Tips for Vows

The most important part of your wedding day is your vows, and so we have so tips from our Tampa Photographers, that may help you have great pictures and videos of this sacred moment.

1. Look at each other during the vows & rings. Some brides and grooms tend to look at the officiant while they are repeating the words for the vows, but you are not marrying the officiant, you are marrying each other. Be in the moment, yes its been a long road getting to the vows, the engagement, planning the wedding, all the preparations, but this is the moment all that was for;  so relax, forget about all other concerns,  and focus on your fiancee, now becoming your spouse.

2.  The other obstacle to great ceremony pictures can be the Mic Stand.  Due to the fact that Lavalier Mics (mics that clip on the shirt) tend to pick up a lot of wind noise on outdoor weddings, so therefore, for audio quality, its usually best to use a “handheld mic” and that’s the issue.  The mic has to be held, either by a stand or a human hand.  The ideal situation is for the officiant/minister to hold the mic without a stand,  if you want your vows to be heard,  as you see in these pictures.  This way the Stand is out of the picture and, he can hold it close to you so that you are not leaning during your vows (as this groom on the left is doing) to talk in it.    Depending on your officiant, this may not be possible so you may need a stand.  When our Tampa DJs set up the mic stand we try to use a boom mic stand, so that the stand can be hidden behind the bride and groom, when shooting from where your guests are, and then the boom arm places the mic in the center for the officiant to talk into.  If the mic stand is in the center, just make sure it is NOT between you and your fiancee or in front of you(that is between your guests and you), as you see in the picture to the right.  The best placement for the mic stand is behind you (between you and the officiant.  Whether the mic is on a stand or the officiant is holding it for you, don’t lean over to talk into it.  We would rather get a picture of you two starring into each other’s eyes,  rather than focused on talking into a mic.   Also if we are providing a projector with our Video & DJ service we will try to play your vows at some point during your reception, so at that point your guests will hear your vows very clearly through the mic that was on the groom for the video camera.   We understand not every situation is going to be perfect, but just wanted you to be aware of a Photographers point of view during the ceremony.