe every time I watch a wedding film. There you are, with the person you love most, saying some of the most profound things you’ll ever say. I know you were there, and you probably have a beautiful photo gallery to go with it. But nothing brings you back quite like the sights and sounds of your wedding day.
Truth be told, I watch our wedding film far more than I flip through our wedding photos. So it always strikes me as a little odd that a photographer is a must and a videographer is a maybe. Skipping a photographer feels absurd. Skipping video somehow doesn’t.
So why does videography matter so much, and why is skipping it one of the most common regrets couples share (right up there with forgetting to eat on their wedding day)?
You’ll Miss More of Your Own Wedding Than You Think
As a photographer and videographer myself, I see the importance of both mediums and of having both there to fully document your day. But video does something special: it transports you back to moments you couldn’t fully experience while they were happening.
That’s just how it is on your wedding day. You’ve planned so much, you’re working with so many vendors, and all your best friends and family are under one roof. And you should be wrapped up in it, not keeping tabs on every guest. (Please don’t do that.)
Meanwhile, so much is happening around you. Your mom is trying not to cry while you get ready. Your friends are catching up over cocktails. Someone is making a hilariously questionable dance-floor decision. Your partner is sharing a quiet moment with their best friend before the ceremony, and you have no idea it’s happening.
You can’t be everywhere at once, and you shouldn’t have to be. A film captures those moments in their entirety: not only the way they look, but the way they sound and the way they feel. It’s the most beautiful companion to your photos. And when you want to show someone your wedding, people almost always reach for the film first.
A Real Love Story, Told in Motion
I love showing my boys our wedding film, and I feel the same about every film I make. Each one is a miniature love story movie. The most beautiful part isn’t the angles or the lighting I get to play with. It’s that this story is real. It actually happened, to you.
It’s in the small things. Hearing your genuine laugh with your friends, your family, your partner. The way your partner lightly rests a hand on your shoulder, then lets it drift across your back. Moments so small they seem inconsequential, yet they say so much about your relationship.
The way you dance and move under the reception lights. The way the golden-hour light wraps around you both. The small shiver in your mom’s voice when she first sees you in your dress. Your dog barking and running circles around and under that dress. These quick little moments deserve to live on longer and be remembered.
Some of the best footage comes when people completely forget there’s a camera around. Nobody is trying to look perfect. They’re just being themselves, the people you love.
One Day, You’ll Be So Glad You Can Hear Their Voices
Photos hold so much, but a film is a true time capsule. It shows what life was like then, who you were, how you sounded, and how you looked at your very happiest.
In times when I’ve lost someone I loved deeply, it’s photos and videos that carried their memory and brought me back to the moments I cherish most. And there’s something about hearing a familiar voice that a photograph simply can’t replicate.
Your grandmother telling a story. Your dad getting emotional during his toast, even though he swore he wouldn’t. Your partner laughing halfway through their vows because they suddenly forgot everything they practiced. Often it isn’t the big declarations that get you years later. It’s the ordinary things: a laugh you’ve heard a thousand times, the way someone says your name.
I’ve always believed in documenting your life, not only for you and your future self, but for the generations who may come after you and wonder where they came from and who they belong to.
Not Your Average Wedding Video
The film and art world has found its way into weddings and elopements, and I’m here for it. Seeing yourself in a truly unique light, the way only an artist could paint you, is an heirloom for you and generations to come.
Wedding and elopement films have come a long way in the last ten years. Back then, most of them looked the same: the same epic drone shot, the same sappy vows. Now there are true artists crafting love stories layered with the little details that not only make your day, but built your life together.
Awkward on camera? Welcome to the club.
I hear this all the time, and I promise you don’t need to be a model. A beautiful wedding film isn’t built on choreographed scenes or staring dramatically into the distance. It’s built on the things that actually happen, with room for gorgeous imagery along the way.
There may be moments when a little direction helps, but your wedding shouldn’t feel like a day-long audition. Worrying about the shots is my job. Yours is just to enjoy it, on the day and forever after.
What About Elopement Videography?
This is where things get especially fun for me. Video isn’t only for big celebrations with speeches and packed dance floors. Elopements are often the most adventurous films I make.
Maybe you’re hiking to a secluded overlook in Crested Butte, saying vows beside an alpine lake, or taking a Jeep into the mountains before sunrise. Maybe your dogs are coming, and the day ends with pizza and a couple of beers in town. How fun is that?
There’s so much more than the ceremony: the excitement of getting there, the changing landscape, the conversations along the way. And if you’re eloping privately, a film is a meaningful way to share the day with family and friends who weren’t there.
What Does Wedding Videography Cost?
At KiKi Creates, wedding videography collections start at $4,400. Every collection includes:
- Time with your lead videographer
- A cinematic highlight film
- Drone and aerial photo and video coverage, weather permitting
Additional film options are available depending on how you’d like your day documented. A highlight film is different from a full ceremony recording, so if hearing every word of your vows or toasts matters to you, let’s talk about it. 8mm has a nostalgic vibe that is my absolute favorite to document a wedding.
What goes into that price? The planning before your day, the equipment and expertise to capture it as it unfolds, and hours of reviewing, editing, color grading and storytelling afterward. The goal is something you’ll want to watch on repeat that gives you all the emotions, every time.
So, Should You Hire a Videographer?
Think about how you already hold on to memories. Do you love old family videos? Save little clips from vacations? Have you ever found a recording of someone you love and watched it three times just to hear their laugh? If so, you’ll treasure a wedding film.
And if video truly isn’t in the budget, please don’t feel you’re doing your wedding wrong. A thoughtful photo collection is an incredible thing to have. This day is about your love; the rest is details.
But think about the films that have pulled you into another world through great cinematography and a real connection to the story. With a videographer you connect with, you can have your own piece of gold just like that: a film that brings you, and anyone who watches it, back to a day that flew by far too fast.
Let’s Make Your Film
Whether you’re planning an adventurous elopement in Crested Butte or a celebration surrounded by everyone you love, I’d love to hear what you’re dreaming up. Already booked photography? We can add video, too.
