Prayer precedes the wedding dinner. Either a priest or the family elder would come to the microphone to read the Prayer.

You have mainly two options to position yourself:

• shooting from the position set up for the speeches;
• or shooting handheld right next to the podium.

In either way you should have your audio set up in advance, normally it should be done during cocktail hour or prior to it.

Start rolling before the person comes to the podium to secure some pre-roll time for editing. Keep it medium, waist up, you may zoom out and pan on the head table after the Prayer is over.

The couple may skip the receiving line, but the bridal party introduction is important ceremonial part and ought to be videotaped properly. Success depends on logistics here as much as with shooting the bride and the bridesmaids walking down the aisle in the church.

Find out what door are they going to enter. It may be two different entrances for the couple and for the rest of the bridal party. Position yourself considering the following:

• You should be able to get well lit walking shot from point A to point B. Point A is the door, and point B is the head table. You will definitely need your camera light. Use extra lights if necessary;
• You should be able to get clear shot without guests or caterers lurking in front of you. With all my respect to the guests and especially to the people working hard to make the wedding happen, at this point focus on the bridal party;
• You should be able to get clear shot of the bride and groom presuming all the guests will stand up for their entrance.

Considering all from above, you may position yourself

• at the door;
• half way between the door and the head table;
• or by the head table.

Each position has its benefits and disadvantages. See what works better for you.

The introduction ceremony is usually impromptu event, and does not go smooth all the time. Prepare yourself to continuous rolling. Your queue would most likely be DJ’s or MC’s line: ‘’without further ado I would like to introduce…’’. Press REC and take your thumb away from that red button no matter what. Keep rolling and fix problems later during editing.

While talking to MC or DJ (depending on who is going to announce the entering party) before introduction find out the order of appearance, the path the party is going to take and if there is anything you may not expect.

For the entrance of the newly married couple shoot some reaction from the guests as well: happy faces, cheering and clapping.

Sometimes the bride and the groom make their first dance the part of the introduction ceremony. If that’s the plan, make sure you have enough batteries and tapes, have them handy.

Receiving line signals the end of the cocktail party and invitation to the wedding dinner. For that purpose the newly married couple, parents on the both sides and the bridal party line up by the main entrance into the hall. The guests line up in order to be meted and greeted by the party and to proceed to their tables.

For the wedding of an average size of a couple hundred guests this procedure may take between 20 to 40 minutes. Of course you do not need to roll on during all that time. Make sure to get the most important guests on tape, such as grandparents and close family, guests from overseas, nice looking guests and guests with babies. If there are some gifts to be given out, get some action around gifts as well.

In terms of approaching the line, get an inventory:

1. wide shot to establish the line;
2. medium shot while moving along the line, focus on the bridal party faces;
3. reverse: shoot from behind the bridal party, this time shoot the guests faces; start wide and pan from side to side, than go closer to show reaction;
4. close ups of each person in the bridal party from both angles; show smiles, amusements, happiness of the moment.

You should get enough footage during first five minutes. Than go enjoy cocktails and appetizers.

Marrying people put a big deal of an effort into countless details of a wedding day celebration. One thing everybody forgets after being as far as half way through a wedding reception is how nicely decorated the hall was.

It’s your mandate to keep that beauty captured for eternity.

During cocktail hour or prior to it enter the big room and get few shots. You don’t need much, but make sure you have a wide shot or a pan through the room, shot of a head table, a single dinner table with centerpiece. Look around and wherever you see the accomplishment of a human effort, shoot it.

If you are lucky, get a shot of a waiter lighting candles. If it is too dark for your camera, ask the caterer to bring the dimmers up.

Cocktail hour usually precedes the wedding dinner and starts 1 hour prior to reception. The main target is the guests. Use your judgment when to start. You don’t want to videotape empty lobby, but you will need some space to walk around too.

Look around for every set: guest book, engagement photo, fruit salads, chocolate fountain, jazz band, chef making flames while cooking shrimp, open bar, etc. There is nothing unnecessary around: every single set was thought through by the married couple. O.K., by the bride. So don’t miss a thing, and your effort will be appreciated.

While shooting the guest book, don’t shoot just the book, wait for the guests signing the book, and shoot the guests. While shooting an engagement photo, shoot as well the guests looking at the photo, their reaction. While shooting the bar… you know what to shoot.

As for the guests themselves, you may limit yourself to videotaping the people mingling, buying drinks, picking food (don’t show them eating though), greeting parents, etc. Or you may walk around asking people for some short message: a joke, a greeting or a short story. It depends on what the couple wants, as well as how much responsive the guests are, so try your best.

Cocktail hour may be the best (or the only) time for you to get ready for filming at the dinner, so use your time wisely. You don’t need the whole hour to get a glimpse of a cocktail party. Really.