Mic for the Bride & Groom?
Tampa Photographers Advice for Weddings, Mic for Bride & Groom
As a photographer in Tampa, I see many times the intimacy of the wedding vows is completely interrupted by the focus on the microphone. Many wedding magazines will advise the bride about having a mic for the bride and groom so that your guests can hear your vows. Well in principle that sounds like a good idea, however, it can take away from your video and pictures. In the short video below we shot 4 examples.
In the first video our Clearwater Photographers shot at the Duval Ballroom, the groom is leaning over to talk into the mic as if he is giving a deposition. His fiance’ is looking at him with loving eyes, it would have been great for video and photography if he was locked in her gaze. In the second example on this video our St Petersburg Photographers show the groom looking at the Rabbai on this Jewish wedding, again completely ignoring the eyes of his lover. The groom says his vows to the Rabbai. On the third example the officiant, in a humorous way, tells the groom “this is awkward” look at her, referring to the bride. This is exactly what a officiant should do to avoid the groom marrying the officiant instead the bride. In the last example the bride shows her annoyance with the mic (rightly so, I might add).
The solution is simple. 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 fiance, now becoming your spouse.
If you are using our Tampa Videographers; we mic the groom with a lavelier Mic (a mic that clip on the coat), however this mic is for the video camera which the guests will not hear. This will ensure that on your wedding video you will hear your vows very clear.
If you want to ensure that your guests can hear your vows, it is best to have a cordless handheld mic provided by your DJ or whoever is doing the ceremony music. The lavelier mics, that we use for the video are not good when using with a big sound system because it will pic up wind noise. A cordless handheld mics will limit the wind noise much better. Also during the ceremony it is best to have hand-held mic because if you have a reader or a singer, it can be easily transferred from person to person, unlike a mic that clips on. The ideal situation is for the officiant to hold the mic without a stand. This way the ugly mic 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. The officiants from Sensational Ceremonies, a company our Tampa Photographers work with a lot, will usually do this. Therefore, your guests will hear your vows and you can still be in the moment gazing into your lover’s eyes. When our Tampa DJs set up the mic stand and if we have an officiant that cannot hold it, we try to use a boom mic stand, so that the stand can be hidden somewhat behind the bride and groom (when looking from guests point of view) 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 fiance or in front of you (that is between your guests and you), as you see in the picture to the right.
Whether the mic is on a stand or the officiant is holding it for you, do not lean over to talk into it. Allow the officiant to hold it to your mouth, and if he doesn’t do that, do not allow that to take your focus away from your fiance. We would rather get a picture of you two starring into each other’s eyes, rather than focused on talking into a mic. We understand not every situation is going to be perfect, but we wanted you to be aware of a Photographers point of view during the ceremony. It is up to you the bride, if your guests hearing your vows is your main priority, we understand. It is this Tampa Photographers advice for weddings that if being “in the moment”, and having pictures and video that show the passion and emotion of your ceremony is more of a priority, than we say “do not worry about the mic”, if for some reason the guests cannot hear the vows, so be it. If our Tampa Videographers are filming your wedding, you will be able to hear your vows very clear on the video, and then you can post it to your facebook page and everyone will be able to hear your vows extremely clear.
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