4 Platforms for Hosting a Virtual Wedding
Due to the Corona virus life has had some pretty horrible things occur. Apart from the overwhelming number of infected individuals, deaths, and inundated hospitals, events all over the country were cancelled, including weddings. It’s a harsh reality to face when you’ve been meticulously planning your big day for a minimum of one year. A lot of money was lost to last minute cancellations and I’m sure a lot of tears have fallen. However, some couples have decided not to let these circumstances darken their doorway. Instead they’ve decided to host a virtual wedding.
A virtual wedding is like a live streaming of an event, but instead of being at a venue, the couple is at home in favor of social distancing. The first thing you’ll need to do is call all of your vendors and try to reschedule them for a later date so that when the country goes back to “normal” you can at least still have your reception. You’ll also want to contact the wedding officiant and ask them if they’ll be available and willing to officiate online. Once those things are done, you just need to choose a platform. There are many to choose from including Facebook Live, Youtube Live, Google Hangouts, Skype, Periscope, and/or Zoom.
Facebook Live is an easier platform to navigate. Most people have used Facebook live and know how to operate it. There’s a feature where you can bring in someone else during your video. Use that feature to allow viewers to see the officiant. The only issue is privacy. This may not be the best platform if you don’t want strangers viewing your wedding and/or commenting.
Youtube Live is another platform that is familiar to most people. With their features you can provide a private link to your live feed so that only your desired guests can attend. In order to bring in the officiant, you would have to use Google Hangouts, or Skype. If you are more of a tech guru, try using Skype with OBS for your Youtube Live streaming. Youtube Live doesn’t require guests to have an account to watch the streaming session.
Periscope is a platform that will require you guests to have an account. This is especially true if you want to have a private wedding. You will need to invite each guest by username in order to have them view privately. When you want to add the officiant, you will need to click the double face icon on the broadcast tab before you go live. The officiant can also request to be on screen later afterwards. You can go live from your cell phone, something I think is an added benefit for those who don’t have computers or laptops.
Zoom is another great option because you can actually have all your guests online at once. You and your guests would need to create an account, but some people can just listen on their phones. Once you have an account, you just need to start a meeting and send out the meeting ID. Your guests can cheer for you at the end and you’ll hear all of their responses. Just make sure to have them mute their lines during the ceremony. The ability to have everyone audibly comment is a reason why I love Zoom for weddings. Hearing them relieves some of the disappointment of not having a physical wedding. A free account allows for a thirty minute meeting, but if you pay you’ll have more time.
If you want to make it really special, get some of your guests to screenshot various moments of the session and either directly send them to you or post them to your social media pages. This way you can choose the best photos and send them to a photographer or graphic artist who can add features to the best photos and make the pictures look more professional.
To contact Carpe Diem Design Studio. We offer photography and videography services in the New Jersey tri-state area (New York & Pennsylvania), so contact dblake@carpediemdesignstudio.com for more information.