Voice recorder on Bride?

[Derek Chan]

Hi, we're a husband and wife videography team.
I often use a sony wireless mic and put it on the groom.
I recently bought and olympus VN-702PC and my wife will be putting it on the bride.

I'm wondering what will the best way to install the voice recorder on the bride? As she won't have any pocket.

Thanks guys!

[Noa Put]

Not that it will be of any help to you but I would never ever mic the bride and I"m pretty sure hardly anyone here does that, when you mic the groom that is sufficient to capture the voices during the vows.
It's also like you said, the bride doesn't have any pockets to place the olympus so you almost would have to place the recorder when she gets dressed (don't ask me where to put it :D) and ask her to take it of after the church when she goes to the toilet, not an ideal situation and for me not done.

[Don Bloom]

In all of my weddings I have only mic'd 1 bride and only because she 110% insisted on it because she was a local small TV station anchor and felt that if both she and the groom were mic'd the audio would be better. Of course she wasn't entirely wrong but then neither was she entirely right. I had to buy a white mic (she actually paid for that) and I hung the mic pak first on the waistband of her underwear. It pulled them down so that wasn't going to work. I ended up clipping the mic pak to the back of her dress, inside the top of her dress which was fitted quite tightly. I gave her the option of NOT wearing either the mic pak or the dress she went with option 3 be a bit uncomfortable for a short time.
She couldn't get the mic off fast enough after the ceremony and I have never been asked about micing the bride since. That was 20 years ago.
BTW, YES I did place the mic pak originally. I am after a professional! ;-)

[Derek Chan]

Thanks guys! That is much help!

I'm wondering what I should do with my olympus voice recorder. I also have a H4N that I use for plugging into the DJ set to get recording from live microphone. Should I return the olympus voice recorder or will there be any use for me?

Sorry if I rant too much!

[John Knight]

Hi Derek.

NEVER mic a bride. EVER.

I have about 7 different audio devices, (H4N, iRivers, Sennheiser wireless, Yamaha C4). Each device has it's own strengths and weaknesses. Over time I've learnt when and where they work the best.

A typical wedding would be Sennheisers on both minister and groom, iRiver on the podium, H4N at the feet of the quartet.

Access to more than you think you'll need, plus the knowledge of what tool is best for each job is the mark of a pro.

[Warren Kawamoto]

If you watch reality tv shows like "Bridezilla" or something similar, you'll see that the bride wears a mic on her wedding day. If the Olympus is small enough, it could set it between her "pillows" clipped to her bra strap. Having one mic on the bride and one on the groom does make the production sound a lot better than having just one mic on the groom. Do it only if it can be discreet.

[Adrian Tan]

Last time this topic came up, I was surprised to find that there are people here who routinely mic the bride.

If you really want to do it... Putting mics down people's cleavage actually does create good sound. Natural resonance chamber and hiding spot. Much better than attaching to guys' chests, with the possibility of chest hair causing audio problems. The transmitter can be attached to a strap around a leg, but there are other dodgy spots also, some more uncomfortable than others. For instance, it's possible to gather up the fabric under someone's armpit, and attach it there.

[John Knight]

No... no... no... NEVER!

[Chris Harding]

I still agree with John

You would have to find not only a white mic (which are made) but also an assistant to delve into the depths of the brides dress to find a transmitter location. Not necessary and I certainly have never attempted it...At worst you might have to lift the audio for a softly spoken bride.

Definately a no-no unless the bride specifically demanded it.

Chris

[Long Truong]

I don't always mic the bride since the groom's lav normally picks up her voice clearly but occasionally, I would clip a cheap mp3 recorder on her dress as backup audio just for safety.

This is the one I use:
USB 2.0 Rechargeable Flash Drive Voice Recorder - Silver (8GB) - Worldwide Free Shipping - DX

I wouldn't count on it as main audio since it's built super cheap, has no control whatsoever (just switch it on and it starts recording after 3 seconds) The quality of the audio is nothing impressive... BUT it could potentially save your life if your main audio decides to fail for some unknown reason.

I normally just hand it to the bride before the ceremony and explain that it's for safety measure and if she's okay with it, I just let her clip it on the pad of her bra or directly on the dress with the clip being the only exposed part of the device. It literally takes 2 seconds to put on and take off. Since it's white, it's super discreet and barely visible.

Hope this helps!

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Warren Kawamoto

If you watch reality tv shows like "Bridezilla" or something similar, you'll see that the bride wears a mic on her wedding day.

Yeah, but they will do whatever it takes to get sound from her, I"m sure if she doesn't want that the tv prodcucer will find another bride who will. Here the show comes first.

There is no harm in asking the bride if she is up to wearing a mike but it should be concealed in such a way that it doesn't show. The bride has to shine, no matter what :)

I also use a multitude of recorders throughout the day for different purposes, like in church that can be up to 4, one on the groom, one on the altar, one on the lectern and one on a soundspeaker, that covers it all. During speeches at the reception I try to plug in in the dj soundsystem, set a mike in front of a speaker or attach a recorder on the microphone handle. My sound gear consists out of a zoom h1, a yamaha c24, a tascam dr40, a iriver and I also have a azden 500udr that I mainly use for interviews with a wireless handmicrophone.

[Warren Kawamoto]

We used this transmitter with a white Countryman B6 on the bride. It's almost invisible, and sound quality was excellent. Strap the transmitter to her thigh or bosom, run the wire up the front of the dress to her bra, or conceal the transmitter behind her hair if her hair is down. The transmitter is about the size of 2 AA batteries put together.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/877756-REG/Lectrosonics_smv_20_SMV_Super_Miniature_Wireless.html

[Colin Rowe]

You would get arrested for trying that in the UK Warren.
On serious note, a wireless lav or H1, with a decent lav on the groom covers everything. Well at least for me.

[John Knight]

Yeah - I would imagine the pleasure of mic'ing up a bride in Honolulu would be quite different from the Cornwall experience! LOL

[Warren Kawamoto]

Originally Posted by Colin Rowe

You would get arrested for trying that in the UK Warren.

Really? Why? I don't understand. When we used to do it, it was the bride that requested it.