I cannot recommend this company as a wedding videographer based on my experience…read more
I was recently informed that the raw footage from my entire wedding day is no longer recoverable. These are irreplaceable memories from one of the most important days of my life, so this has been incredibly upsetting and disappointing.
I understand that I was given 30 days to download and save my raw footage. However, the issue is that this was an enormous amount of video footage and a significant amount of storage. Downloading and properly saving everything was not a simple process. I attempted to do it myself and quickly realized how difficult and overwhelming it was.
Because of this, I contacted the company soon after receiving the footage and specifically asked if there was another way they could send or provide the videos because I was having such a difficult time downloading everything. Instead of providing a more practical solution, I was given recommendations for how to download the files myself. Unfortunately, those recommendations did not work for me.
What is especially frustrating is that I never received any follow-up to ask whether I had actually been successful in downloading and saving my footage before the 30-day period ended. The footage was eventually erased.
I was told that the company deletes the footage because storing that amount of video for all of their customers is too much for them. I understand that storage is expensive and that they have a retention policy. However, that explanation makes the situation even more frustrating. If the amount of footage is too much for the company to store, how is it reasonable to expect one customer to easily download, store, and properly back up all of that footage on their own?
I paid for my wedding videography, and after receiving the footage, I was essentially left to figure out how to download and preserve an enormous amount of data by myself. It was too much to simply save onto my phone or computer, and I even purchased a flash drive specifically because I was trying to preserve these memories. I genuinely believed I had saved everything correctly.
I fully acknowledge that I ultimately had a responsibility to back up my files. However, I also believe the company should have a better system for delivering and preserving such a large amount of irreplaceable footage. If the files are too large for the company to reasonably retain, there should be a clearer and more manageable way for customers to receive and archive them, rather than expecting one person to navigate a complicated download process entirely on their own.
Unfortunately, this experience was already disappointing before the raw footage was lost.
Before my wedding, I spent time completing forms and answering detailed questions about what I wanted in my highlight video. I provided examples and links showing the style and content I was hoping for. When I received the final highlight video, it was not what I had envisioned based on everything I had submitted.
I expressed my concerns and was told that the editors did not have enough footage to redo the video or make it longer. At the time, I was especially frustrated by that response because I knew there was raw footage from my entire wedding day. After going back and forth and expressing my concerns multiple times, I eventually gave up and accepted the highlight video even though I was unhappy with it.
Now, I have been told that the raw footage from my entire wedding day is gone and cannot be recovered.
What has been most upsetting throughout this entire situation is the lack of communication, conflicting information, and lack of meaningful resolution. I was initially told that recovering the footage would be possible for a fee. After I tried to negotiate that price, I was then told that the footage was suddenly no longer recoverable.
I have expressed my concerns multiple times, and after everything, I am left without the raw footage from my wedding day and essentially received an apology. I have not been offered a refund, meaningful compensation, or even a reduction in the cost of the other footage that they say may still be recoverable.
I understand the six-month retention policy and that I should have made sure my files were properly backed up. But I also believe that when a company is entrusted with capturing irreplaceable wedding memories, the way they communicate with and support their customers matters tremendously.
My wedding day cannot be recreated, and neither can the memories contained in those videos.
I sincerely wish I had chosen a different videographer, and based on my experience, I would not recommend this company to couples looking for someone to preserve such an important day.
