Choosing a wedding videographer means choosing someone who will spend more of the day close to you than most of your guests. The quality of the film matters, but so does the way that person occupies the room.
Start by watching a full film, not a trailer. One-minute teasers are engineered to impress, and they almost always succeed. A ten-minute film reveals something else: sense of pace, the ability to hold an emotion without drowning it in music, the quality of the speech audio. If a videographer can't show you one complete long film, ask yourself why.
Ask about style without hedging. A documentary film captures the day as it happens: nobody asks you to walk back down the aisle or repeat a kiss. A staged film arranges moments for the camera. Neither approach is better, but they produce very different days. You'll know which suits you by asking yourself one thing, do you want to be directed?
Useful questions before signing: who is actually filming on the day, the person I'm talking to, or a shooter I've never met? How many hours of coverage? How is the ceremony and speech audio recorded? What's the delivery timeline, and what happens if it slips? What happens to the film if you fall ill? How many weddings do you take per season?
The most reliable red flags: a portfolio made entirely of teasers; no written contract; vague delivery windows ("a few months"); no backup plan for gear failure or illness; and a style that changes completely from one film to the next, which usually means trend-following rather than a point of view.
Finally, trust the conversation. A good videographer asks about your day before talking about their gear: who matters to you, what you're dreading, when you'll be most yourselves. Equipment can be replaced; attention can't.
If that approach speaks to you, get in touch, I answer all of these questions in writing long before booking comes up.