We weren't sure we wanted, or could afford, a videographer for our wedding. When we found Vanilla Video, we decided to go for it. They made it easy to stay on budget and customize the moments and footage you want to capture. During the wedding day, the videographer was friendly and professional. We received out montage video and all the raw footage three weeks after our wedding and couldn't be happier! Definitely worth the money! read more

We used VanillaVideo for a bunch (40+) video clips for our business and now will be having them film three online academies for us. They are professional, reasonable and extremely easy to work with - I was the hard one for them because the night before our scheduled shoot, I had to cancel due to a family emergency. Frank called me back at 2:00 a.m. - literally 5 minutes after I called and left the message that I need to cancel. I was upset and Frank was amazing. We rescheduled for a week later, had a fantastic videographer (Ian) and got our videos back as promised - both the raw video and the edited clips. We could not be happier! In fact, we are scheduling the next 2-day video taping today! read more

Kind, professional, easy to work with, great price! What more can you ask for!! We wanted a video of our ceremony to watch again and again and it was one of the best decisions we made!! Thank you Vanilla Video, you are wonderful!! read more

This is a really long review but I wanted to cover all the things that I was worried about before (1. having no communications with our videographer until he showed up at the wedding - you can send info and requests beforehand via the main customer service email, but that's it, 2. having non-stylized video and having it look boring as a result, 3. not being able to edit it myself with no experience, and 4. having a videographer who got in the way of the photographers or was otherwise inexperienced since we couldn't interview him ahead of time like we did with other vendors) and explain why none of it turned out to be an issue. We weren't sure if we wanted videography for our wedding, but figured as Vanilla Video was so affordable, it wouldn't be a bad idea to just have video to supplement to our photos. We thought that even if it didn't turn out great, at least the two of us would enjoy watching it and reliving it, even if we didn't share it with others. Well now that I'm halfway through editing our video, I am SO happy we decided to get video and especially from Vanilla Video. Our videographer Ian was great. He showed up on time, at sort of a hidden location while we were taking our photographs (no address but he found it with no issues). And then he just melted into the background the rest of the day. He worked great with the photographers. Also, he was such a trooper with his heavy equipment during the first part of the hot day when he had to carry everything while we walked. And although we didn't have a relationship with him before like we did with our photographers (don't expect to fawned over like your other vendors do to you because you're not paying for that; you're paying for affordable, straightforward service) he was really nice and we liked him immediately. I waited to write the review until we got the footage (took 2 weeks because of the busy season). We purchased 6 hours of coverage, got 2 hrs of footage, and it is great! Ian got everything we would have wanted him to get (we didn't give him any direction beforehand), and he also got some surprisingly artistic and beautiful shots while we were getting our photos taken, so he has a good eye for composition (and did some nice camera panning on several shots). I'm about halfway done cutting the video down to about 30 minutes we can share with people (I also want to make a 10 minute version when I'm done, I'm having so much fun doing it!), and it looks AMAZING! I watched one YouTube iMovie tutorial to get started and did some googling, but it's been super easy learning as I go along, and once you add music and play around with the audio (interlacing the vows over background music, etc.) it will look and sound amazing and surprisingly look like a pro edited it! I'm still figuring out the best way to color edit my video, but iMovie also lets you really make the colors pop like a professional video. I'm shocked at how easy it is and how lovely the video is turning out (hint: watch a lot of professionally produced wedding videos online to get a sense for the style you want to emulate and also to feel happy about having spent 1/4 of the cost that other couples spent to get a video that looks just as good). And something great that I didn't anticipate is that the process of editing the video myself is so much fun. You'll have to watch and listen to the same video sections over and over again as you try to clip it and arrange it in exactly the way you want, but it's so wonderful to relive the day and although the work is lots of minutiae, it won't feel tedious because watching your wedding never gets old. Also, I really love that I get to decide which clips I want instead of someone else so I can include the clips that depict people and moments that a videographer/editor might not necessarily realize are important to us. Vanilla Video is absolutely right that you don't need someone else to provide the finished product for you if you're willing to put in a little time and it's so worth it for not only the cost savings, but the level of control you get over all of your footage. read more

Vanilla Video was just what we were looking for--a nice video memory of our wedding at a reasonable price! We were going back and forth on whether we should get a videographer or not and I was so glad when I found Vanilla Video after reading that the biggest regret of so many brides is that they didn't splurge for a video. Their price was reasonable, and they were relatively easy to work with. My only complaints were that they weren't totally flexible on their timing, (I requested that they arrive 15 minutes earlier and end filming 15 minutes earlier than originally planned and they said they couldn't do it since they wouldn't schedule on the quarter hour, only on the half hour) and I would suggest designating someone else to be the point of contact for the videographer--as the bride, worrying about the videographer wasn't something that I wanted to do on my wedding day. But overall, although the videos weren't Academy Award-winning masterpieces, we have nice video remembrances of our special day and I'd recommend them as a good value (and who doesn't need that when they are dealing with tons of wedding costs?) read more

I had the chance to meet and work with Vanilla Video when they produced a new introduction video for Green Home Experts. (Check out the video at youtube.com/user/GreenHomeExperts.) The results were great and they were so easy to work with! Their professional guidance, shooting skills, willingness to do whatever necessary to get your message across, completely dependable, fast turnaround time, and they delivered on their promise. Great resource for small business owners on a limited budget who want to use video to promote their business. I will use again and recommend to my clients. read more

