Should I videotape my wedding/special event?
The biggest regret couples have after their wedding is not having a professional video created of their big day. In fact, couples that do get professional video, from us at least (especially those couples on the fence), wind up finding it was BY FAR the best investment they could have made on their wedding day. You can read their comments yourself in our Feedback area. Only video allows you to relive all of those special moments as they unfolded. Hear the vows, see the kiss, experience everything all over again. Think about this: Would you like to see a video of your parent's, or even grandparent's wedding? Not just a video, but a cinematic presentation of those events? Sure you would. Would your kids or grandkids love to see a cinematic video of your big day one day? You bet. We've all been around the table during a holiday with family going through the old photo albums of yesteryear. How cool would it be to pop in a DVD of some weddings from that era? You're not just documenting the couple's biggest day of their lives, but you're capturing the rare occasion of two families coming together. That doesn't happen too often in life.

Why shouldn't I just have my Uncle Charlie do it for free?
Although Uncle Charlie has the best of intentions, does he have the proper equipment to do the job right? Does he have the stamina, know-how and experience when it comes to filming a wedding? Can he anticipate the important events and know what to film and when? With all due respect to Uncle Charlie, more than likely, the answer to all of those questions is no... and those questions are just the tip of the iceburg. If you reallly think about it, capturing, producing and creating professional video in the editing process is much more demanding than photography, by far. Why then wouldn't you just let your Aunt Betsy take your pictures on the day of your wedding? For the same reason you shouldn't bank on Uncle Charlie doing a good job on your wedding day with video. Your wedding day is too important to chance when it comes to photo or video services. It's a one time thing and should be left to professionals.

Why do you charge as much as some photographers?
In reality, many photographers rates start much higher than even our most expensive package. Many couples have the common misconception that video isn't that important when it comes to wedding planning. If those couples read the feedback we receive from virtually all of our clients on the Feedback page, they would probably have a different view. Professional video has come a long way in last 10-15 years, and well produced video is quite simply priceless. That aside, a typical project from preparation to shooting, from supply expenses to editing can take up to a combined 60 hours of work to execute. Average the package cost out over that time frame with a percentage of yearly equipment and maintenance costs factored into each wedding we shoot, you'll find the payoff for us is modest to say the least. The real payoff is knowing our work will touch a countless number of lives. In that, we take great, great pride and have an absolute passion for what we do.

Are you experienced with different cultures?
You bet. We're experienced with any denomination of Christian faith, from Catholicism to Presbyterian, frequently handle Jewish ceremonies and are also well experienced with Hindu-Indian and traditional Asian cultures such as Chinese and Japanese weddings, as well as traditional Greek, African and other cultural ceremonies. With 600 weddings under our belts now, we've handled them all! That aside, we're really only there to document the day as it unfolds. So no matter what denomination your ceremony might be, the approach is pretty much the same.

How do I know which videographer is right for me?
Well, it depends on what you want out of a videographer. Do you want bright obtrusive lights? Do you want video people and their equipment getting in the way? Being obtrusive? Interviewing guests? Directing the show? Ignoring the photographer? Do you like cheesy graphics? Music? Effects? Do you want VHS tapes with a single DVD sold as a hundred-dollar add-on option? What if the person that you've been dealing with sends some dude off the street that has little to no video experience? Shoot us an email, we'll give you some references for those kinds of videographers.

If you don't want all of that, you've come to the right place. We try to make the decision making process as easy as possible for our clients. We coach those clients on what to expect from us leading up to and including your wedding on our Preparation Page. We 're not going to have bulky equipment, wires or ourselves reaking havoc. We're not going to be in 'competition' with your photographer. We're not going to get in your way or make your guests feel uncomfortable at any time by shoving a camera in their face. In fact, we strive to be invisible and pull that off rather well, as you can again read up on in the Feedback section. Furthermore, we're not going to to try wooing you with being a part of this this video association or with what awards we've won. We don't have time to piddle-paddle. Our work speaks for itself and can be found all over this website. If you don't have a high speed connection, shoot me an email and we'll get together.

What separates Buerhaus Design from the rest?
Besides what I've already talked about above, we're not a large video company that has many different shooting and editing crews. I personally oversee all of our shoots and do all of the editing on all of our projects. My mother Sandyand brother Brandan are my primary 'go-to' videographers on days where I am personally already booked. We work with a regular pool of several other family members of whom I've trained with the same eye for detail I've attained through many years of training as a Graphic Designer and Photographer. You're pretty much in good hands with myself or any of my crew.

How does the booking process work?
Our website is so detailed because we want our clients to be able to make an educated decision about booking with us without even having to meet. We're all very busy in today's world and the more questions our website can answer for you the less time you'll have to worry about catching up with me via email or phone to find out answers. Some vendors will only put basic info on their site without pricing. That's because they probably have super-inflated prices and know the sticker shock online will likely scare you away. Then they have you contact them and set up a face-to-face and waste everyone's time just so you can review their pricing. With me being the only editor and having to edit close to 100 projects per year (between weddings and other events), time is valuable. And I realize so is yours. So we're not going to bait you into anything and just put it all out there, including our prices which, are very fair. We could probably charge a lot more, but I like to sleep at night knowing I'm not ripping anyone off. Clients that like what they see on our site can let me know which package they'd like through email or our Contact Form and I'd get you all set up right through email. Our contract is a simple one page PDF which requires your address and signature, basically.

