Do You Need Both Wedding Photography and Videography?
If you've already hired a wedding photographer, you might be wondering:
Do we really need a videographer too?
It's a fair question.
Photography and videography are documenting many of the same things:
Getting ready
First look
Ceremony
Portraits
Toasts
First dances
Reception
So why pay two teams to capture the same wedding?
Because they're not actually preserving the same thing.
Photography preserves moments.
Video preserves moments in motion and sound.
And that's a much bigger difference than it initially seems.
What Wedding Photography Gives You
Photography gives you individual moments you can return to instantly.
Your wedding photographs can live:
On your walls
In albums
On your phone
In frames
At your parents' house
On your wedding website
One photograph can take you back to a fraction of a second.
Your partner seeing you for the first time.
Your mom helping with your dress.
Your dad crying during the ceremony.
Your grandparents dancing.
Photography is incredibly powerful because it reduces a moment to one image.
And that image can last for generations.
What Wedding Video Gives You
Video gives you something photography physically can't:
Time.
Instead of seeing your dad giving a toast, you can hear what he said.
Instead of seeing your partner's expression during the vows, you can hear their voice.
Instead of seeing everyone on the dance floor, you can watch how they moved.
Video preserves:
Voices
Movement
Laughter
Music
Reactions unfolding
The atmosphere of the room
That's why I don't really think of photography and videography as substitutes.
They're different forms of memory.
Think About Your Vows
Imagine looking at a photograph of your partner reading their vows.
You can see their expression.
Maybe they're crying.
Maybe you're laughing.
That's an incredibly meaningful photograph.
Now imagine hearing them say those words again 20 years later.
That's what video gives you.
One isn't better than the other.
They're preserving different parts of the same moment.
Toasts Are Another Perfect Example
Wedding photography can preserve:
Your best friend laughing during their speech.
Your parents reacting.
You wiping away tears.
But video preserves the actual story.
The joke.
The embarrassing childhood memory.
The way everyone laughed.
The part where your dad's voice cracked.
Those things can't exist inside a photograph.
Photography Is Easier to Experience Every Day
This is where photography has an enormous advantage.
You probably aren't going to watch your wedding film every morning.
But you might walk past a wedding photograph every day for decades.
That's why I would never look at wedding photography as something video replaces.
Wedding photographs become part of your home and family history.
Video Can Become More Valuable With Time
Wedding video has an interesting quality:
Sometimes its value isn't completely obvious immediately after the wedding.
Ten or twenty years later, hearing someone's voice can mean something entirely different.
People change.
Families change.
Children are born.
People get older.
Some people are no longer with us.
Being able to hear and see the people you loved celebrating together can become incredibly meaningful.
What About Candid Moments?
Both photography and video can capture candid moments.
They just capture them differently.
A photograph might preserve the exact expression.
Video might preserve everything that led to it.
That's one reason I like having both when couples value documentary-style storytelling.
We aren't necessarily creating twice as much posing.
We're documenting the same real moments through two different mediums.
Will Having Both Make the Wedding Feel Like a Production?
It shouldn't.
This depends heavily on the teams you hire.
I don't think couples should spend the entire wedding repeating things because:
“Photo needs it.”
and then:
“Video needs it.”
Both teams should communicate.
Your first look should happen once.
Your vows happen once.
Your reactions happen once.
We're responsible for being ready.
Do You Need Two Separate Portrait Sessions?
Usually, no.
Photography and videography can work simultaneously.
While I'm creating portraits, video can capture:
Movement
Interaction
Details
Wide establishing shots
Natural moments between photographs
A coordinated team shouldn't require you to spend twice as much time away from your wedding.
This Is One Advantage of Hiring Photo and Video Together
If the same company provides both, the teams can already share:
Timeline philosophy
Communication
Shooting approach
Expectations
That can make coordination easier.
But this is important:
You don't have to hire one company for both.
A great photographer and a great videographer from separate companies can work beautifully together.
If you want a deeper comparison, I have a separate guide specifically about whether you should hire one company for photography and videography.
If Your Budget Only Allows One, Which Should You Choose?
This is where I'd think about what you value rather than looking for a universal answer.
Ask yourselves:
Do we want photographs displayed throughout our home?
How important is an album?
How much do we care about hearing our vows again?
Do we have important family speeches?
Are there people whose voices we especially want preserved?
Do we imagine ourselves rewatching our ceremony or wedding film?
Those answers matter more than what another couple chose.
Don't Assume Someone's Phone Can Replace Professional Video
Your guests will probably record pieces of the wedding.
And those clips can be fun.
But that's different from professional wedding filmmaking.
A professional videographer is thinking about:
Camera placement
Composition
Audio
Multiple angles
Exposure
Movement
Storytelling
Editing
Backups
The biggest difference is often audio.
A beautiful phone clip from the back of the ceremony isn't the same as clearly hearing your vows.
The Same Is True for Photography
Guests will take photographs.
Some of them may be great.
But professional wedding photography isn't simply owning a better camera.
It's consistently documenting an unpredictable event from beginning to end.
You don't get another first kiss because someone's camera settings were wrong.
You Don't Need Both Because Instagram Says You Do
I don't think every wedding decision should come from:
“Everyone else has this.”
If you genuinely don't care about video, don't book it because social media made you feel like you're supposed to.