Vanila video is amazing!they showed up there before we did.they were ready right away.they did a great job and i loved all of it but the best part is the lshort videos.so easy to share with friends and family with no waiting for weeks.they filmed my wedding on july 21 st and did amazing.the only thing i have trouble with was trying to contact them to order more dvd after the wedding.my advice would be make sure you order everything befiore so there is no hassle.i highly recommend them,thank you vanila video, read more

We were extremely happy with Vanilla Video for our wedding videography! Their video packages and customer service were straightforward and easy to book. Their prices were extremely reasonable and affordable. We went with a single camera footage for 6 hours. We received our wedding video within a few days which was so nice to re-watch after our wedding day flew by so quickly. We would highly recommend Vanilla Video! read more

I am an event planner in the Chicago area. I hired Vanilla Video for a 220 person event at the Bridgeport Art Center / Skyline Loft on 6/25/16. They were very professional from first contact to delivery of final product. Frank quoted the job and was my main contact person; his follow-up and follow-through were excellent. Cassie was the on-site Videographer and did a tremendous job. Although it took longer than normal to get the final product, their professionalism, quality and price made it worth the wait. I will definitely use Vanilla Video again and highly recommend their services. read more

Literally 4 days before our wedding, my husband and I were looking for a videographer. We discovered Vanilla Video on yelp and amazingly they had an opening for our wedding. They were super nice and professional and actually sent us two videographers instead of one because they had a last minute vacancy. Both were very nice and professional . The final raw video was beautiful and we still enjoy watching out one year later! read more

We got married August 2013 I really wanted to have a videographer however everyone seemed to be at least $1200 and up this just was not in our budget. I. Found vanilla video on the knot website and was so pleased! My fiancé and I love watching our video I only wish we hired them the entire day they were worth every penny!!! read more

Vanilla Video, there is nobody like them!! They are beyond-words-amazing. They filmed my husband and I's wedding day this past March. We could not be happier with the footage. The part about Vanilla that originally drew us to them, is that you get all of your raw footage and can choose to add on different edited versions. We loved this! This is exactly what we wanted! We knew that a few clips set to cheesy background music is not our style. Instead we wanted to be able to watch the day just as it happened. We have hours of raw footage from the day and a few different edited versions to show friends and family as well. Frank was our main contact at the Vanilla office. He made everything very easy to plan and designed a package of coverage that fit exactly what we needed. On the wedding day, our videographers (we had two, Cassie and Nick) fit seamlessly into the flow of our day. They captured all our most special moments, without being intrusive. In re-watching our videos, my husband and I get so excited to see how they captured the little nuances, glances, details of the day, and at the same time we didn't even know they were there. No cameras in your face. Our guests and wedding party raved about how inconspicuous they were, yet present at all the right moments:) I don't know how they did it, but they did. Having a lasting video of our wedding day was a priority for my husband and I, and we are so happy we chose the style and skill of Vanilla Video. A great big THANK YOU to Frank, Nick, Cassie, and the whole Vanilla Video Team!! read more

When I was planning my wedding, I really struggled on whether or not I should have videographers, given that they tend to be so expensive. I'm so glad I went with Vanilla Video. I was lucky enough to work with Frank and Nick, and both are very talented and easy to work with. They provided raw footage of the wedding, and were able to capture special moments that I otherwise would never have seen. I'm using that raw footage to create a highlight video of the wedding. The great footage Nick and Frank captured has made this process easy and fun. And because I'm just getting raw footage, I saved a lot of money on videography. I highly recommend Vanilla Video! read more

Vanilla Video did a great job for me. My project involved child actors who were not easy to work with. VV was patient, flexible, dependable, and responsive. They delivered the footage in an easy and convinient way. Couldn't have asked for anything more. Highly recommended read more

Our wedding was at the end of April, 2013. We booked Vanilla Video within three weeks of our wedding day as we decided last minute. The e mail support was fast and helpful. This company will allow you break up your video coverage so you don't have to pay for an package that spans 8-10 hours. The video of our ceremony and reception was great. Our wedding was on a Saturday night and a link to our videos was sent to us the following Tuesday morning. They provided us with 16 ~2 minute clips then one full length video of the reception and one full length video of the ceremony. You can then e mail links to others and/or download the data onto a flash drive. Highly recommended. read more

Vanilla Video recorded our wedding ceremony in early March 2013. They were very nice and professional throughout the entire process. I couldn't imagine spending $4000 on a videographer since I only wanted to capture the ceremony - not my drunk friends or any craziness that happened at the reception! I wasn't sure about getting a videographer at all, but they were so reasonable and easy to work with, I'm really glad I did. If you're not sure if you should get a videographer, let me tell you as an uncertain bride myself, it is so worth it. The reason being that as a bride you want to see everything and experience it all, but you are hidden away from view until you are about to walk down the aisle. I missed the wedding party walking down the aisle and all the cute things the flower girl did! Now I can see it all as I would if I'd been a guest. I only got an hour of film, but now looking back, I wish I'd had them stay for the toasts at dinner. Our best men were hilarious and I had no idea how much I'd want that on tape! One additional comment is that if you care what your videographer is wearing, you may want to ask them what what they normally wear to weddings. I think our videographer was wearing a tshirt, but it really didn't matter to me since we had a pretty casual wedding. The video turned out great and I'm so happy I listened to my friends and got the ceremony on film! read more