How to capture touching audio from your wedding
While it’s most common for couples to focus on preserving the visual aspects of the day through wedding photography, capturing great audio from the day can be just as meaningful (and maybe even more)! Here are a few tips on how to optimize your wedding day for capturing great audio.
1. Have your first look in a secluded place
An excellent photographer and filmmaker will help you find a place at your venue that not only looks beautiful but is also distant from loud noises (like the DJ testing the speakers, a truck bringing chairs to the ceremony, or nearby road noise.)
2. Hire a great DJ
There’s nothing like having an experienced wedding DJ! They will save you lots of headaches by having all the right equipment and knowing how to set it up at your venue. They’ll also get the party going!
A skilled DJ will have the proper microphones to record the officiant and the vows that you share during the ceremony. They will also have the right equipment for the speeches during the reception.
I’m sad to say that every year I shoot at least a couple weddings where the microphones cut in and out because the DJ doesn’t have a good handle on their equipment. Fortunately, I always have backup microphones as a safety net for my couples’ wedding films. But it’s better to not have this problem at all.
A great DJ will know how to avoid these sorts of problems. A great DJ makes a HUGE difference! If you need DJ recommendations, feel free to let me know – I’m happy to recommend some! Just shoot me an email.
3. Hire an excellent videographer
Of course I have a LOT of opinions about how to be a great videographer. If you end up working with me or with another wedding film company, I highly recommend choosing someone who is really skilled in capturing great audio.
Great visuals is extremely important, but great audio can sometimes be overlooked by videographers, especially the ones who are just starting out or who are relatively new. Here are a few tips to make sure the videographer you’re considering records great audio.
Review their work. Do they include excellent audio from all different aspects of the day? Great!
Do they offer long-form videos from your wedding? For example, if they offer a full-length ceremony or full length speeches from your wedding, they’ll likely have a good plan in place for how to capture audio from these times of the day. At Like Morning Sun, we offer full-length ceremony videos and speeches videos for couples as an add on, and we make sure to capture complete coverage of these important events – both visually and with audio.
4. Request close people to prepare a speech at your wedding
One of the best ways to make sure really touching audio is captured from your wedding is by asking people who are important to you to speak!
Not sure about who should speak at your wedding? Think about these considerations:
Who are you really close with?
Who has been supportive of you for your whole life or at least the last few years?
Who encourages you to be the best version of yourself?
Often couples have their Best Man and Maid of Honor speak at the wedding. But it’s not limited to only them. You can have siblings, childhood friends, parents, and mentors speak as well. Put some thought into what would be most meaningful to you, decide on it together, and then ask!
Once you know who you want to speak at your wedding, here are some guidelines for them:
Give them plenty of notice. At least one month is best, so they can really think about what they want to say.
Give them a time limit for their speech. A time limit of 5 minutes or less helps people to really think through what they will say and get clarity on what they want to express. It can be a real drag when someone goes on and on for 15 minutes or more. As much as it is thoughtful, most people just want to get to dancing!
Ask them not to “wing it.” Unless this person is a very experienced orator, they will likely struggle to share a meaningful speech off the cuff. Ask them to write it down.
5. Write personal vows
Last but definitely not least is to write personal vows for your wedding. I’ll be the first to admit that this can be really intimidating. My wife and I were too nervous to write personal vows for our wedding day and instead opted to read more traditional vows.
Our vows were still great (and they still get the job done!), but it would have been special to have personal vows. I always encourage couples, if you’re able, to write your own vows from the heart.
I’ve witnessed and edited more vows than I can count, and I always use meaningful vows when I edit my films. After giving this subject a lot of thought, I’ve developed a framework for guiding couples to writing their own vows. I use a three part framework where you think about your story, your partner’s personality, and the promises you want to make.
If this guide interests you, you can download it here.
By following these tips, you can help to make sure that your wedding videographer can capture clear audio that will remind you of your wedding for years and years to come!