good question...more than likely I'll be by myself. I CAN get someone to help if need be. I'll take any advice you can give for both.

Most important thing for a wedding, GOOD audio. Get a the most expensive lapel wireless mic you can afford. If you can hire one and know how to set it up properly. We use Sennheisers but setup wrong you can get into a lot of trouble (watch the input attentuation on the transmitter).
Fit mic to groom, will pickup vows very well.
Oh and good luck, I've avoided weddings like the plague, at my age I can live without the stress.
Bob.

I started this and it just grew . . sorry . .. .

1/- You need another helper.

2/- Audio is King!

3/- Headphones to confirm EVERYTHING is coming into the camera

4/- You got Audio Line in meters? Keep your eye on them! ! !

5/- MAKE sure your ARE recording! Make sure you can see the t/c ticking over. I've done this and kept in PAUSE! Arrggghhh....

6/- Get them lenses CLEAN! - If you have shot something that was dusty or rainy - confirm your lenses are clear! Check clarity through the day.

7/- Draw up a "Must-Have Shoot List" and make sure you have them DONE - in the can! Oh have plenty of tape and even remove and put away THOSE important shots safely. Start another tape. If on miniDV it is cheap. I've been almost killed by a longwinded - 35 minutes longwinded - speaker who took up too much of my tape so I almost MISSED the first dance. Think about that one! HAH! - CLICK over safety protector so you DON'T record over!

8/- Get cutaways of congregation BEFORE ceremony starts. Once started IMHO your attention with a single cammie is to be on the B&G.

9/- Talk with the Officiate [ Rabbi Priest Vicar . . . ] and make sure you can get your tripod in a convenient position.

10/- MAKE SURE your batteries are up to the job and are topped up

11/- Put spare film in several pockets .. I've got a black zipper waistcoat . .don't know what you call them in the States?

12/- TAKE you time . . be considered in your camera work.

13/- Keep as much as possible on wide angle - stay away from zooms. Better a well framed body shot than a shaky, hose-piped dopey zoom! Better get your camera physically as near as you can.

14/- Don't spoil the day for the B&G. Tell the Bride she looks gorgeous . . she most likely WILL look terrific . .but this little piece of advise will ensure her "realising" that YOU are being paid to capture her happy day - SHE WILL WANT to see herself smiling .. not frowning. You telling her this one liner will normally make her aware. This IS her day . . ! You will immediately set up a "proper" relationship with the Bride and if you stick to her like glue . .well within reason . . she will adore your work! AND that might well make the difference from being referred by her to her mates! Oh yes .. don't forget she WILL show off her video to her friends and relations . .AND she will be of an age where she may have friends considering a wedding videographer.

15/- Don't duplicate what the wedding stills photographer is doing. There is nothing wrong in "showing" how the stills bloke or woman got people together for the shots . .yeah? Shoot the photographer even over his shoulder .. great action shots here.

. .. . .

I've got loads more . . .

Most importantly, be one step ahead; speak with the MC for any noted speakers or surprises; gifts; poems being read . .. GET THAT must have list printed off and memorise and keep . .and if you have a helper . . give copy of that to him/her.

How are your insurances?

. .. . personally I don't do Weds any more. My hat goes off to those that do.

Apologies for this list . . much more . ..

Best regards,

Grazie

If it's an outdoor or well lit chapel, underexpose one-half to one stop. Most cameras average the scene for exposure, and the chances are that the bright white wedding gown will be overexpoed if you use the cameras auto exposure.

Where are you located? - you may find a volunteer who will help you with your first wedding, and all you have to do is feed him.

