Won't your wedding photos be enough? No one has ever met newlyweds who said they regretted spending money on a good, professional wedding videographer. Photographers do take glorious photos that can sometimes make us look even better than we actually do, but video captures the reality of the day.

It has often been asked, "After the wedding, reception and honeymoon are over, what do you have left?" The invitations were all sent except for your keepsake. The wedding gown will be cleaned and stored away. The rented tuxedos have been returned to the store. The flowers have perished. The cake has been eaten. The reception food was served. The reception facility is being used for another event. The DJ was paid and has left the building.

The photos are nice to display. But the moment can happen over and over again on video. Too many brides put the videography at the end of the budget, allowing for niceties such as limousines to usurp the position of a service that will bring you joy over and over again. The right videographer makes you laugh, cry, and want to watch your video time and again. Many brides and grooms have commented that they watch their video on anniversaries, after disagreements, on days when they are feeling blue, and when friends ask for their recommendations for other vendors. Plus, video is a good way for far away relatives who missed the event to see it live!

You may be asking yourself, "Yeah you make a good point. But why should I hire a professional videographer when a friend offered to do it for us?" Your friend may mean well, but does he or she possess the skills and equipment to do a job you won't regret for years to come? It's better to let your family and friends enjoy the event while your videographer unobtrusively captures all the sights, sounds and emotions of your wedding day in digital clarity with creative artistry, creating a keepsake. More than just "a video", a professional wedding video is a fun, emotion-filled story, featuring YOU!

When you begin to think about your wedding video consider adding a few extras: a childhood/engagement photo or honeymoon photo montage, pre-ceremony wedding day activities, or a love story interview together or individually before the big day. This is candid, emotional coverage which sets up your story and provides important footage for the editing of your short story recap or highlight. You may wish to go as far as to select coverage of the engagement (usually done by the groom unless the bride is proposing), dress fittings, bridal showers, lunches, weekend activities, wedding rehearsal and groom's dinner, wedding party preparations at a salon/spa, post wedding day activities such as gift opening brunch, honeymoon home video footage, or honeymoon photograph montage. The possibilities are endless for customizing your wedding video. Plan carefully. Once your day is over, this milestone becomes a memory.

There are a few things you should consider when deciding on videography:

• The number of cameras necessary to construct your story.
• The amount of time spent with you the day of your event.
• The type of equipment used by the videographer. Most videographers use similar equipment. We utilize SONY DV 2100 3CCD digital cameras and professional grade non-linear editing computers. Do keep in mind, it is not necessarily the equipment, but the person behind the equipment that matters. But, the videographer you choose should have professional grade cameras and microphones at the event. DVD is now the most popular format but VHS is still available if you prefer. High Definition (HD) will become more the standard in time as the new technology becomes more widely adopted.

See the videographer's work. Most have samples online. If they don't, you may want to question whether they are technologically capable of producing the type of video you are looking for.

Lastly, have fun, and don't worry about missing something on your big day. After all, if you hired a videographer, you can watch it all when you get back from your honeymoon!

Chris Benton is with Benton Media Works Video Productions in Pelham, TN.