Some of the same considerations involved in selecting a photographer for your wedding photos also apply to choosing the right videographer. Wedding video, however, is a newer art than wedding photography, and the two forms of preserving your memories cannot really be lumped together when shopping for these professional services.

Nowadays, nearly everyone has a home video camera, and the quality of pictures they produce is quite good; better, in fact, than professional equipment could turn out just a few years ago. This has led many people to neglect the importance of using a professional videographer to record once-in-a-lifetime events. Yes, your friend Bob's nifty new handy-dandy super camcorder can turn out some pretty good-looking stuff, but if you depend on friend Bob to provide your wedding video, you are setting yourself up to be sadly disappointed.

First of all, Bob's new camera, while quite snazzy, still will not be up to the level of equipment the serious professional videographer will bring to your wedding. When shopping for video, ask the videographer to explain to you what a 3-chip camera is, and why it makes better video than a home camcorder. Also ask him about the various tape formats used by the pros...SVHS, HI8, Betacam, and get him to explain the advantages of these over standard home formats. Oh, and wouldn't it be nice to have great sound quality on your video, so you can actually hear your wedding vows, and your music? Chances are pretty good that friend Bob won't own the sophisticated wireless microphones the professional uses to record even a whisper.

Ever sat and watched Bob's 6-hour production of Little Bobby's Birthday Party? This brings us to one of the areas where the pros really excel, editing. No, editing is NOT "cutting out" or throwing away any of your wedding video. Editing is an almost magical process whereby the professional videographer refines and assembles the pictures he carefully gathered at your wedding into a polished, pleasing record of your wedding day. Every videographer has his own style, and there are as many types of wedding video available as there are videographers. Look at lots of sample videos, find the videographer with a style that pleases you, and with a personality you can be comfortable with for six or eight hours on your wedding day.

After your wedding is over, all you will have to help you remember a very important day will be your wedding photos and your wedding video. Select these professionals with care and you'll never be sorry!