How to record audio at a wedding
It's hard! How and what you record generally depends on what type of video you are producing. In the past I have produced full videos of the ceremony, speeches and the first dance, as of summer this year we only offer highlight videos (see our FAQ for why). I will break down how I record audio for both long-form docu-style videos and the highlight videos that we offer.
First off, here is all the equipment used:
Rode VideoMic Pro
Rode SmartLav +
iPhone and Rode app
Zoom h1
Zoom h4n
I leave the Rode VideoMic Pro on my primary camera all day, this picks up decent audio of whatever is within 10ft in front of the camera. I usually only use this for reference during editing or if someone says something amazing near the camera I'll use it during the Highlight video. My settings on the A7Sii are around 5/100 on the camera audio input level, then on the actual mic: the shotgun position on the top switch, and 0 (or middle position) on the bottom switch. You generally want to keep your camera audio level really low and have your mic send a decent amount of signal, as the in camera pre amps are usually not very good and pretty noisy. This doesn't apply to anything pro like my old C100mkii which had pretty decent audio recording built in. If you want better audio quality you need to start recording into better equipment, which brings us to the Zoom recorders.
For the ceremony, speeches and first dances I would get a line out from the PA into a Zoom h4n, for this you'll need a bag full of different adapters and a friendly sound guy/vicar/officiant. You'll need to contact them preferably before the day to make sure they're aware you'll need a signal. Then you'll need every adapter under the sun to convert whatever output you can get from the PA into your XLR or jack inputs on the h4n. Again set your levels pretty low, boosting in post is easier and better than having nasty clipping to deal with - too quiet is better than too loud.
There are more expensive recorders that handle signal better, dual recording, auto leveling etc. but these two recorders are all you really need for wedding audio.
If there isn't a PA or the officiant is being particularly awkward you should be able to get a decent recording from your lapel mic, I usually place a LAV mic on the groom's lapel at least half way down to pick up the bride and the officiant relatively equally. I'll record onto an iPhone or Zoom h1, for the h1 you'll need to buy Rode's trs convertor. Just get the groom as soon as he gets the venue and set it recording, if you have a decent sized micro sd card in there it'll record all day. The rode app on the iPhone hardly uses any battery too so that'll record forever as well.
For speeches if there is no PA (quite rare but it does happen), the easiest thing to do is LAV up as many as you can, then plead with the MC/bride and groom to get everyone to make their speeches from the same spot. I will then put my h1 on a mini tripod at that very spot.
I always have a back up for everything, along with my on-camera Rode VideoMic, I'll set my iPhone up in front of speakers with the Rode recorder app running, or I'll put it on the lectern to capture readings during ceremonies etc. With audio you can never have too many back ups, its a cruel mistress.
For highlight videos as I don't generally use much audio you'd think I wouldn't bother with all this hassle but I basically record the same audio as for the long form videos just in case. I pay particular attention to the vows, exchanging of rings, the groom's speech and the father of the bride's speech.
Pro tip: make sure you record audio in 48khz not 44khz, video is usually 48khz, easy mistake to make and super annoying to fix in post.
In summary: With audio you can never be too careful!
First off, here is all the equipment used:
Rode VideoMic Pro
Rode SmartLav +
iPhone and Rode app
Zoom h1
Zoom h4n
I leave the Rode VideoMic Pro on my primary camera all day, this picks up decent audio of whatever is within 10ft in front of the camera. I usually only use this for reference during editing or if someone says something amazing near the camera I'll use it during the Highlight video. My settings on the A7Sii are around 5/100 on the camera audio input level, then on the actual mic: the shotgun position on the top switch, and 0 (or middle position) on the bottom switch. You generally want to keep your camera audio level really low and have your mic send a decent amount of signal, as the in camera pre amps are usually not very good and pretty noisy. This doesn't apply to anything pro like my old C100mkii which had pretty decent audio recording built in. If you want better audio quality you need to start recording into better equipment, which brings us to the Zoom recorders.
For the ceremony, speeches and first dances I would get a line out from the PA into a Zoom h4n, for this you'll need a bag full of different adapters and a friendly sound guy/vicar/officiant. You'll need to contact them preferably before the day to make sure they're aware you'll need a signal. Then you'll need every adapter under the sun to convert whatever output you can get from the PA into your XLR or jack inputs on the h4n. Again set your levels pretty low, boosting in post is easier and better than having nasty clipping to deal with - too quiet is better than too loud.
There are more expensive recorders that handle signal better, dual recording, auto leveling etc. but these two recorders are all you really need for wedding audio.
If there isn't a PA or the officiant is being particularly awkward you should be able to get a decent recording from your lapel mic, I usually place a LAV mic on the groom's lapel at least half way down to pick up the bride and the officiant relatively equally. I'll record onto an iPhone or Zoom h1, for the h1 you'll need to buy Rode's trs convertor. Just get the groom as soon as he gets the venue and set it recording, if you have a decent sized micro sd card in there it'll record all day. The rode app on the iPhone hardly uses any battery too so that'll record forever as well.
For speeches if there is no PA (quite rare but it does happen), the easiest thing to do is LAV up as many as you can, then plead with the MC/bride and groom to get everyone to make their speeches from the same spot. I will then put my h1 on a mini tripod at that very spot.
I always have a back up for everything, along with my on-camera Rode VideoMic, I'll set my iPhone up in front of speakers with the Rode recorder app running, or I'll put it on the lectern to capture readings during ceremonies etc. With audio you can never have too many back ups, its a cruel mistress.
For highlight videos as I don't generally use much audio you'd think I wouldn't bother with all this hassle but I basically record the same audio as for the long form videos just in case. I pay particular attention to the vows, exchanging of rings, the groom's speech and the father of the bride's speech.
Pro tip: make sure you record audio in 48khz not 44khz, video is usually 48khz, easy mistake to make and super annoying to fix in post.
In summary: With audio you can never be too careful!