Before meeting up with your videographer it’s worth thinking about what coverage you’d like to receive as part of your video package.

Here are a list of things to start thinking about before meeting a videographer:

- What will I receive as a final product?

Most packages should offer you at least a DVD with all your wedding footage but even these can differ greatly from videographer to videographer. You should find out whether you’ll get a printed cover, printed disc and DVD menu so that you have a professional looking DVD that will look great in your collection. If you have a Blu-ray player, find out if you can get a Blu-ray rather than a DVD, or if you can get a mix so that you can have a Blu-ray for yourselves, but give DVD’s to family members who don’t have one. If you don’t have a Blu-ray player you can still enjoy HD video on your home computer. So find out whether you can get the HD files on a USB stick to copy onto your hard drive.

- Can I get a copy of the RAW footage?

This is something that some people are insistent on and some people don’t give a second thought to, but think about whether you’d like a hard drive with all the RAW video footage so that you have a backup of everything in case you lose touch with your videographer and something happens to your discs or files. In general it’s not something that you’ll sit down and watch. But it’s nice to know you have it for peace of mind.

- What would you like filmed?

Some videographers may offer staggered pricing plans depending on how much of the wedding day you want filmed. You may be happy to just have the ceremony and the speeches filmed, or look to get a highlights video without full coverage of the rest of the day. Personally I believe you should get as much filmed as you can, because you don’t want to get to a point in your wedding that you wish was being filmed - but if you’re restricted by budget then this isn’t always possible.

- How many cameras will be used?

In order to get a really professional looking video it’s important that the videographer uses multiple cameras to switch angles during each event. Find out how many cameras they’re bringing, and possibly ask how big the cameras are to make sure they can be discreetly placed during the ceremony and speeches.

- Will the videographer be using an assistant?

Speaking from experience it’s difficult to operate 3 cameras on your own so find out whether the videographer will be bringing an assistant and if they are, whether this is included in the price.

- Can I get a photo slideshow to music on the DVD?

This may not be something that’s automatically included but ask the videographer if they can put a photo slideshow to music onto the DVD. You’ll normally need to ask the photographer to send a disc over so they have the images but I’m yet to come across a photographer that isn’t wiling to do this.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully it will give you some topics to think over before meeting your videographer.