Through planning our wedding, we nixed a lot of vendors and traditions we didn't think fit us.

I made our cake, we had no flowers, we self-DJed, and we didn't have a videographer. All of this was in an effort to save money, but also have the wedding we wanted instead of producing some generic details we would never remember 15 years down the road.

...And now my one regret is not hiring a videographer.

Pre­-wedding, I thought it was silly, and that we would never watch the video. I'm not super sentimental so imagining us sitting down to watch our wedding video in 50 years just... blech. Tears and, "Oh, remember...?" did not appeal to me. So why pay to have it made?

The main reason I regret not hiring one? I didn't get to see how everything went at the ceremony before I got down the aisle! I didn't get to see my husband hug his parents as they sat down. I didn't get to see the smiles of everyone as our different groups walked down. Our processional song was timed PERFECTLY (without even trying) and I wish I had that on record, since I'm pretty proud of the song we chose.

It's not a big regret, and in a few months I may not even call it a regret. But if I could do it over again, I would shell out the cash for a videographer.

I have no idea if anyone out there is planning a wedding thinking, "I don't need someone to film the ceremony!" Maybe you're right. But really consider it before you totally rule it out. If nothing else, I recommend having a family friend record it on their phone. (Of course, if it hadn't have been for our unplugged ceremony we might have had some video footage of the day.)

Ultimately my point is to really consider the vendors you're slashing. I didn't anticipate feeling like I
missed a part of the ceremony, but I do now. And, unfortunately, I can't go back and fix it.

Are there any vendors you regret not hiring? How do you deal with the woulda' coulda' shoulda's? (Psst: If this post has inspired you to hire a videographer, we have a few recommendations. 😉