The story began when a friend desired to film his wedding. With limited funds, he soon discovered video was not an option - and sadly, he was unable to film his wedding. We asked ourselves: why is nobody servicing his needs? His family should be able to reflect back on those moments and vows. Their children should be able to enjoy family history.
We noticed that most videographers cares more about making money, or improving their portfolio, than helping a family capture history. We thought everybody should be able to afford video - so we set out to create Vanilla Video and liberate raw footage for all. Guided by the idea that everybody should be able to access their history, we pushed ourselves to reinvent videography as a service.
We noticed that most videographers cares more about making money, or improving their portfolio, than helping a family capture history. We thought everybody should be able to afford video - so we set out to create Vanilla Video and liberate raw footage for all. Guided by the idea that everybody should be able to access their history, we pushed ourselves to reinvent videography as a service.
Services
We service the surrounding suburbs - travel pricing will be calculated for regions beyond Chicago. Visit our Pricing Page. Our videographers travel across the nation - guaranteeing premium service for customers. With our world-class logistics and project tracking, Vanilla Video can handle it with ease.
It mostly depends on your project. We handle projects big and small, and have completed over 4,000 projects. Depending on your requirements, budget and our vast experience, we will make a recommendation - while still allowing you to decide the crew final size. Most projects do not need more than 2 videographers, but we can accommodate larger crews.
Yes, each videographer is equipped with wireless lavaliere microphones. Each camera is able to handle two wireless lavaliere microphones - if you require more than two monitored mics, we will need to bring additional cameras and / or a sound-mixer to handle those inputs.
We have hardwired microphones which record separately from our cameras; so, while we are technically able to record multiple speakers without a sound-mixer, these channels would be unmonitored and would require some level of post-production to mix the sound into the final video.Our videographers typically bring at least two lavaliere microphones - one wireless, and one hardwired in-case the frequencies are all taken.
We have hardwired microphones which record separately from our cameras; so, while we are technically able to record multiple speakers without a sound-mixer, these channels would be unmonitored and would require some level of post-production to mix the sound into the final video.Our videographers typically bring at least two lavaliere microphones - one wireless, and one hardwired in-case the frequencies are all taken.
Looking for a world-class video production team to handle all of your business video projects? Vanilla Video is trusted by Fortune 500 companies - fast, affordable and easy to work with. Loved by Thousands - Why more companies choose Vanilla Video, and prefer working with our laid-back, professional and cool-as-a-cucumber team.
Looking for a wedding videographer in Chicago? Vanilla Video has completed over 4,000 video projects with our team of professional videographers. Discover why Chicago chooses Vanilla Video. Choose your level of editing for your wedding - raw footage, basic cleanup or a highlight. Vanilla Video can edit long-length highlights to your specification, and feature your wedding day at depth.
Reviews (25)
Jamie Cheval
Nov 07, 2021
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We hired Vanilla Video as our videographers for our wedding on Saturday. They were wonderful to work with and I can’t recommend them enough. They were professional, creative, and personable, and they collaborated well with our photographers so everyone was on the same page all night long. I can’t wait to see our wedding video because I know it’s going to be amazing!
Danny Dubin
Aug 29, 2021
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Positive: Professionalism, Quality, Responsiveness, Value
Vanilla Video fit our needs perfectly! We wanted a professional staff to deliver raw footage for our wedding, and Vanilla Video was so easy. They were with us throughout multiple wedding date changes, due to COVID, and they made it super easy. I'm excited to see our footage to remember for years to come. Thank you!!
Vanilla Video fit our needs perfectly! We wanted a professional staff to deliver raw footage for our wedding, and Vanilla Video was so easy. They were with us throughout multiple wedding date changes, due to COVID, and they made it super easy. I'm excited to see our footage to remember for years to come. Thank you!!
Charlotte Smarte
Nov 10, 2020
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Lorie M.
Oct 26, 2020
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What's a couple to do when they plan a wedding which includes guests from around the globe, a pandemic hits and essentially only locals can attend their wedding? Why, call Vanilla Video, of course!
Frank was fantastic explaining the various packages and which one fit our needs. We never imagined having a videographer, as we were quite happy with our photographer. But, as the world changed, we realized that we needed a live stream of our ceremony for all to view in real time.
In the package we chose, we received 3 hours of coverage. We never imagined how special the "getting ready
Frank was fantastic explaining the various packages and which one fit our needs. We never imagined having a videographer, as we were quite happy with our photographer. But, as the world changed, we realized that we needed a live stream of our ceremony for all to view in real time.
In the package we chose, we received 3 hours of coverage. We never imagined how special the "getting ready
Cartina K.
Sep 23, 2020
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Vanilla Video was extremely kind in working with us as we planned a wedding during a pandemic. That allowed us to reschedule our date without any issues. They also worked with us when we had to unfortunately cancel the wedding. We will definitely call Vanilla Video to do our wedding when we are able to get married!! Thank you!
