No, it wasn't a necessary expense, but hiring a videographer to capture my big day was one of the best decisions I made while planning my wedding. At the time, I was 24 years old with very few friends who had tied the knot, and I wasn't sure if I could justify the expense. On the one hand, I thought I might leave the video in an email or inside a box somewhere and forget about it, but on the other, I knew it could be the perfect look back at our special day — one I'd watch again and again, tearing up literally every single time I pressed play. Well, spoiler alert: the latter is true. (Slightly embarrassing, but true.)

Our videographer, Geoff Boothby [1] of Sharkpig [2], let us choose the songs for our videos — yep, we heard that "Overwhelmed" song in a Sam Adams beer commercial — and when I watch the clips now, I still wonder how he seemed to be everywhere at once, there for all the most memorable moments. And sure, our wedding pictures [3] definitely capture the magic of the day, but nothing stirs up the memories quite like the videos, which tell the story in a matter of minutes. Honestly, at this point, I can't imagine not having these gorgeous, curated looks back at our wedding day, and I'm so grateful that I adjusted our budget to make it work.