diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 5d510cd..eb7da9b 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 master
 ======
 
+* Default `record_errors: true` [#52]
+* Add support for configuring `record_errors` [#51]
+
+[#52]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/json_matchers/pull/52
+[#51]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/json_matchers/pull/51
+
 0.6.3
 =====
 
diff --git a/lib/json_matchers/configuration.rb b/lib/json_matchers/configuration.rb
index 507919f..c54dcb0 100644
--- a/lib/json_matchers/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/json_matchers/configuration.rb
@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@ class Configuration
     attr_reader :options
 
     def initialize
-      @options = {}
+      @options = {
+        record_errors: true,
+      }
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/json_matchers/matcher.rb b/lib/json_matchers/matcher.rb
index 1e5fc15..e91f0c3 100644
--- a/lib/json_matchers/matcher.rb
+++ b/lib/json_matchers/matcher.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 require "json-schema"
-require "json_matchers/payload"
+require "json_matchers/validator"
 
 module JsonMatchers
   class Matcher
@@ -9,47 +9,37 @@ def initialize(schema_path, options = {})
     end
 
     def matches?(response)
-      # validate! will not raise and will always return true if you configure
-      # the validator to record errors, so we must instead inspect
-      # fully_validate's errors response
-      if options[:record_errors]
-        errors = JSON::Validator.fully_validate(
-          schema_path.to_s,
-          Payload.new(response).to_s,
-          options,
-        )
-
-        # errors is an array, but it will always only return a single item
-        if errors.any?
-          @validation_failure_message = errors.first
-          false
-        else
-          true
-        end
-      else
-        JSON::Validator.validate!(
-          schema_path.to_s,
-          Payload.new(response).to_s,
-          options,
-        )
-      end
-    rescue JSON::Schema::ValidationError => ex
-      @validation_failure_message = ex.message
+      validator = build_validator(response)
+
+      self.errors = validator.validate!
+
+      errors.empty?
+    rescue JSON::Schema::ValidationError => error
+      self.errors = [error.message]
       false
     rescue JSON::Schema::JsonParseError
       raise InvalidSchemaError
     end
 
     def validation_failure_message
-      @validation_failure_message.to_s
+      errors.first.to_s
     end
 
     private
 
     attr_reader :schema_path, :options
+    attr_accessor :errors
 
     def default_options
       JsonMatchers.configuration.options || {}
     end
+
+    def build_validator(response)
+      Validator.new(
+        options: options,
+        response: response,
+        schema_path: schema_path,
+      )
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/json_matchers/validator.rb b/lib/json_matchers/validator.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f4fd4cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/json_matchers/validator.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+require "json-schema"
+require "json_matchers/payload"
+
+module JsonMatchers
+  class Validator
+    def initialize(options:, response:, schema_path:)
+      @options = options.dup
+      @payload = Payload.new(response).to_s
+      @schema_path = schema_path.to_s
+    end
+
+    def validate!
+      if recording_errors?
+        validate_recording_errors
+      else
+        validate
+      end
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    attr_reader :options, :payload, :schema_path
+
+    def recording_errors?
+      options.fetch(:record_errors, false)
+    end
+
+    def validate_recording_errors
+      JSON::Validator.fully_validate(schema_path, payload, options)
+    end
+
+    def validate
+      JSON::Validator.validate!(schema_path, payload, options)
+
+      []
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/json_matchers/match_response_schema_spec.rb b/spec/json_matchers/match_response_schema_spec.rb
index d8413ee..a634d83 100644
--- a/spec/json_matchers/match_response_schema_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/json_matchers/match_response_schema_spec.rb
@@ -159,13 +159,24 @@
     end
 
     context "when configured to record errors" do
-      it "fails when the body is missing a required property" do
+      it "includes the reasons for failure in the exception's message" do
         with_options(record_errors: true) do
-          create_schema("foo_schema",
-                        "type" => "object",
-                        "required" => ["foo"])
-
-          expect(response_for({})).not_to match_response_schema("foo_schema")
+          create_schema("foo_schema", {
+            "type" => "object",
+            "properties" => {
+              "username" => {
+                "allOf": [
+                  { "type": "string" },
+                  { "minLength": 5 }
+                ]
+              }
+            }
+          })
+          invalid_payload = response_for({ "username" => "foo" })
+
+          expect {
+            expect(invalid_payload).to match_response_schema("foo_schema")
+          }.to raise_error(/minimum/)
         end
       end
     end