Which people to mic for the ceremony?

[mark-mvs]

Hello gang. So I read some posts on this but wanted to get some fresh input as well. I had originally thought of using 3 wireless lav mics for the ceremony. One on the bride, on the the groom and one on the officiant. But then realized there's no great way to stick a lav mic on a wedding dress, plus they're hard to find in White!

A dj told me that he puts a lav on the officiant and  another lav on the groom and says that the groom's mic will pick up the bride well enough. I find that a little hard to believe.

What about putting my SM-58 mic on a mic stand about a foot from the loudspeaker?

I'll get some useable audio from the mics on my a camera and b camera (the one on the tripod behind the officiant and off to the side) but I like the idea of lots of audio back ups.

What do you all think?

Thanks

[BillGrant]

Mark,
I generally mic the groom with a wireless and the minister with a non wireless(Iriver IFP-795) mic. The bride is picked up well enough in the grooms mic. Mic the loudspekaer if you want. Maybe with a H2 or some type of recorder. I would not run a mic cable through a church for any length personally.
Bill

[ampsonic]

I don't know of any bride that's gonna let you hide a mic on her dress....

[HankCastello]

I've never seen a case where the bride needed to be mic'd.  It's true, the groom's mic will pick her up just fine.  They're always facing each other when saying their vows and if she speaks before that, she's facing the officiant.

Mic the officiant; mic the groom.  If you have a third lav, mic the father of the bride (fob) - after all, he's probably the guy paying for the video!  And besides, this is often the most emotional audio of the whole ceremony!

Now, what about the music?  See if you can get a cd of all music tracks being played at the ceremony.  Live music?  You need a mic for every instrument and every vocalist.  For backup, place a mic about a foot in front of a loud speaker (tough to do when they're in the ceiling!) and/or tap the sound board.

We have had cases where the flower girl would say something special or even sing a short song.  My wife made a white slip-on cover for the transmitter which attached to her sash, in back.  A white fur muff over the lav covered that part.

[mark-mvs]

Wow, I stand corrected, I wouldn't have thought that the groom lav would be able to get the bride as well! Well that's good news.

Speaking of wireless, do you all have a preference between the portable systems where the receiver runs on batteries and the systems where the receiver must plug into a wall? I like the idea of the portable because I wouldn't be tied to a power outlet and I can also use it during other parts of the wedding day easilly. On the other hand the portable systems seem to be more expensive.

Also I haven't decided if it's better to plug into the dj soundboard or do the mic in front of the speaker thing. I've heard some horror stories about plugging into the dj board where the dj accidentally unplugged the videographer feed, or changed levels or whatever. Where as if with the mic in front of the speaker, you're always getting the finished audio mix and you control the levels of your recording. On the other hand if there is no "user error" on the part of the dj, then a feed from the board would be clean and echo/feedback free.

Hmmm....

[HankCastello]

1] Stay portable, go with batteries.  I never plug anything into an outlet on a wedding shoot - not even my digital recorder.  I used to plug the DR in, but one time it got unplugged because a musician needed the outlet for an amp. Trouble is, they never let me know!

2] Place a mic in front of the loudspeaker (just make sure it's a "live" speaker!).  Nothing can mess you up that way.  Odds drop to about 60% on tapping soundboads, mostly because operators don't know their boards and will throw switches that mess up your audio.  Also, by miking the speaker, you get just a touch of ambient which makes your sound seem more "real".

Added:

Always use brand-new batteries (we use Duracell). Give the used ones to the kids for their toys, or use them on non-event shoots.  Batteries are cheap, mistakes (like dead batteries) are not.

[HankCastello]

I missed that "echo, feedback free" part -

You won't get echo with a mic one foot in front of a loudspeaker.  You will get feedback either way.  If there is feedback, it comes through the board as well as the speakers.

[Waldemar]

Keeping in mind two truths; the first being the best position for a microphone is that location closest to the source of the sound, which works in a controlled environment, and the second being a wedding is just about as far away as one can get from a controlled environment ...  this  commentary is a mix of what I like to do and what I really do.

