That puts it neatly and it's exactly how I feel. I like to keep a DVD of all my shoots over the years and when I go back to those early (pre 525/503) days I really flinch at the slightly unsteady camerawork. OIS and monopods can only do so much, proving that there's really no alternative to a good tripod. There are substitutes, but there's a hit to take.

tom.

We use two cams on every ceremony. One is generally in the rear of the church in a balcony on a tripod. This is my go-to shot for multi-cam edits. I film on the floor of the church or up in the altar, depending on the layout, and always with a monopod.

My reasoning is this... Even if you attend rehearsal and see where everyone is supposed to be standing, it doesn't always work out that way during the actual ceremony. With the monopod, I can move to get a better shot.

Also, sometimes there isn't room on the altar, so I'll film the processional from the aisle near the front of the church. The only way to get a steady shot there is with the monopod. Then after the father gives away the bride, I move to the side out of the way and film with monopod the remainder of the ceremony.

The shots aren't rock solid, but you can get surprisingly steady shots with practice.

I recently added Manfrotto 679B monopod to my asset-list and i thought monopod was just perfect for weddings. 2nd (and 3rd if available) camera on tripod, manned or unmanned, and 1st camera on monopod during the ceremony. I am thinking about trying my Glidecam 2000 for the entrance of B&G and then switch to monopod before the speech.

One more idea is, ask the officiant how long the speech is. (For Christian weddings, speech can go for over 20 min. ) If he/she says it's over 10 min, then go with the tripod right after the entrance.

I do very similar setup - one camera on tripod capturing 99% of ceremony, and 2nd cam running on monopod and capturing all b-roll/inserts or simply other angle of the B&G. Works great as long as the cameraman knows what to do.