Here’s how to mic a groom on a wedding day. I’m going to show you the exact mic you should use and how you should place it to get pristine audio, and share with you three very important things you should remember when doing this.
Also, because I’m all about saving you time, I’ve put together a free wedding filmmaking gear guide that walks you through all of the equipment I recommend you purchase if you want to film a wedding. It includes microphones and audio recorders I’d recommend for miking a groom, and it’s completely free.
The Mic And Recorder I Recommend
To mic a groom, the first thing you’re going to need is a microphone and an audio recorder or transmitter of some sort. Here I’m using a Tascam DR-10L Pro with its default microphone, which is one of the recorders I recommend.
There are a ton of other great microphones and recorders out there though, many of which I’ve reviewed, and they’re all in my gear guide as well.
How To Mic A Groom Wearing A Jacket
Once you have your audio recorder, let’s pretend that it’s right before the ceremony and you have a few minutes with the groom to place your microphone and recorder on him.
First you’re going to want to figure out if he’s wearing a jacket like I am right now. And I’m sweating in this thing, my goodness. For more traditional weddings the groom will commonly be in a sport coat of some sort, but you may also have a groom just wearing a button up shirt. I’ve even had grooms just in t-shirts before, so it’s really going to depend on the wedding and how fancy it is.
If he’s wearing a jacket, all you have to do is clip the microphone to his lapel a few inches down, near the front pocket if it has one.
Just keep in mind that the groom may be wearing a boutonniere, one of those flowers pinned to the jacket, and if he is you don’t want your mic too close to it in case it rubs up against it and causes noise.
Then, once you have the lav mic connected, you can run the recorder down into the jacket. I usually like to use the front jacket pocket unless it’s too bulky. If the groom has a really tight jacket, in that case you’re going to want to take it out and clip it onto his belt instead. And don’t forget to hide the cord a bit too. It just makes it look neater.
Consider The Couple’s Height
We aren’t quite done talking about mic placement yet, though, because there’s one other important factor you need to keep in mind. Namely, you need to consider how tall the other person getting married is.
If it’s a bride wearing a wedding dress and you’ve decided not to put a microphone on her, which, side note by the way, I have a video showing how to put a mic on a bride and spoiler, it’s easier than you think. I do it at every wedding and I highly recommend you do too.
That said, if the bride is not wearing a mic, this microphone you’re putting on the groom is going to be pulling double duty to capture not only his vows but hers as well. Meaning you’re going to need to be very careful about how you position the microphone to maximize the chances of recording both of them well.
What this means is that if you have a very tall groom and a very short bride, it may be in your best interest to not clip the lapel microphone way up high on his jacket near his mouth, and instead move it down lower, which puts it closer to the bride’s mouth and maximizes your chances of getting great audio of both of them speaking.
Just pay attention to the couple as you’re filming them getting ready, and then decide where on the lapel you’re going to mic the groom.
Fun fact, my wife Rachel is actually an inch taller than me, so whenever we got married, yep, had to move that mic up. Any other short kings? Hello? Yes, I’m with you. It’s okay.
How To Prevent Wind Noise
The last thing you need to consider when miking the groom is how windy the weather is on the wedding day.
If you’re filming an indoor wedding, congratulations. Unless the groom is standing directly underneath a powerful air conditioning vent or in front of a fan, you’re probably not going to need to worry about wind noise. But if you find yourself filming an outdoor wedding on a windy day, what I’m about to say is going to be very important for you.
To start, if it’s a windy day I would check the accessories that came with your lapel microphone and see if any of them include a dead cat.
Which, if you’re not sure what that means, it’s a filmmaking term for a piece of fuzzy fur or foam you can place over the microphone to act as a windscreen and help prevent the noise the mic will pick up if it’s windy outside. As for why it’s called a dead cat, we’re not going to get into that right now. Google it.
If it’s only mildly windy, you can probably get by with putting the dead cat on your lapel microphone and clipping it on like you normally would. But if it’s an especially windy day, or you don’t like the aesthetics of how large the dead cat makes the microphone appear, in that case I would recommend mounting the microphone under the jacket if possible, which you can do by flipping it around and clipping it so that it’s hidden underneath. Or even possibly under the groom’s shirt if necessary.
How To Mic A Groom Without A Jacket
So if you’re worried I wasn’t going to get to showing you how to do this, do not stress. We’re covering it right now.
Most grooms, if they’re not wearing a jacket, are going to be wearing a button up shirt of some sort, and putting a microphone on them involves one extra step, but it’s still quite simple.
Simply have the groom untuck his shirt, then run the microphone cord up underneath it.
And clip it in the middle, right near the buttons.
This hides the microphone cord and makes everything look clean while still giving you good sounding audio.
And remember, we were just talking about wind. An easy way to help prevent wind from interrupting your audio is to still put the microphone on the groom’s shirt, but hide it under the overlap where the shirt is buttoned.
This gives you more protection from the wind and an even cleaner look, because at that point you can’t even tell the groom is wearing a mic at all.
Want Help Booking Your Next Wedding?
If you are a new wedding filmmaker and you found this groom miking guide helpful, but you want even more help specifically in the area of booking more weddings as a beginner, I’m so excited to tell you that I’ve created a free workshop that’s going to show you how to book your next wedding in 30 days or less.
If you are brand new, this workshop is going to show you how to book your first wedding. And even if you’ve been filming weddings for a while, it’s still going to be super helpful and show you how to get even more bookings. It’s completely free.
Thanks so much for reading, and have a great day!