One other tip, if you can beg/hire something like a PD250, ALL the pro wedding guys swear by them. Pictures no better than 170 but large format tapes and longer life batteries make for a huge difference, you can even shoot DVCAM and get 180 mins / tape.
Now if the budget will not stretch that far, you still need to LOOK like a pro, so find an old VHS camera at the local op shop and have someone look like they're using it, tell everyone the little cameras are just for the B unit guys.
There's still guys around here making a living shooting weddings on VHS for real, scary stuff, and they edit deck to deck i.e. what the client gets is second generation VHS. I've been asked twice to transfer this kind of stuff to DVD and then the hapless couple don't understand why it doesn't look like a Hollywood DVD, "but he had such a BIG camera!"
Bob.

More suggestions:

1. Make sure your camera position doesn't put a light source like a window behind the people you want to video. If possible, go in a day before and shoot some test video and then set the exposure manually. Underexposing by two stops works well for me.

2. Most important of all. A wedding is a day of big emotion and faces are what convey emotion. Get lots of shots that clearly show faces (a 1 or 2-person shot with head and shoulders is a favourite of mine) and stay on the shot, don't pan the camera too much. As for zooms, only zoombies use them. Avoid them like the plague.

3. Smile at people when you point the camera at them and invite them to wish the bride and groom well. You'll be surprized at how many really touching speeches you get and video can capture these perfectly (remember - a good clear, steady shot of the face talking to you)

4. Keep a water bottle on you and drink lots of water. You'll be so busy, it's easy to get dehydrated. And absolutely no booze while you're working. It doesn't mix.

Salty! Spot on! - G

Done a few of these myself

The best advice there is, is don't mess up ;)

Seriously however. Since it's all free for the customer and you're using it for a promo taping. Go to the rehersal, make sure that the officiant marks out where the people are going to be positioned ahead of time, and then make sure it works for you. If it doesn't, SAY SOMETHING. You're there to capture the number one most important day in a mother daughter relationship, not to mention a husband wife relationship, oh and let's not forget mother son relationship, and then there's father son relationship, father daughter relationship, and in general everyone who's closely related to them.

I find that going to the rehersals the day before and being an active participant in the positioning of where ppl. are and seeing what happens where and when so that you can see it all ahead of time has been a LIFE SAVER in past jobs. (However I do charge more if ppl. want the extra attention, that doesn't apply to this situation)

Other than that, pretty much what everyone else said, except that I don't agree with Farss's statement about the VHS cam. If I or most people I know were there, and they saw someone with a VHS deck, they'd make sure to bring their own cameras to get some GOOD looking footage. I say don't even bother with that. Just get a second person to work at your other camera and gopher for you as well as keep you on schedule with your work and so on.

(oh, and don't clear your throat repetedly during the service, AHEM!!)

BTW, I would get a good tripod head (doesn't have to be great). I picked up a Bogen 503 fluid head (the 501 is a teflon resistance pad not a true fluid head which has been known to wear a notch in the pad making it a nice paperweight because it can't pan properly anymore) and a relatively decent tripod with standart mounting screw. The two can probably be done for about $350 and it will be usefull for many years to come. I've used some older (10 yrs or so) tripod heads that were about $3K a piece and about the only difference that I can tell for most* things that I do, is that the Bogen can't handle as much weight as they do and for less than 1/10 the cost. Then, I would do everything during the service on one of your cameras via tripod and if you feel gutsy maybe take the other one off the tripod once in a while, but I probably wouldn't if I've got a good position.

Get 2 wireless mics. If you have to drop down the price a little to afford 2, so be it. Mic the groom and the minister. Having 2 mics on my last shoot saved my rear as the groom's decided to go out for some reason - I was able to get the vows from the ministers mic though.

1) Before you shoot the wedding practice holding your camcorder so you can get steady shots and pans if you decide not to use the tripod in certain circumstances. This is a CRITICAL item in my opinion.

2) If you are shooting this yourself and leaving the camera in back on auto-pilot I would strongly suggest putting the camera where no one can stand in front of it. If you think people will recognize that this camera is videotaping and not stand in front of it you may or may not be right. I got a nice back shot of a suit while the bridal party was walking down the isle thanks to an inconsiderate person.