How much does a wedding videographer cost in Northern Ireland?
The short answer when I’m asked “how much should a wedding videographer cost in Northern Ireland”, is often: ‘you get what you pay for’.
Contents
Introduction
How I value wedding videography
Wedding Videography VS Wedding Photography
Let’s talk numbers
Summary
Introduction
Creative industries are often blighted when it comes to what videographers should charge, and wedding videography is no different to commercial videography.
If I hire a builder to build a wall on my driveway then he gives me a set price for how many days he will work, and the cost of materials. As a customer I can justify his breakdown and the cost between builders doesn’t fluctuate half as much as wedding videographers.
I’ve seen offers for wedding videography across Northern Ireland, England and Ireland for as little as £399.
Wedding videographers at this price point are more like the center aisle in Lidyl - you might pick up and absolute bargain, but the product probably won't blow your socks off.
Some wedding videographers out there aren’t gifted or experienced at what they do (just like in every other job market).
If my builder operated at the level of skill of some of the cheaper wedding videographers then my new driveway wall would blow down in a light breeze.
I’m not hating on those who are trying to make it - we all start somewhere.
Wedding videography makes up part of your wedding budget. I’ve written about the rising cost of weddings, which goes into some of the other expenses for your big day.
2. How I value Wedding Videography
For 3 years I built my experience of filming weddings by working for other wedding videographers across England, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
I’ve shot city centre Belfast Weddings, rural Derbyshire and country house luxury weddings, all before filming weddings under my own name.
My value is based on:
My experience
The equipment that I use
The edits that I provide
3. Wedding Videography VS Wedding Photography
I don't particularly want to be that guy who compares wedding photography to wedding videography, but I'm going to anyway…
If someone stands in front of my shot then I've lost it. Moving to reshoot an action just doesn’t work in wedding videography. I’m constantly filming, so my shots can be easily spoiled - hence why most established wedding videographers film as a team. Ideally I'll not only have a second shooter, but also a dedicated drone operator for specific shots for the final wedding film edit, and a third static camera shooting video from a different perspective.
This tries to mitigate that person who inevitably steps in my way.
Wedding photographers are somewhat more nimble than wedding videographers.
I’ve compared wedding videographers and wedding photographers at length here. Wedding photographers can zoom through or move past obstacles to get the static shots. They can edit out certain blemishes that spoil the shot.
When it comes to editing, a film takes me at least 5 days solid. It can be a hard grind. Wedding photographers often take 2 days to edit a full wedding. I’ve explored this more when writing about the reasons behind longer waits for wedding films.
This is why I question why many wedding videographers charge less than most wedding photographers.
A comparison is often made between commercial videography and wedding videography in terms of rates being charged.
Commercial videographers don’t deal with clients the way wedding videographers do, they don't direct their own shoots, but more importantly; wedding videographers can't dictate the movement of the day - they can't ask a bride and groom to have their first kiss again.
Wedding videographers can’t light ceremonies and are often constrained by the venue layout and angles, unlike commercial videographers - hence why the rate for wedding videography is slightly higher than that of commercial videography.
4. Let’s talk numbers.
I’m between £1900 and £5000 for a collection of wedding videos. My top package is for destination weddings over a number of days, and compared with my peers I’m actually around the average price. I know some videographers who purposely undercut the market to gain more bookings - and that’s absolutely fine - each business model is totally unique.
When someone pays me, I make it worth my while to give them the best service that I possibly can.
Each wedding couple is treated with the respect, courtesy and effort of the last one.
I manage to avoid burnout through the season by taking regular breaks and still love my job. I work with videographers and photographers who are the same. I’m lucky that weddings energise me and fill me with passion.
What’s not to like about joining two people on the most important day of their life and capturing it in an artistic way that they can cherish forever?
Most wedding videographers that I work with feel that they don't charge enough.