Jenny B.
Jun 29, 2020
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I can't say enough great things about Vanilla Video! I decided less than 2 weeks before my NYE wedding that I wanted to have a videographer. I stumbled across them and they were super affordable. I spoke to someone over the phone and had it confirmed right away. It was one of the easiest vendors I booked for my wedding and the one I stressed about the least! I believe I booked the "vanilla" package. I just wanted to capture the ceremony and speeches and ultimately it made sense financially to cover the rest of the reception. I can't say enough great things about Frank who shot
Shannon McGregor
Jan 24, 2020
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Robert Gottlieb
Dec 26, 2019
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For our wedding video, we weren’t looking for anything too edited or fancy. We just wanted the raw footage to remember the event. Thankfully, we found Vanilla Video, and they provided us exactly that for a pretty reasonable price! The videographer they sent over was very nice and professional, and he worked with our photographer to make sure all the important moments were captured. We just went through the raw footage (several hours-worth!), and it was both extremely watchable and worked as a great representation of the day! This was exactly what we were looking for! We would definitely recommend
Tiffany & Kara Otis
Nov 14, 2019
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Vanilla Video was one of our favorite vendors to work with! They were all friendly and personable. Our videographer was Ian. He did such a fantastic job on capturing the special moments from our day! The company is affordable and your video will come accessible on Vimeo and you are able to save directly to your computer. Thank you Vanilla Video. Would absolutely recommend.
Emily Moore
Sep 20, 2019
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Super easy to work with. Affordable. Flexible.
We didn't want anything too fancy- just wanted video coverage to remember our special day. Vanilla video did just that. I loved all of our coverage. It was emailed to us a few weeks after the wedding. They're downloadable but also saved on their site indefinitely (for now). We even have the option for raw footage to be edited into a montage.
Would highly recommend working with them!
We didn't want anything too fancy- just wanted video coverage to remember our special day. Vanilla video did just that. I loved all of our coverage. It was emailed to us a few weeks after the wedding. They're downloadable but also saved on their site indefinitely (for now). We even have the option for raw footage to be edited into a montage.
Would highly recommend working with them!
Francis D.
Jul 08, 2019
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Ian was the videographer for my wedding day and did an EXCELLENT job! I'm an extremely picky person when it comes to videography and looked at a lot of different videographers. For the professional grade quality and price - hands down these guys offer one of the best value services. A lot of videographers have shaky hands, or don't know how to captures scenes and special moments in a way that looks professional. Ian was able to capture our day very well and wasn't intrusive. The raw footage they provide also has some editing and transitions added in that make even the "raw"
John M.
Apr 12, 2019
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My organization, the National Social Anxiety Center, reached out to Vanilla Video to have two of our presentations at a national conference videotaped. From beginning to end, our interactions with the support staff and videographer were exceptional.
Tom Casselman was our videographer. Tom was prompt, professional, and trustworthy. He did a famous job of recording the two presentations. The editing work was professional and exactly what we wanted.
I contacted two other videographer organizations before deciding on Vanilla Video. Their estimates were virtually double. If you're a
Tom Casselman was our videographer. Tom was prompt, professional, and trustworthy. He did a famous job of recording the two presentations. The editing work was professional and exactly what we wanted.
I contacted two other videographer organizations before deciding on Vanilla Video. Their estimates were virtually double. If you're a
Dacia Rodrigue
Jan 20, 2019
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O M G!!!! That video was AMAZING!! Thank you so much for helping us share our wedding with our guests, friends, and family. The service you provided was amazing. Not short of amazing. The 24 hour turn-around...we had complete confidence in you and you all came thorough like the champs that you are. David + I appreciated the vision, the direction, the service, and the professionalism shown toward us, our guests, and the venue (which was amazing). I bet filming at Soldier Field was as great for you as it was for us. We could not ever imagined anything like we received. It was a full on production
Jordan H.
Dec 28, 2018
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We decided last minute that we wanted a videographer for our wedding, so my husband reached out to Vanilla Video - we are so happy they were available to shoot our wedding day! It turned out to be a great decision and we are so grateful to have a beautiful wedding video. We chose the option that included a 5 minute highlight video and then raw, but edited footage from the rest of the day. It was very affordable compared to other videographers in Chicago, but the quality was fantastic! So happy we have this video to look back on for years to come.
Diane G.
Oct 19, 2018
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Omg. These guys are the best! I can't say enough about them. When my daughter told me that a videographer was not in her budget because of expense, I quickly went yelp shopping. From the moment of contact I felt I had found the right company. They were professional and attentive from the start and reasonable. What a great value. We ordered the raw video with a montage and it brought the wedding back to life weeks after the wedding for a lifetime of beautiful memories A shout out to our videographer Tom. What a kind professional and excellent guy who did an outstanding job. I can't thank
Kimberly A.
