If you would like to add a professional touch to your ?do-it-yourself? wedding video, then plug into a sound system. These days, many churches have a sound system for the listening convenience of the congregation. Having your wedding ceremony picked up by an audio feed to the camera will really enhance the overall quality of your wedding video.

If there is a sound system in the church ask the audio control operator to give you an audio feed to one of your cameras. This means running an audio cable from the sound system into the mic input jack on your camera. Check the quality of the audio feed by powering-up the camera and listening through your headset which should also be plugged into the camera.

The main audio control board of the system usually has either a 1/4? or 1/2? jack marked ?Line Level? or ?Mic Level? output. Plug one end of your audio cable into the Mic Level output and the other end into your camera. Ask the audio operator if he has an extra microphone cable that you can use. If not, you can rent one or you can inexpensively purchase one at your local Radio Shack. Just make sure its long enough for your purposes.

Another piece of optional audio equipment you may want to rent or buy is a hand-held microphone. This microphone plugs into your camera through the external mic input jack and allows you to capture better audio and gives you better range. You can also check the quality of this audio by having someone speak into the microphone while you listen through the headset.

This is a pre-production task you might want to take care of at least a week before the wedding. You will then have sufficient time to acquire an audio cable. You don't want to be scrambling to get what you need the morning of the wedding.

If the church doesn't have a sound system and the budget allows it, you can also rent a wireless lavaliere mic that the minister will clip to his clothes, and a receiver you will plug into the external mic input jack on the camera. You can tape the receiver unit to one of the legs of the camera tripod with duct tape. Just be sure to become familiar with the operation of the lavaliere mic and make sure it has fully-charged batteries.

Without an external microphone you will have to rely on the camera microphone which means you have to move in closer to your subject. This shouldn't be a problem because most camera mics are very sensitive. Just make sure you are close enough to your subject by listening through your headset.

Add that professional touch to your wedding video by making sure the audio is the best it can be.