Can I set up a face-to-face meeting?
Absolutely! Most folks book right through email or after a phone call, but I completely understand some folks still like the good old fashioned face-to-face meeting. I do too actually! So when folks like to meet, due to the nature of my busy schedule, I can do so at a Starbucks location in Bel Air, Abingdon or White Marsh Maryland, or at my home studio in Bel Air... whichever location is more convenient for the client. Alternatively, if it might be difficult to get together or if the client lives across the country, we can always SKYPE too!

How do you prepare for our special/wedding day?
That's easy! Go to the Preparation Page where I've outlined the whole nine yards for you!

Will bright lights and long cables overpower our special event/wedding?
You've felt like it, I've felt like it, and just about anybody who's been to a wedding in the recent past as a guest has probably felt like it too. What am I talking about? That feeling of being a deer in headlights at a wedding reception thanks to the nuclear blast type lighting some videographers use. What about us you say? We use a very discrete setup, involving no cables or overpowering lights. The digital video our cameras and editing software produce is better than the current High Definition standard and our cameras do an excellent job of picking up quality images in very low-light situations and we use a low wattage light only if necessary. It's safe to say that it's rare to see us using a light at all! Actually, some of your guests won't even remember seeing us at all for that matter!

What about catching our vows clearly?
On all shoots we use professional UHF wireless microphones on the groom. That one mic picks up whatever anyone says around him for dozens of feet. All anyone would notice of that set-up, if they notice it at all, is a tiny piece of black foam on the groom's lapel. During the editing process, if the bride's voice is softer, we can isolate her voice alone and 'raiser the volume' to match the groom's voice level. So no more than one wireles mic is necessary. Any readers are picked up clearly using on-board 'shotgun' microphones on our camers. Every now and then we'll have a couple that doesn't want their vows to be heard in the video for whatever reason and we would be happy to honor requests not to use the wireless mics. After the ceremony we always remove the wireless mic from the groom.

How do you work with photographers?
Our goal in working with your photographer(s) is to cooperate closely with them and other wedding vendors to smoothly capture all the events on your special day. We do our best to stay out of the way during the ceremony and reception. Each of us are working in YOUR best interest and we make it a point to know what we expect from one another and how we can support your photographer throughout the day the best we can. We not only want to give you the best video possible, but want to make sure you're also getting the best out of your other vendors.

What's the benefit in having two videographers?
Two videographers come in handy, most importantly, during your ceremony. Especially those ceremonies held in churches that might have strick restrictions on how photographers and videographers can shoot. Although not always necessary, a second videographer will allow the main videographer to film more discreetly as it isn't necessary to check-up on the second or main camera on a tripod as frequently. If you're into guests toasting to the camera, it's especially important to have a second videographer who can solely focus on that while the main videographer focuses on things like your first dance and toasts:)

How many hours of footage do you shoot?
On a typical full day shoot, we'll wind up with anywhere from 3 to 6 hours of raw footage. Each event is unique however, and this could widely vary depending on the schedule of events within any given day. That doesn't mean we're only with you for 3 to 6 hours. With all of our Wedding Video packages, we arrive an hour before your ceremony is expected to start and are with you up to 9 hours on the day-of depending on the package you book with us. Additional hours can be tacked on based on hourly rates if necessary.

What should we expect with editing?
You should expect to laugh, cry and in most cases, be totally blown away with the quality of editing we provide for your video. It's one thing to just film the wedding, but the real art lies at the editing stations. All of our videos come with a cinematic introduction montage of events leading up to the wedding itself. The 'main events', like your ceremony and reception, are presented in real time with what appears to be multiple camera angles. We like to get the ceremony in full on the video, but in some cases we cut out 'down time' to make room for other goodies throughout the day. With some of our premiere packages you get all of your raw footage on a separate disk so if some of those down times aren't in the fully edited video, you'll find them on the raw disk (which can also be purchased as an extra in our lower-tier packages). All of our videos are also capped off with our popular 'Spotlight Video' or 'Classic Highlight Video', which are great to show folks who don't want to sit through your entire video, and we artistically edit other events like pre-ceremony activities and your formal photo shoots.

How long will you take to finish our video?
2-20 weeks depending on the season. Average turnover time is between 4-10 weeks. It is not uncommon for other editing studios and even photographers to take in upwards of 12 months or more to deliver a final product! I'm the only editor and I edit the videos in the order that they're filmed, regardless of who did the day-of shooting. Typically I can complete two videos per week. During our busy seasons though (May-July and then again in September and October), things can get backed up a bit as we film 3 weddings per weekend during those months.

Do you do DVD, VHS or both?
DVD. I'm afraid VHS has gone the way of the 8-Track. We can also deliver your video digitally (on flash USB drives for the Apple TV, for example), online (yes, we can put your entire video online and password protected... up to 2 hours) and in HD on Blu-ray disks or USB drives if you have your event filmed in HD.

How soon before our wedding should we book with you?
Popular summer and fall dates fill up quickly. We recommend booking as soon as possible as it is not uncommon to book six months to one year in advance. Being a small company, we only work with one or two couples per weekend. With that said, we operate on a first come, first served basis. We also work with a professional pool of videographers in the Maryland area that we can refer you too if we are already booked for your date.

We require 50% due at contract to hold your date. If for whatever reason you cancel your date, as long as we can re-book that date you'll get your deposit back. If you simply need to re-schedule, as long as we're free for your new date, your fine!