Jul 15, 2018
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Vanilla Video was amazing. The booking process was so simple and they were able to customize a perfect video package within our budget! Nick was our videographer and he was an absolute pleasure to work with. He was professional, on time, and did a great job at just being in the background during our day to capture the best candids! I could just tell he had really great attention to detail. We cannot wait to see our video and highlight reel!!
Lindsey K.
Jul 02, 2018
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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!
Andrea H.
Nov 26, 2017
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Hiring Vanilla Video was the quickest and easiest step in the wedding planning process. No real decisions to make, no major fuss...amazing!
Like most people, I wasn't sure I wanted to pay for a videographer. I considered asking my teenage cousin to film it on her phone but I quickly realized that my wedding would be no match for the latest incoming snapchat so I broke down and decided that I needed to hire someone. Most options out there cost a fortune and I was working on a limited budget. I also figured that, if someone was coming out to film the entire day, I wanted more than a 2
Like most people, I wasn't sure I wanted to pay for a videographer. I considered asking my teenage cousin to film it on her phone but I quickly realized that my wedding would be no match for the latest incoming snapchat so I broke down and decided that I needed to hire someone. Most options out there cost a fortune and I was working on a limited budget. I also figured that, if someone was coming out to film the entire day, I wanted more than a 2
Cythia N.
Nov 09, 2017
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The reviews on yelp helped me make the decision to go with Vanilla, and the results were right on! I felt I must pay it forward and leave a review! They filmed for my wedding and the results were great! The best video montage, best footage, and I am able to get pictures from the video to capture moments the photographer missed!
I wanted to feed the videographer at my wedding and they didn't want to eat... I hope in the future they allow themselves a nice meal too!
I will use them again for any videographer needs! So glad I went with Vanilla Video!!
I wanted to feed the videographer at my wedding and they didn't want to eat... I hope in the future they allow themselves a nice meal too!
I will use them again for any videographer needs! So glad I went with Vanilla Video!!
Samantha D.
Nov 04, 2017
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Great!! super easy , simple and affordable! we used them for our wedding ceremony and it was just like a home video except it wasnt like blair witch! i highly suggest saving the money on a big videographer and going with these guys! they are laid back and fit right in! this was a great choice for us! thanks!
Stacey R.
Oct 18, 2017
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I have not seen the video yet from our daughter's wedding this past weekend, but I am thoroughly impressed with our videographer, Tom. He was punctual, courteous, calm, even with the day-long continuous downpour. He was discreetly 'everywhere' but never in the way. Let me tell you my favorite thing of all. Unbeknownst to me, he let my daughter know that he was about to leave - after the agreed upon ten hours - unless there was anything else that she wished him to film. Then he asked me the same thing! I had just asked the DJ to play a special song requested by my son, for he and
Janey G.
Sep 27, 2017
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Originally I was not going to get a videographer for my wedding because I did not want to spend thousands of dollars when I already had a nice photographer. A month before the wedding I decided to look into it again because I was worried I wouldn't remember all the sweet details of the day. I ended up finding Vanilla Video and I'm so glad I did. They were able to provide exactly what I was looking for - just raw footage, simple - for such a great price! They were very easy to work with and captured everything important. They sent me the video less than a week after the wedding!
I am
I am
Jp B.
Aug 02, 2017
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I can't say how deeply thankful I am to hire these guys to do my engagement proposal. Not only were they punctual, but they were the utmost professial company I have worked with. They were kind and very patient with the what I wanted to get out from them. They provided everything to me in a quick turn around and I cannot ask for more. I requested to only get the raw footage as I wanted to do the editing myself. Below is the edited version of our video. Enjoy and check out the quality!
https://vimeo.com/228060714
https://vimeo.com/228060714
Bethany M.
Apr 10, 2017
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I was not sure I wanted videography for my wedding, but I had used Vanilla Video through work, and I was not disappointed. We only recorded our ceremony, and it turned out perfectly. It really was nice to go back and watch the ceremony afterwards because the day does go so quickly.
They're so easy to work with and they reply so quickly. The pricing is straight forward and reasonable for what it is. I am so happy that we went ahead and decided to film part of the day!
They're so easy to work with and they reply so quickly. The pricing is straight forward and reasonable for what it is. I am so happy that we went ahead and decided to film part of the day!
Dina R.
Nov 10, 2016
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Similar to other reviewers we were on the fence to invest in a videographer for our wedding. After doing some research I came across VanillaVideo and saw such great feedback. Throughout the process VanillaVideo was quick to answer any questions I had and Frank with Vanilla Support was always extremely helpful! Our footage from the wedding was exactly what we were looking for and caught so many moments I missed. I can't wait to show our clips from Vanilla Video to family and friends!! I highly reccomend!
