Weddings are one of the most exciting and memorable celebrations in a person’s life. When planning a wedding, everyone desires their close family members and friends to witness the event. However, you often may not have the luxury of inviting everyone to the venue due to expenses or limited space. Alternatively, some people would wish to attend the wedding but could be miles away. These are some of the many reasons why you would choose to live stream your wedding.
Further, ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, most people wish to avoid physical gatherings or crowded places. The stringent government measures to curb the virus also necessitated most couples to postpone their weddings. But thanks to video streaming apps and services, you don’t have to postpone your wedding. The celebration can still happen as planned, with everyone you intended to be present physically or virtually. With a virtual wedding, you can find a wedding photographer to capture and share your special moments with friends and family.
If you are considering a virtual wedding, here are some tips to help you broadcast your memorable day.
1. Gather everything you need to live stream your wedding
You most likely have all the equipment required to hold a virtual event, or you can easily borrow some from a friend or relative. Below are the things you need to live stream your wedding.
- A phone with a good camera and internet connectivity. This can be any smartphone, including iPhone or Android.
- A tripod. You don’t want a shaky video, so a tripod or phone mount is essential for stability.
- Strong internet connection. When live streaming your wedding, you want to ensure that you have fast internet to avoid any hitches. You can use a 4G, 5G, mobile hotspot, or Wi-Fi; check the connection and speed.
- In-build or external microphone. Your phone’s microphone would do, but it will likely pick up noise like wind or guests moving around. Therefore an external microphone is a worthy investment for better sound quality.
- A designated person to manage the live streaming. You don’t want to be the one setting, managing, and running the live stream during your wedding.
- Power. Live streaming consumes battery fast, so you want to ensure you have a charger or an external battery.
- Backup plan. It is essential to know that anything could go wrong. Say your live stream cuts, or you can’t connect, the backup plan is to record and upload the clip later
2. Select the right platform
You have several options to choose from when it comes to live streaming your wedding. They include Zoom, Facebook, FaceTime, Skype, and Google Hangout. However, these platforms have limitations, so you want to evaluate the pros and cons of each before settling for one. For example, when using Zoom to live stream your wedding, you can only have 100 participants and a time limit of 40 minutes. You will have to pay a fee for an extended duration and more participants.
Other platforms like Skype and Google Hangout are free, but you can only have a limited number of participants. That leaves Facebook as the excellent platform to live stream your wedding. Besides being free, this online platform does not limit the number of participants and allows up to eight hours of streaming.
3. Designate someone to manage the live stream
No one wants to handle the hassle of addressing technical issues during their wedding. Therefore, having someone to set up and run the live stream is essential to let you enjoy your day fully. When choosing someone to delegate this task to, consider their technical skills. The individual needs to be tech-savvy so that the live stream runs smoothly. They should also be able to troubleshoot any problems and address any concerns from guests.
4. Create a backdrop
Creating a backdrop that captures your style makes the virtual ceremony feel personal. You can build one yourself if you are a creative mind, or you can hire someone to do the work. There are various design inspirations online, so getting one should not be taxing.
5. Find a discreet location to station the tripod and phone
When choosing a site, you want to ensure that it is close to the ceremony so you don’t have to zoom in. You also don’t want a phone and tripod appearing everywhere in your wedding photos and view of your guests. The ground on which the tripod stands should be solid so it doesn’t trip over.
Once everything is set, go live with your streaming service at least 10 minutes before the ceremony starts.