Oct 2026

How to Choose a Wedding Videographer in Chicago

Twenty years from now, your photos will show how your wedding looked. Your film will bring back how it sounded and felt: your voice shaking a little during your vows, your best friend’s toast, the whole room singing along at midnight. We are Anna and Artem of 312FILMS. We have filmed weddings in Chicago since 2008, for more than 300 couples, and we have noticed that the couples who love their films most chose their videographer in a few specific ways. Here is what we would tell a friend.

Anna and Artem of 312FILMS filming a wedding ceremony in Chicago — Anna and Artem filming a ceremony.

1. Judge the Films, Not the Demo Reel

Every videographer has a reel stitched together from the best moments of many weddings, and every reel looks beautiful. The real test is a film made from one couple’s day. Watch two or three, ideally from venues like yours, and ask yourself three things: Did I feel like I got to know this couple? Could I hear their vows clearly? Will this still feel right in 20 years, or does it chase this year’s trends?

Kristin and Kevin’s wedding at Holy Name Cathedral and The Peninsula, one couple’s day told as a single story.

2. Listen Before You Look

Couples are often surprised to hear this from videographers, but sound matters more than any camera. The moments people rewatch are almost always spoken: vows, letters read before the ceremony, a toast that makes the whole room laugh. At Natalie and Jon’s wedding, the moment everyone remembers is the toast about how they met in a chemistry lab. Without clean audio, that moment would be lost.

Ask every videographer how they record the ceremony and the toasts. Good answers involve a wireless microphone on the groom or officiant, a recorder at the lectern, and a plan for loud reception rooms. If the answer is “the camera microphone,” keep looking.

Natalie and Jon's wedding at the Radisson Blu Aqua in Chicago — Natalie and Jon’s wedding, where the toast about how they met became the moment everyone remembers.

3. Know Who Will Film, and Who Will Edit

Many studios book weddings under one name, send whichever shooter is free that day, and pass the footage to an outside editor you will never meet. Ask directly: Who exactly will be at our wedding? Who will edit our film? Will the person we are talking to now be involved at all?

It matters because a wedding film is made twice: once on the day, and again in the edit, where someone decides which glance, which line of a toast, which song carries your story. We film every wedding ourselves and edit every film ourselves. No outsourced editors.

Anna and Artem, the husband-and-wife team behind 312FILMS — Anna and Artem: the same two people at your consultation, your wedding and your edit.

4. Look for Someone You Will Barely Notice

The best wedding films come from people who know how to disappear. Ask how a videographer works during the ceremony and the speeches, and look at their films for moments that feel natural rather than staged. Your guests should remember your wedding, not the camera crew.

Artem of 312FILMS filming a wedding at the Adler Planetarium — Artem filming a wedding at the Adler Planetarium.

5. Ask About Your Venue

Every Chicago venue has its own personality. Cathedrals often have rules about where videographers can stand during the ceremony. Hotel ballrooms can be dark, and loud once the band starts. In winter the sun sets a little after 4 p.m., which changes the whole timeline for portraits. A team that has filmed at your venue arrives knowing all of this. Our Chicago wedding venues guide has films and notes from the hotels, churches and clubs we know best.

Carli and Sean's first dance at The Old Post Office in Chicago — Carli and Sean’s first dance in the main hall of The Old Post Office.

6. Understand What It Costs, and What You Are Paying For

Wedding videography in Chicago ranges from a few thousand dollars for a single shooter with a short edit to five figures for an experienced two-person team filming the whole day. The price reflects the hours of coverage, the number of videographers, the experience of the people who will actually be there, and how much care goes into the edit. When you compare quotes, compare what is included, not just the total: hours, team size, film length, teaser, ceremony and toast edits, and delivery dates. Our collections start at $9,999. See what is included.

7. Get Delivery Dates in Writing

Ask when you will receive each part of your film, and make sure those dates are in your contract. We deliver a cinematic teaser within 72 hours of the wedding, so you can share it while the day is still fresh, and our wedding films usually run 8 to 12 minutes.

Red Flags

Only a demo reel to show, and no films from individual weddings.
Vague answers about who will film and who will edit.
No plan for audio beyond the camera microphone.
No delivery dates in the contract.
Pressure to sign right away, before you have watched their work.

Questions to Ask Before You Book

Can we watch two or three films from individual weddings, ideally at venues like ours?
Who will film our wedding, and who will edit the film?
How do you record our vows, letters and toasts?
Have you filmed at our ceremony site or reception venue?
What exactly is included, and when will we receive each part?
How many weddings do you take each year?

Why We Take Only Five to Seven Weddings a Year

We are a husband-and-wife studio. Keeping our calendar small means we can film every wedding ourselves, spend real time in the edit, and treat each film as if it were our own family’s. We work with couples in English, French, German and Mandarin.

If our date is already taken, here are the Chicago wedding videographers we recommend. If you are planning a wedding in Chicago, check your date and tell us about your day. We would love to hear about it.