Wedding Vows & Ceremony Discussions

Ceremony Audio - Should we get microphones?

We are having our ceremony outside on an island at a hotel.  It is a quiet area, no hotel patrons would be able to get close enough for a lot of noise/background chatter.  We met our officiant and he suggested based on having 100+ that we should have microphones for him and our readers.

I asked our hotel contact and the hotel's partner will charge $1,000 for power and 2 microphones (one on the officiant and one on FI).  I about fell out of my chair at that cost, which is simply not in the budget that my parents have put together.

Our DJ can add this to our package for $250, plus the hotel's estimated $300 power charge.  We also have friends (my MOH and her DH) who have a professional audio system since they host trivia at restaurants and have graciously offered to let us use their equipment free fo charge and we would just have to pay the power charge to the hotel.  

Do you even think it is necessary?  

Re: Ceremony Audio - Should we get microphones?

  • Yes, for an outdoor wedding you should absolutely have mics. Even in a quiet area, wind and open space in general will disperse sound so much that no one beyond the first row or two will be able to hear. For example, SIL got married on a lakeshore. I was a bridesmaid and standing 10 ft away I could barely hear half of what the pastor said.
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  • We planned on having a mic, but ended up not using one because it was windy and the background noise was picked up on the mic. Officiants are pretty good at projecting their voices...if you have readers, they may or may ot be. Ultimately, we were fine without a mic.
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  • Absolutely.  Being a guest at a wedding at not being able to hear is really awful.
  • I would check around to see if anyone nearby rents out audio equipment.  I have a portable PA system that can run off of a battery charge and still amplifies well.  It may be that you could rent one for less than that expensive power charge.
  • You definitely need it, but I would shop around. 1000 seems totally excessive..
  • I would say a microphone is a must, but I would suggest shopping around to see if you can get a better deal.
  • Yes. I hate weddings where I can't hear the ceremony.
     
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  • Yes you need it. But that pricing is absolutely overboard. Even the DJ pricing when he will already have a mic for the reception for speeches. And $300 for power? are they renting a generator for an hour?!? you should be able to run (and hide) extension cords if needed for the power. Out door locations always have their challenges but if there is power with in range you should be able to pull from it without having to pay an extra charge. Check with local audio companies or as your DJ if you can use the same mic and a single speaker you shouldn't need more then that. 

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