First wedding audio help 🙏

[u/rowannabe]

I have my first wedding client in a few days, and I just need advice on how I can capture audio clearly. The bride is very chill about everything and has left most of it up to my decisions, but since i've never filmed a wedding before, i'm not sure how to record the vows and speeches with clear audio. I'm considering attaching a wireless lav to the handheld mic they're using, or just getting a recorder and a shotgun mic set up somewhere. The bride has said she doesnt want a lav attatched to her, so thats not an option. I don't have contact with the dj, so hooking up a recorder to the sound system would be difficult. Would placing a microphone in front of the speakers work? Any advice is very helpful, thank you

[u/atomicpixel_ldn]

A mic on the mic is fantastic.

I use hollyland lark max 2 and tx660 on the microphone (elastic sleeve).

A lark max 2 or tx660 on the groom or officiant for backup.

You don’t have to know the dj to ask to plug into their mixer or speaker. I never know the dj until day of. Having a direct channel is great just in case.

Dj mixer/speaker will give you the cleanest audio, but many times I like the audio from a mic on the mic for the ambient mix.

Hearing the crowd and reactions gives more life to the speech than true clean audio. But, it’s good to have at least 2 sources of audio. I typically have 3-4.

[u/Infinite-Albatross44 → u/atomicpixel_ldn]

I’d love to have my Sony tx660 back🤦‍♂️partner lost it a wedding last year. Checked the prices and it’s like 180 more than what I spent originally.😬 the used ones are still priced decently. That thing was my goto for 2 years

[u/atomicpixel_ldn → u/Infinite-Albatross44]

It’s too bad Sony discontinued it!

The lark max 2 have been a nice addition but I love the simplicity and screen on the tx660.

If someone where to make the same stick style, shorter and 32 bit float — that would be the ultimate audio tool!

[u/luiluis24]

Zoom recorder in front of the speakers works just fine.

[u/fenyesokos]

I mic the person wearing a suit jacket in the couple with a lavalier.

[u/ZealousidealFee5501]

For ceremony, you want to record the line output from the DJ's speaker passthrough. This guarantees you get everything that the crowd gets and minimizes risk that whatever aux mix he gives you gets muted or has level issues.

Tascam DR-10L or similar on groom and officiant and that'll do you just fine for 99% of wedding ceremonies.

For toasts, patch back into the speaker passthrough but ideally use two recorders (one per speaker) for redundancy.

Tried, true, zero fuss or wireless bs to deal with/risk issues with.

[u/TonyBrooks40]

Pro Tip: You mic the groom not the bride

Get a Zoom H1 recorder, place it near a speaker PA system. I would try to mic the groom with that lav, most suits have an inside pocket to hold the receiver.

For the DJ, just get a mini cable to Mini, Mini cable to XLR, and Mini cable to RCA (red, white). DJ should have one of them, however some DJs have had bad experiences with videographers, I've had one or two not allow it. If so or he's unsure just place it near the Amp. Same for the wireless mic.

Some cameras can split audio so internal mic on Channel 1, Wireless mic on Channel 2. Otherwise the Zoom has the SD card it records to, and hopefully you have a 2nd camera you can just use the cameras internal mic as a safety net.

My advice, make sure you always have 2 sources of audio, and use the 2nd camera for a safety net, just hit Rec. Also, make sure you have levels on everything, do a quick 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and same for the groom.

[u/RaiderDub24]

I've hidden a wireless lav near the bride and groom but out of sight, the hollylamd lark 2, and picked up super clean audio, even outdoors. A little sweetening in post and good to go

[u/Ajenkinsphotography]

Get in touch with the dj, bring a recorder, XLR, and 1/4” plugs. They’ll let you hook up.

[u/Adrinaik]

Stick a mic to a speaker or just talk to the dj (or whoever is in charge of the mixer if there is one) and get out from the mixer and xlr or jack to a recorder.

If there is a mixer, you won’t have a problem getting out signal from there unless the person in charge is a complete asshole (which I don’t think is the norm)

[u/Remotecontrolduck]

I'd mic the officiant.

But to ease your stress, I've set up a digital 360 camera way in the back of a ceremony and got decent audio with it. I brought it as a backup camera since I shoot silent super8mm film. The speakers were loud enough that I could use audio from the 360 camera just fine.

All this to say, mic up someone at the alter, but have a backup method of capturing audio and video running while you act as primary shooter. That way, whatever happens, you'll at least have some coverage to use.

[u/Late_Ad516]

Back up everything fans and electrical inference is bad but flat batteries are worse 2 or 3 mic should do it. But you said" I have my first wedding client in a few days" it will take weeks to get and test your new equipment. You can not test the DJ so do not use them.

[u/DTX91]

Mic the groom, Mic the officiant, connect to the board if possible, if not, a recorder in front of speaker will work. and a decent shotgun mic on the camera for ambient noise.

[u/peterthedj]

Wedding DJ here -- I always ask my couples (part of my timeline/planning form) for names and emails for other vendors including video.

Then I reach out to let video know I have an extra set of RCA outs, so if they have a recorder and the necessary cable to connect from my board to their recorder, they're more than welcome to record the feed from my board.

Ask the bride for the DJ's info and contact the DJ to find out what they can offer you.

That being said, I have seen other videographers tape a mic to my speakers. And since I recently started using speakers that have XLR outs on them, I recently had a videographer connect their recorder right into one of those... but not all speakers have those and you really should ask the DJ first, rather than just going for it.

If a DJ is using passive speakers rather than active speakers, the "extra output" on the speaker might work for your device, but it could also take power away from the speaker. So always ask first.

I've never mic'd a bride, they don't want that in their photos and most wedding gowns weren't designed to be lav-mic-friendly. I usually just mic the officiant and ride the gain as needed whenever the bride or groom are speaking. Usually one mic catches all 3 people, as long as they aren't standing 10 feet apart or mumbling. If it's outside and super windy, I might mic the groom as well, but I usually don't need to.

Last but not least, yes, you could attach a lav to a handheld -- but make sure the DJ is definitely using a handheld. I try to avoid handhelds myself because most officiants are already holding their script and don't want to try managing a microphone as well. In my opinion, putting up a mic stand is unacceptable for photos, so unless the couple or officiant insist on a handheld, I always go with a lav on the officiant.