I would prefer to have a microphone on everyone who is designated to speak, sing, or whatever with a few backups strategically placed "just in case".  I really like having a mic on the bride, groom, and officiant (see truth #1).  for a short period of time around the turn of the century bridal dress design actually allowed room to place a wireless lapel mic.  In my career I have actually had brides who could grasp the importance of wearing a mic and were also fully willing to integrate one into their dress.  However, the number of adventurous brides willing to add one more "piece of jewelry" wouldn't be an attention getter for any statistician.

If the groom and officiant are wearing omni-directional lapel mics or you have a clean house PA connection to tap, the reality is there is enough close proximity of microphones to allow an acceptable or better voice track.  So my reality is to mic the officiant and groom (truth #2).

My system is four wireless mics, a couple of shotgun mics, and an mp3 recorder.  Thus far, I've used two mics.

The mp3 recorder mic is used in one of two places.  The outdoor venue gets a stereo mic hidden in close proximity to the ceremony site.  The church location is either a pa tap or close to a loudspeaker.

The camera shotgun mics sole reason for being is to gather ambient audio and establish a reference track for all other audio not recorded to a camera timeline.

That leaves the last two wireless microphones.  Mostly they are reserved for either musicians or family/friend commentary during the ceremony.  However, they will be used to their best advantage.

I also use a 4 channel audio mixer for the wireless system, which allows me to choose which mic to use when. Microphones not being used are eliminated from the recording and then brought back into the recording when they are being used.  It is a simple process, but demands practice before using in a live environment.  Makes post production easier. The important issue is whether this arrangement will fit within your workflow.

A SM58 is a great microphone if it is placed a foot or less from the sound source.  After that, its ability to capture amazing audio falls off very quickly.  In its place I would suggest a hand held omni-directional mic like many newscasters use.  Mine is a very old EV 635 (I think).  Fantastic in a closed recording situation,  difficult when connected to a PA system.

Connecting all of my equipment into AC power is a first priority.  I prefer my gear connected to a reliable power source.  Should AC power fail, batteries are the back-up.  In situations where there is no power (and there is a lot of that in my area)  voltage inverters and small industrial batteries (the kind radio and TV stations use for their relay stations) will adequately power my entire system for about an hour. 

Anyway, my experiences for your consideration.

 

[DavidPartington]

Most of the officiants I have come across lately don't want to be mic'd so I have had to make do with a mic on the groom and try to pick up the officiant via the Groom's mic in a civil ceremony (not ideal) or via a speaker in a church, or possibly the sound board in the church (you can't rely on this one).    I've also been lucky that in a couple of churches the officiant was using their own wireless system that I could tune in to using one of my spare wireless receivers, so I didn't have to mic them but did get a direct feed

[HankCastello]

Most of the officiants I have come across lately don't want to be mic'd

I used to have this problem occasionally.  Even wrote an article about one of those times "The Balky Minister".  Anymore, I don't "ask", I tell the officiant (at the rehearsal) that he'll be wearing an extra mic for the wedding video and that I'll do a radio check before the ceremony to ensure there will be no interference.  I keep it low-key and tell them in a "matter of fact" tone, and haven't had any problems since I adapted this technique instead of "asking".

[DavidPartington]

Thanks Hank.  I'll try it.   

I am sure that adding a Mic to a woman wearing a tight(ish) suit that is light in color and has no pockets is always going to be interesting   But I'll try it and let you know how it goes

The last 3 weddings have not even had a rehearsal and the registrar has also been late arriving for two of them, leaving zero time for extras like adding microphones    I'll have work on that technique. 

[HankCastello]

I think those no-rehearsal weddings and officiants that are too busy to be concerned with an extra mic, are indicative of your lower-end weddings.  As your prices go up, you'll start getting more upscale weddings where they always have rehearsals and the officiants tend to be more accomodating.

[HankCastello]

I am sure that adding a Mic to a woman wearing a tight(ish) suit that is light in color and has no pockets is always going to be interesting..

One of the perks of the job! 

No, seriously - it's just another reason why wedding videography is the perfect business for couples.  It is awkward for a man to wire a lady and to be shooting in the ladies dressing room.

The women (in the dressing room) are so much more relaxed when a lady videographer is with them instead of a male.  The prep video we get, proves the point.  My wife's prep shots really set the stage, emotion-wise, etc., for the rest of the video.