DJ is your working colleague, normally only during reception. Your good working relationship with the entertainment person (or a team, lets call it DJ to make it simple) are important for a number of reasons.

Schedule

Unless the evening schedule is ultimately dictated by Master of Ceremony, DJ is at the control. He may consult marrying couple during the night, but in most cases he just moves along his schedule according to his own understanding of the rhythm and pace of the night show. First of all, make sure you are aware of upcoming events. Often DJ substitutes MC in part or in full. He usually knows the timeframe of the evening and the kind of activities planned for the evening. Tell him that you are trying to do good work for bride and groom and point out the importance of keeping you aware of any changes in the schedule.

Time to go home

If you are a guest or a family member planning to shoot wedding video, skip this paragraph and go to Audio Issues. If you are working for hire, than you may finish your work significantly earlier or later depending on DJ. Normally last thing on your list would be a bouquet and garter toss. It may happen at 10PM or after midnight. Making friends with the DJ may help you to negotiate favorable timing for the last event to be covered.

Audio Issues

Check with DJ, what is his plan in regards to the toasts and the speeches. If all the speeches are to be delivered from the podium through the house audio system, you just do your installation without bringing the DJ into equation. But if there is no microphone provided by banquet hall, here comes DJ with his wireless microphone and audio system. In this situation you probably need to plug into DJ’s mixer board. It may be a challenge for many DJ’s to provide an audio feed, so make friends before the problem has arisen.

Normally happens right after the bouquet toss. As with the bouquet toss, the DJ or the band would call all the single men on the dance floor. The newly married couple would be around already.

The bride will be seated on the chair in the center of the dance floor. If there is nobody to offer a chair, take the initiative, borrow the chair from the closest table and place it the way you like. Consider lighting and the background.

In most cases the groom is supposed to kneel down, reach under bride’s dress and pull the garter from her leg with his teeth or hands. Use low angle technique. Shoot from you hands down using wide angle. Show the groom diving underneath the dress, pan up to the bride’s face (reaction shot), pan down back on groom, move over – show reaction of the guests and single men if you have enough time for that. Don’t just miss the moment when the groom shows from under the dress with the garter in his teeth.

The rest is similar to the bouquet toss shooting.

It is almost the end of your day. Often the DJ or the band would invite all the single girls on the dance floor. Check if you have any preferences in terms of better lighting of background. Consider possible obstacles up high, such as oversized lighting fixture or decorations hanging across and over the dance floor. If you think that placing the girls and the bride your way would be preferable, do not be shy, get involved and politely point at where you want them to stay.

Get a shot of the single girls getting together, pushing and giggling. Then position yourself in front of the bride, so you can clearly see her face, the bouquet and the girls on the back. Play by ear depending on possible scenario of the event. DJ may count to three, stopping at two and a half, two and three quarters, and then start all over again, the bride may fake the toss, etc. Just keep rolling and watch it. You can come a bit closer and farther to vary the shot while the excitement is growing, but keep the camera on the bride (and the bouquet).

When the flowers go flying, follow your camera the same way and start moving towards the best catcher. Get reaction from another girls, somebody has to be upset. Get back to the lucky one: most likely she will approach the bride or will be approached by the bride.

It is all about celebration and the people having a good time. Enjoy it and add some party mood in the video.

You may need to shoot one or two dances: one slow, another one fast, unless the couple is asking for more. You may shoot the series of segments of various dances to show how the evening unfolds. Whatever is your idea, double check if it is exactly what your couple wants.

From technical point of view, I would not recommend using stationary lights, as it will ruin the party mood. Rely on DJ’s lights and your camera light. Combine both and stay within the range of the lights strength.

In order to make video more exciting, vary your camera angle: shoot from low angle, then from your hands up. Watching music videos will give you an idea of shooting technique.

Be careful with an aperture while using your camera light and moving fast at the same time. Keep the dancing crowd properly exposed.

The newly married couple cutting the cake is a quick although symbolic part of a wedding ceremony.

You can do it:

• prior to reception if the official photographers decides to do it at that time; ask the couple if they want cake video to be done along with the cake cutting photo;
• after the main course before desert;
• at any other time on couple’s call.

If you do it along with the official photographer, let him or her set up the shot and complete the session. After the photo is taken, step in. Let the couple stay the way photographer set them up and shoot.

