It’s finally happening - you’re planning your big day! As you may have already experienced, so much of your time between now and your wedding day is consumed with making sure every detail is perfect. From your dress to the placecards and everything in between, each detail is important in creating your special moment.

Because these moments pass so quickly, making sure they are captured well is paramount. This is where photography and videography come into play!

We often see brides stressing over the decisions surrounding photo and video for their big day, and whether or not to book separate companies for each. While booking separately works well for many, it may bring you more peace of mind to book the same company for both!

Let’s take a look at why that may be.

You can save money. Depending on where you’re at in the planning process, you may know that booking a photography or videography company alone can be pricey. Separately, you can expect to pay anywhere from $2,500 - $9,000 for wedding photography, and $1,900 - $7,000 for videography. When you choose to combine photo and video under one company, you’re getting the quality you trust at an often more discounted price than if you booked separately. This is invaluable, as it helps trim down some of the planning costs and keeps you close to your budget, especially considering all of the other costs you’ll face that you can’t reduce. There are also a lot of unforeseen wedding costs that come up as you plan, like cake-cutting fees, trial hair and makeup, alterations, gratuities, and more. So even when you think you are done spending, something may pop up. Combining your costs as much as possible will help you tremendously in the long run!
There’s ease in working with one company. Simplicity is one of your greatest assets as you plan, and the more you can simplify, the easier planning will be for you. For this reason, many people hire wedding planners - to make the process simpler by allocating some (if not all) of the planning responsibility. When you book with one company, you only have one consultation, one check to write, and only one company to work with. For the creative aspect of your wedding this is especially important, because you can rest assured that by communicating with one company, your vision for the wedding won’t get lost in translation. You’ll be spending a lot of time and energy in different areas as you plan, so consolidating where you spend each will simplify and ease your planning process.
The teams are used to working together. With separate videography and photography companies, there’s often tension on the day of the wedding. Both the photographer and videographer want the same shots, the same positions for the couple at the same time. The overlap can be frustrating for everyone involved, which is absolutely something you do not want. While the best of the best are aware of and know how to navigate this tension, some budgets make it difficult to hire these top-tier vendors without combining them. Fortunately, when you book the same company for both photo and video, the teams are already used to working together and will do so to seamlessly capture the perfect images and footage of your day!
Consistency of style. If you love a company’s style, then booking both photo and video through them will ensure that the style of your wedding footage and pictures is consistent. Some people enjoy a difference in style, however there’s a risk of not getting the same quality in both and the safety of booking with one company is that it eliminates this risk. With separate companies, there’s also the risk of them interpreting your vision differently. And while you might be happy with the quality, there still could be dissonance in the interpretation of your vision that might also leave you dissatisfied. The beauty of booking with one company is that it is able to interpret your vision more cohesively.

The bottom line is this: you shouldn’t be stressing over one of the happiest days of your life! There should be excitement and anticipation as you nail down every detail! If you find yourself stressed and consumed with planning, take a deep breath and consider simplifying a few things.

Booking your photography and videography through the same company is an easy route to consider, but the choice is yours!