Should I hire a videographer for my wedding? | Cinnamon Wolfe Photography | North NJ Wedding Photographer

by Emily Gibby of elovephotos

Although I am primarily a wedding and portrait photographer, I have had the opportunity to professionally and personally attend hundreds of weddings.

I've seen the most breathtakingly beautiful brides, jaw-dropping details and hilarious choreographed first dances.

Why am I saying this?

Well, with all of these amazing aspects from weddings that I've witnessed-- I'm going to venture to say that only 25% of these weddings had videography services.

(Sorry to insult Aunt June.....I know you think the iPad turned vertically captures it perfectly....but I'm here to tell you IT DOESN'T)

So before you completely eliminate the idea of having a videographer on your wedding day, I have compiled a short list of 3 Reasons You Shouldn't Skimp on Videography on Your Wedding Day for you to consider.

Hearing and Seeing a Memory in Motion is More Powerful

We offer both photography and videography and I can honestly say that YES, a picture of a bride and groom saying their vows is beautiful. However, hearing those words again through quality audio and edited clips is MUCH more powerful. Seeing a bridal party enter their room for their grand entrance is fun in pictures but HILARIOUS in cinematic clips. There really is no comparison! A first dance can be frozen in a still image, but to see the tears, strong embraces and genuine smiles in action is unmatched! In my opinion photography and videography compliment each other. There will always be something lacking if you leave one out.

Photography Misses Things that Videography Doesn't

A photographer snaps one shot at a time (or many per second depending on the moment) while videographers keep rolling. When a bride and groom are cutting their wedding cake and feeding it to each other you get to see the complete moment.

Whether they smashed it in each other's faces or put a little frosting on their nose and kissed it off--you're not missing a thing! When a mom squeezes her daughter from behind and gives her a kiss on her cheek after zipping up her wedding gown---You see the whole thing! Don't miss out on candid moments because you didn't hire a videographer. Trust me!

Re-watching Your Wedding Video Can Strengthen Your Marriage

I can personally testify to this! My husband and I watch our wedding video every anniversary. It is beautiful to revisit your marital vows and commitment to one another. It also has resolved conflicts at time. What? Yes, when my husband and I have an argument, he has won me back over by playing our wedding video in times of disagreement. It has the potential to remind you of how much you love each other, how much you've grown together and can strengthen your marriage. Go ahead, give it a try!

I hope this has been beneficial to you if you're on the fence about whether or not you should hire a videographer. All the flowers, make-up, details, dresses, memories fade away, but a wedding film will last forever. You can pass it down to your children and grandchildren. I would give anything to be able to see my parents on their wedding day! What a treasure it would be to document such an important day to share with your posterity. Think about it ;)

Hi! My name is Emily Gibby and I am a destination wedding and portrait photographer based out of Virginia Beach, VA. Along with photography, my husband Justin and I offer videography services to brides looking to capture real moments in motion! I’m a dedicated teacher, wife and mother living the dream!

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Behind the scenes of a styled wedding shoot | Cinnamon Wolfe Photography | North NJ Wedding Photographer

Yesterday I talked a little bit about the collaboration I had with Michelle of Michelle Perez Events and the styled wedding session that we shot last month! Today you get to see a little bit of a sneak behind the curtain of everything that went on that day!!

In all transparency, this was my very FIRST styled session!! One of the things I was MOST excited about in moving to NJ was the potential opportunity to actually shoot a styled session. When I was in Ridgecrest, I think we had one flower shop and pretty much zero wedding venues. Everyone got married out of town. So the opportunities for putting something like this together was much slimmer. But here in NJ, the opportunities are literally ENDLESS.

I will go into more detail once I actually post the final images, but here is a sneak of all of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes on the day of!

Paul is AMAZING as always and came with me to assist, get some behind the scenes shots and additional shots to add to the set. He is always and forever will be my "test the light" model. He was feeling frisky and giving me some groovy dance moves at the beginning and then by the time it came to sit in the couch I think he might have been a little more "over it". ha!

Behind the Scenes of a Styled Wedding Session

Why is he wearing that crazy hat you ask? Well, it was a balmy 25 degrees the day we did this session!! It might have been 30 in the direct sun! It was a great thing we did have sun that day, but let me tell you, it was freaking freezing!! I give Jennifer (our lovely model) mad props for hanging out like such a trooper in those cold temps!

One thing that I totally didn't think of beforehand was how many people would be around during the shoot itself. Its usually just me and the couple or whomever I'm shooting. And then we got there and I was like, duh! Of course there will be people around!

The shop owner from European Bridal NJ was awesome and making sure the dress was good and spread out beautifully and the make up artist and Michelle's assistant were on hand as well in case we needed anything.

Paul had speakers on him so we could have some upbeat music during the shoot and this is what happens when you randomly tell your model to do the Superman. ha!

Busy, busy, busy!

My little stool doesn't have a fun name like Amy & Jordans (Julio the Stoolio) but maybe I should give it one? Any suggestions?

I looove the shot that Paul got of me above through the window. That guy is just so creative. And this shot below is one of my all time favorites from the day. I love the story it tells of me doing my job. It's not always about just clicking a shutter.