If you are on your own, choose proper background. Avoid flat walls, open kitchen doors, EXIT signs, etc. Preferable backgrounds: flower arrangement, guest tables, head table, anything related to the bright side of the special day. Ask if the couple wants the cutting to be announced by MC, so the guests willing to take a photo may join the set with their cameras.

Ask the couple what part of the cake they are going to slice, if they are going to try it or to give each other to try and ask them for a kiss after they are done cutting.

Start on two shot, pan down to the cake being cut, stay on cake, pan up on the couple for a kiss or on them trying the cake, pan down on the cake, cut.

There may be 1 to 4 formal dances at the wedding reception:

1. bride and groom (this is number one and may be the only one);
2. bride and her father;
3. groom and his mother;
4. bridal party – groomsmen and bridesmaids (may be called depending on tradition in your area).

Shoot entire first dance non-stop. Keep rolling camera no matter what. I usually roll on other dances continuously as well. You can always cut them shorter while editing if the customers wish so.

I strongly recommend using a light for a formal dance. Two lights: stationary light and a camera light – are even better. Inquire with the DJ or the band if they are planning to use strong fancy lighting for those dances. If not, set up yours. It is a common opinion that people do not like bright lights at the reception. They would not like grainy shadows moving on their foggy video either if there is not enough light for your camera.

You may move slowly around dancing couple or stand still on the floor or on the riser (on the chair, table, etc.). Moving camera gives some action to the shot. 3 minutes of continuous dancing filmed from the same angle may look boring even for your couple. It takes some practice or special equipment (or both) though to be able to deliver a stable shot while shooting with moving camera.

If you are not equipped with the steadycam or at least a dolly, think of your camera as of a jockey on a horse. It may be hard to think of yourself as of a horse, but if it helps the final product, give it a try.

Choose right background (BG) especially if you are shooting from fixed position. You don’t want your couple to dance in front of the kitchen, washroom or EXIT sign. Locate yourself in such a way that you can see the head table or the guests on the BG. Same if you are planning to move: avoid ugly backgrounds as much as possible. Come closer to the dancing couple if the background is turning flat or looks unpleasant. Back up to get a wider shot to incorporate a dancing couple and larger area of BG if it is relevant and nice looking.

Keep in mind, it is a formal and sometimes very touching moment of the day (sometimes not – people may talk business while dancing). Get closer or zoom in when they look at each other or give each other a kiss or bow to the guests at the end of the dance.

Wedding guests show up for reception carrying gifts in either monetary or tangible form. For the former they deliver the envelopes with cash, cheque or gift certificate. For the latter, they carry boxes or gift bags. All the treasure is being put on the gift table for display purpose. Envelopes may be put in the slotted box (piggy-bank) or a fancy bird cage, which goes on the same table, unless bride and groom take it away for security.

All you need is patience. Let all the gifts, or at least most of them to get collected. It may happen during receiving line or cocktail hour.

Start shooting at one end of the gift table and keep rolling panning camera slowly towards another end. Give few close-ups of the most spectacular details. Use you camera light if necessary.

Speeches may be held after the dinner or throughout the dinner between the courses. The speakers may use podium and house microphone, or they may stand up and speak to DJ’s wireless mic. You should be ready to any situation.

If the speeches are going to be held at the podium, find best position for your tripod and a light. Best in your circumstances will be determined by:

• close enough to be able to zoom in and pan from the speaker to the head table and back, and far enough to leave the clear view of the podium for the guests;
• out of the caterers way: you don’t want to make enemies, try to be friends with all your colleagues;
  close enough to the source of power for your light; and in any case, tape over your power cable.

If the speeches are going to be held at the tables, you have no choice other that go handheld and run from person to person. Make sure you always good for tapes and batteries. Some guests may speak forever, especially after a couple of drinks.

If the persons speaking are going to use DJ’s wireless microphone, you may:

• try to hook up to DJ’s system (at your own risk);
• attach your microphone to DJ’s microphone (looks ugly on tape);
• or to mic the speaker.

For the last option you may want to use a microphone (EV 635) on a stand pointed at the speaker, or to hang your lavaliere microphone from the top of the speaker.

I am using short (12”) hand-made fishing rod and adjusting the length of the cord, so the mic itself is located right across from the main speaker.

The sound from the speaker may be very loud, so adjust transmitter’s gain low enough to avoid distortion.

As for speeches themselves, stay on medium shot, zoom in if the person speaking goes too sentimental, pan off to the head table to show bride’s and groom’s reaction. Pan to other bridal party members within your range during bride’s and groom’s speech when they mention bridesmaids, ushers or parents.