Why do Wedding Videographers Cost so Much?
By: Alayna Lopez
We get asked this a lot.
And to be fair it's a reasonable question to ask. There are a lot of businesses out there that charge the “wedding tax”. This is when a vendor charges more simply because it’s for a wedding. For example, a venue may charge $400 for a typical event, but $800 for a wedding.
So yes, it’s smart to be skeptical when budgeting for your big day.
At Lopez DNA Films, we want to be honest and transparent about our pricing so you can be sure you are paying a fair price.
How Our Time is Spent
Every video, whether a movie or a wedding is broken into three main phases: production, editing, and planning & post-production coordination. Roughly, our time is divided like this:
Production (on your wedding day) – 30%
Editing (crafting your cinematic film) – 50%
Planning & Post-Production Coordination – 20%
This breakdown shows that the work goes far beyond the hours we spend filming your wedding day. From planning shots to editing and coordinating, a lot of effort happens behind the scenes to ensure your film feels seamless, emotional, and timeless.
1. Production – Filming Your Wedding
Your wedding day is full of fleeting moments—intimate glances, joyful reactions, and candid laughter. To make sure none of these are missed you’ll get two shooters to capture multiple angles.
Having two shooters allows us to quietly capture both the big moments and the small, meaningful details that make your wedding unique. What you’re really paying for is skill, creativity, and experience, not just hours on the clock. For reference, the average videographer in Utah earns around $27–30/hour.
2. Editing – Bringing Your Story to Life
Editing is where your wedding story truly comes to life. On average, 1 minute of your wedding video takes 4 hours of careful editing.
Why does it take so long?
Color grading – adjusting and enhancing colors so your footage feels cinematic and timeless
Audio editing – balancing vows, speeches, and ambient sound.
Background music integration – selecting tracks that match the tone of your day and syncing them to your moments for emotional impact
Storytelling and pacing – turning hours of footage into a cohesive, emotional narrative
Motion graphics or titles – adding text overlays, nameplates, or transitions
Even a short Instagram highlight requires careful editing to ensure it feels polished, emotional, and true to your story.
3. Post-Production Planning & Coordination
The wedding day is just one part of the process. A significant portion of our time goes into planning and coordination:
Client consultations – planning shots, understanding your story, and ensuring nothing is missed
Communication with other vendors – coordinating so both photography and videography flow smoothly
Research and prep – scouting locations, testing light, and preparing equipment
Marketing and business maintenance – keeping our business sustainable so we can continue investing in professional gear and software
This behind-the-scenes work is essential to making sure your wedding film is smooth, cinematic, and exactly how you imagined it.
4. Equipment Costs
Professional wedding videography requires high-quality gear:
Cameras & lenses – multiple angles and cinematic shots
Drone – stunning aerial footage
Tripods, sliders, gimbals – smooth motion
Audio equipment – lavalier mics, boom mics, recorders
Maintaining and updating this equipment ensures your film is professional, stable, and visually striking.
5. Additional Factors
Other contributors to the cost include:
Travel & logistics – getting to your venue, sometimes with overnight stays
Software licenses & storage – editing programs, music licensing, and backups
Insurance & contingency planning – protecting your memories in case anything goes wrong
6. Total Value
When you combine production, editing, post-production planning, and equipment, you get a professional, cinematic wedding film that lasts a lifetime. Our pricing reflects this investment:
Starting tier: $1,200
Top tier: $3,000
A wedding film is more than just footage. After the flowers fade, the cake is eaten, and the dress is stored away, the only tangible memories you can relive are your photos and videos. That’s why investing in professional videography is worth it—it captures your day in a way you can watch, share, and treasure for years to come.
