Speak to most couples, and their parents, after the event and they will tell you that the day goes by in a haze of action, photos, drinks, dancing and fleeting moments of chatting to relatives they haven't seen for ages. Afterwards they find it difficult to recall all that went on around them, and of course there was a lot going on elsewhere which they couldn't see.

A huge amount of time, money and effort goes into the planning of a wedding, it is a major historical milestone in most peoples' lives, which needs to be documented. When the event is over the only lasting record of all that effort and enjoyment is on photos and film. And whilst photos will provide beautiful images of all the participants to place on the mantlepiece, only film can provide the re-living of the event in all it's moving glory.

It documents all those moments which you didn't see on the day - the groom and best man checking the rings and discussing the speeches - the fairytale bride emerging from the car with her Dad - the bridesmaids and page boys capering in the pews - the expressions on the proud parents faces during the ceremony. These moments and much more can all be captured on film and re-lived as often as you like.   back to top

You have several options in choosing how to do this, ranging from getting a friend with a video camera to film it for the cost of a video tape, up to a full blown video production company costing several thousand pounds. There are several levels of video production. The friend or 'Uncle Harry' approach costs you very little, but you will normally find this to be a shaky experience with lots of zooming in and out, poor focus, dark images, normally of the backs of your heads, and the whole thing taken from a single viewpoint. If something goes wrong with the camera, there is no backup position, and it means that your friend cannot fully relax and enjoy the day. It is also unlikely that this friend has access to proper editing facilities or the experience to use them to produce a good final version. The end result is that this will normally provide the sort of poor quality memento which most people associate with wedding videos.

The next level up is the hobbyist videographer, who has a reasonably good standard of equipment, and will film and edit your wedding in their spare time for a reasonably small fee. They can provide a good standard of filming and editing, but again normally from a single viewpoint. They are unlikely to be insured, however, and if something goes wrong you are in a difficult position with no comeback. They are also unlikely to take out the appropriate copyright licences to cover the music you wish to have on your video.

For most couples, the professional videographer is the person you should look to employ. They will be a member of one or more of the professional bodies, such as the Institute of Videography ( www.iov.co.uk ) or the Association of Professional Videographers.

They will have experience in filming many weddings over the years and will have undergone professional training in camera skills, lighting, sound recording and wedding videography. They will hold professional insurance covering private and public liability, to cover potential problems. They will use professional high-quality digital cameras and editing systems. They will normally use at least two cameras to get different viewpoints, and will normally manage to negotiate with vicars or registrars to get a good frontal position when filming the ceremony. They will have a backup camera in case of failure and will use good tripods for stability of shooting. They will use good quality radio microphones, with backups to get an accurate recording of the sound. They will take out the appropriate copyright licences to cover the music required. These videographers will be happy to visit you, show examples of their work and take the time to discuss your requirements in order to suit the filming to your day. They will normally attend the rehearsal to iron out the choreography of the ceremony and the positions for the cameras, and will take the time to produce a well-edited video which you and your families will want to watch, time and again.  back to top

The effort to do all this is considerable, time spent for meetings beforehand, up to 12 hours on location on the day, and about 10 day's worth of editing time afterwards to produce a final product which you will treasure.

The price you should expect to pay for all this effort is likely to be between £800 and £1500, depending on the amount of coverage you require, but when you consider the effort involved, it is very good value.

At the top end of the scale, if you want to really go to town you can employ one of the larger wedding video companies, who employ a complete film crew, and can provide very high quality productions for large events. Their costs will obviously be considerably higher.

Some overseas wedding packages offer video as part of the deal. Make sure that you can get the original digital camera tapes and the copyright within the package, so that if the edit is not to your liking (given the short time frame they have to edit these), you can have it re-edited back here later. You may also need to have US footage (NTSC format) converted to UK PAL standard.

Whoever you employ, at whatever end of the scale, remember that this person is going to be an intimate part of your wedding, throughout the whole day. You therefore need to feel a rapport with the people doing the filming. Is the person who comes to see you actually going to be doing the filming on the day, or is it likely to be some media student, being paid peanuts? Does the style of their samples suit your requirements - do you want slick, in your face, reportage style, or dreamy, romantic and laid back. Most companies will have letters of recommendation from previous clients, some will have permission from those clients for you to ring them to get their first-hand accounts.  back to top

Just remember that this souvenir of the day could be the first of a family record of your marriage, to which you may want to add christenings, birthday parties, anniversaries and your childrens' weddings. So make it a quality record, that will be available to your children and grandchildren in the future. Remember that, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for, and you can't re-run the day if the video doesn't turn out right.