The average wedding photographer in Northern Ireland charges around £2000 per wedding. That’s accounting for the ‘bargain bucket' cut price wedding videographers - the ones that don’t email you back a year after your big day.
For more of my research on the rising cost of weddings take a look at this article, and take a look at Hitched.com for their thoughts on the price of a wedding videographer.
How much should a wedding videographer be in Northern Ireland?
Hiring a professional wedding videographer is one of the best investments couples make – the rush of the day is gone in a blink, but the emotion of the day lives on in film. If you’re planning a wedding in Northern Ireland you’ll want to know what to expect to pay, what affects price, and how to get the best value for your money. Here’s a clear, practical guide to help couples budget sensibly and choose a videographer who does more than simply ‘record’ – but someone who crafts a cinematic keepsake.
Typical price ranges
Across the UK, and in Northern Ireland specifically, professional wedding videography typically sits in the £1400 to £2,000 range for a standard package, with many experienced full day cinematographers charging around £1,500 as a market average. Lower-priced options (content-creator style same-day social edits) can be below £1,000, while premium, multi-camera, multi-operator packages or multi-day destination shoots push into the £2,000+ bracket. These averages are consistent with recent UK Wedding-industry reporting from Bridebook.
What determines the cost?
Several clear factors push a package up or down:
· Coverage Hours. Some packages (my social story package) is lightweight and shorter on time than my main cinematic offerings. Normally me or my team attend your wedding for 10 to 12 hours. This should cover preparation, ceremony, speeches (wedding breakfast) and the evening party.
· Number of shooters One cinematographer can be suble and cinematic; two or more deliver more coverage and angles (useful for big venues, simultaneous prep shots and when there’s a lot going on for your wedding day). This increases the cost and is a worthy investment if you want the best films possible to preserve the memories of your day.
· Final Deliverables. A 3-5 minute cinematic highlights film + raw footage costs less than multiple edited films (full ceremony edit, speeches cut, same-day social reels, teaser edits, USB pen sticks etc).
· Experience and Style. You’re not just paying more money for someone who’s filmed more weddings – you’re paying for guarantee that no mistakes will be made, that your day won’t be impacted, and that you’ll have someone involved in your day who matches your energy and knows exactly where to be at precisely the right time. You’re paying for storytelling, not just clips.
· Travel and accommodation. Destination weddings across Europe and the rest of the world includes travel fees and accommodation and can span into 3 or more days of filming.
· Turnaround and rush delivery. Need a same-day or same-week social edit or extremely quick final cut? This usually costs more.
Equipment and post production. The specialist kit that I provide with all of my weddings (gimbals, 10-bit recording cinema cameras, audio equipment such as my deity TC-1 lavalier microphones and my zoom F6 all comes at a price to my business. Want to buy a piece of kit such as the DJI Ronin RS4 pro? Then you’ll need a spare battery, a charging cable, it will take time to balance and might need an additional quick release plate – all of this costs time, expertise and expenses. Music licencing through websites such as Artlist and Musicbed, or extra cloud storage from dropbox for backups is far more of an outlay than any wedding photographer has ever paid.
5. Just what is the average cost of a wedding videographer in Northern Ireland?
Personally I think wedding videographers aren’t charging enough.
In a creative industry it’s tempting to keep your rates low and take as much work as possible- but these videographers often burn themselves out and lose their passion for the job - hence my reluctance to put a number on the title of this blog post!
For a little more information be sure to take a look at this post on how much a wedding videographer costs by Emmanuel Films.
There are some great wedding videographers out there, and you might be able to pickup a bargain if you shop around. Just make sure that you chat to some of their previous wedding couples - this can really show you what the person is like after your wedding - which is probably the most important time.
Thanks for reading.
Interested in commissioning me for your wedding videography?
I cover Northern Ireland, Ireland, England and destination weddings - splitting my time between Northern Ireland and Tenerife. Just get in touch today and I’d like to hear all about your big day.
Adam White
Wedding Cinematographer
