Cost of Wedding Videographer in New Zealand
Wondering if you have the budget for a videographer for your wedding? Let us show you the cost so you can make an informed decision that suits your budget!
All these costs are based on a full day 8-10 hours of coverage delivering a 4-8 Minute Highlight Film
Entry Level: FREE-$1,500
Videographers at this level are only just entering into the industry. They may have done no weddings prior or done a couple here and there. Don’t expect anything well-polished at this level. Manage your expectations and just be happy with what you get. The videographer is only learning the ropes of both how to film with a camera and also how to film a wedding.
At this budget, you do hear a lot of horror stories of couples expecting something decent, but due to the videographers experience level, many things can go wrong - such as not capturing important moments, bad camera quality, bad audio (no audio), shaky footage, taking a months to deliver your film.
Don’t let the above scare you though, every seasoned wedding videographer started somewhere and so there are some amazing deals to be made in this budget where you find a young, keen filmmaker who has great talent but is only just starting their wedding videography career.
Amateur Videographer: $2,000-$3,000
Once you start looking at this price bracket, you will find wedding videographers that may have shot 1-2 wedding seasons themselves and worked as a second videographer for other companies. They would normally have done at least 15+ weddings so nothing is new, but they are still learning the ropes.
Expect these videographers to perhaps not have the best camera gear out there, but they have better than entry-level videographers so they can deliver a decent highlight film. A lot of newer wedding videographers will make their footage look better through advanced editing which helps hide that their camera isn’t top tier quality.
This budget range is very popular for couples as it doesn’t break the bank and means they get a memory to hold on forever. Videographers here may likely be in a transition period where wedding videography is not their full time job but that is where they are headed.
You can find videographers in this range that will be full time filmmakers/videographers that shoot other content and only do weddings on the side. These can be great finds as their quality will be outstanding but they come at a fraction of the price tag as the more experienced wedding videographers.
Experienced Videographer: $3,000-$4,500
After a couple of years of being a videographer shooting 30-40+ weddings, expect to see this price bracket. The videographer will be improving their gear and their customer experience. They have likely made mistakes previously which they have learned from and now can seamlessly shoot, edit and deliver wedding films to 30+ wedding couples per year. Wedding Videography will likely be their full time job when you get to this price bracket so you’ll start experiencing a better customer experience through better communication and planning.
Videographers in this price bracket are the most common as when combined in a Photo & Video package, the total packages sit at around the $6500-$8000 range which is a very popular price bracket. So expect videographers in this to possibly offer photography as well. This is a huge advantage when booking both Photo & Video wedding packages as making sure vendors get along helps them create the best work possible.
As you get to the higher end of this bracket $4000-$4500, these are the most sort after wedding videographers in the market in New Zealand. Their price often fits with the majority of couples and so they can booked out a lot. If you have a budget in this range, be sure to contact your videographer early on in the planning process to ensure they are available for your wedding day.
Seasoned Videographer: $5,000-$7,000+
This top-tier bracket is only home to a handful wedding videographers across New Zealand. This cost represents a wedding videography company that has many wedding seasons under its belt. They likely only produce wedding films as their full time job and so you know you are getting a very experienced vendor that you can trust (likely over 7+ years of experience).
Packages from videographers in this price range will vary hugely. As in this price bracket, you will see packages with multiple videographers and also multi-day packages (think Indian weddings). You’ll be able to get the most out of your videographer as they will be able to produce high quality films, full ceremony records and shorter teaser films for social media.
Videographers who will charge this amount are worth their weight in gold. They know how a day runs, they know every in and out of wedding videography and they own all the camera gear to cover every situation. You are also paying a premium for when things go wrong on a wedding day (which they can). These videographers have delt with every situation before and so whatever is thrown at them, they will still be able to produce magical wedding films.
These videographer deeply care about their craft and thus, their wedding films might take the longest to edit as they will spend a lot longer than other videographers on the edit to make sure you get the best film possible. These films are driven largely by emotion and will definitely get those tears flowing!
As they purely focus on videography, they have likely worked with the majority of photographers out there in a similar price range, so you know they should be comfortable for who they need to shoot alongside.
Got you wanting a videographer for your own wedding?
CLICK HERE to check out our wedding films!