Likewise, don't skip it simply because someone told you:
“You'll never watch it.”
Think about yourselves.
Think about your families.
Think about what you'll want preserved.
When I Think Having Both Makes the Most Sense
I'd strongly consider photography and videography together if:
Your vows are important to you
You're writing personal vows
You're having meaningful speeches
Family is a major part of your wedding
You value candid storytelling
You want to preserve voices
You want to remember how the wedding felt, not only how it looked
You know you'll value being able to watch the day later
Those are situations where the two mediums complement each other particularly well.
When Video Might Be a Lower Priority
Maybe:
You're having a very short celebration
There won't be vows or speeches you care about preserving
You genuinely don't enjoy watching video
Your budget requires you to prioritize elsewhere
That's okay.
Your wedding doesn't need every possible service.
Spend intentionally.
What About Smaller Weddings?
I actually think video can be especially meaningful at intimate weddings.
When there are fewer people, individual interactions often become an even bigger part of the story.
A parent's voice.
A private vow.
A conversation.
A small group laughing together.
The value of video isn't determined by having 250 guests.
What About Elopements?
Same idea.
An elopement may have almost no guests and still create an incredible film.
Now the story might focus more heavily on:
Landscape
Personal vows
Movement
Adventure
Natural audio
The two of you together
Again, it's about what you want preserved.
Do Photography and Videography Need the Same Number of Hours?
Not necessarily.
Your ideal coverage depends on what you want included.
If you care about:
Getting ready
Ceremony
Sunset
Toasts
Dancing
Exit
you'll likely need enough coverage to span those events.
Instead of starting with:
“We need eight hours.”
I prefer starting with:
“What do we want documented?”
Then we determine the coverage.
What Should You Look for in a Photo + Video Team?
If you're hiring both, look beyond whether the portfolio is pretty.
I'd consider:
Consistency
Can they handle:
Daylight
Dark receptions
Churches
Outdoor ceremonies
Fast-moving moments?
Audio
For video especially, can you clearly hear vows and speeches?
Storytelling
Does the work feel like the couple, or does every wedding look identical?
Coordination
Do photography and videography work together or compete for the same moments?
Personality
These people will be around you for a significant portion of the wedding.
You should feel comfortable with them.
Ask to See Complete Work
Don't judge a photographer by ten Instagram photographs.
Don't judge a videographer by a 30-second reel.
Ask to see:
Complete wedding galleries.
And:
Complete wedding films.
You're hiring someone to document an entire wedding.
Evaluate their ability to do exactly that.
Chattanooga Weddings Can Benefit From Having Both
One reason I enjoy documenting Chattanooga weddings through both photography and film is the variety.
Within one wedding day, we might have:
Mountain scenery
Historic architecture
Tennessee River views
Indoor ceremonies
Outdoor portraits
Dark receptions
Photography and video interpret those environments differently.
But ultimately, the scenery isn't the most important part.
The people are.
The Question Isn't Really “Do We Need Both?”
You don't technically need either.
You could get married without professional photography or videography.
The better question is:
What do we want to be able to experience again after the wedding is over?
Do you want:
The photograph?
The voice?
The movement?
The story?
Or all of it?
Once you answer that, the decision becomes much easier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need both a wedding photographer and videographer?
No. Neither service is mandatory. Photography and videography preserve different parts of the wedding, however, so couples who value both still imagery and movement, voices, vows, and speeches may find that the two complement each other well.
Is wedding videography worth it if we already have a photographer?
It can be. Photography preserves individual moments, while video preserves movement and sound. If hearing your vows, speeches, laughter, and loved ones' voices later matters to you, videography provides something photography cannot.
Can a photographer also take wedding video?
Some companies offer both photography and videography, but these are usually handled by different team members because professionally documenting both simultaneously requires separate attention and equipment.
Should we hire the same company for wedding photography and videography?
It can simplify communication and coordination, but it isn't required. Separate photography and videography companies can work extremely well together. Evaluate the quality of both services before deciding.
Will having photography and videography make our wedding feel staged?
It shouldn't. Experienced teams should work together and document important moments simultaneously rather than repeatedly asking you to recreate them.
Is wedding photography more important than videography?
That depends on what you personally want preserved. Photography and videography create different keepsakes, so there isn't a universal answer that applies to every couple.
How many hours of photography and videography do we need?
Start with the events you want documented—getting ready, ceremony, portraits, speeches, dancing, exit—and build coverage around those rather than choosing an arbitrary number of hours first.
Photography Freezes the Moment. Video Lets It Keep Moving.
That's ultimately the difference.
A photograph lets you hold one fraction of a second forever.
A wedding film lets you hear what happened around it.
For couples who choose both, those two things can become an incredibly complete record of the wedding.
At Spencer Purcell Films, I provide wedding photography, wedding videography, and combined photo + video coverage for couples in Chattanooga and throughout Tennessee.
My approach is centered around letting the wedding actually happen.
Photography and video should work together in the background—not turn your day into a production.
Considering photography and videography for your wedding?
📅 Check your wedding date availability.
📖 Request photography, videography, and combined photo + video collections and pricing.
🎥 Ask to see complete wedding galleries and films so you can decide what kind of coverage matters most to you.
📞 Schedule a complimentary consultation to talk through your wedding and what you want preserved.
👉 Contact Spencer Purcell Films today to check availability for your wedding date.