How to Host a Zoom Wedding – Part 1 – what approach do you want to use?

Wedding Planning Tips

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As much as everyone would love to celebrate in a traditional sense for weddings C***** has thrown a major curve ball so here is an alternative if you are still wanting to move forward with your day and really want to share it with your family + friends.

First, set your expectations and mourn the wedding you were supposed to have. A C***** wedding is going to be different and a Zoom one at that will definitely be different. It is OKAY to be sad about things looking different.

Stick with the Professional

If you have already brought on a videographer for your wedding, don’t be scared to ask them to live stream it! They will already be videoing the day, and many videographers have ‘live streaming’ packages that you can simply add on.

If you go this route, just be sure they give you specific details as to how guests will be able to view the video. Also be sure to ask if you need to have someone available to be on ‘tech’ support for your guests who are not present.

Photograph: Stories by Victoria

The DIY Approach

Sometimes bringing on a pro isn’t within the budget and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

If you are looking for a free DIY live stream option, here are a few options –

Facebook / Instagram Live:

There is no fancy ‘tech’ needed for this one. Simple set up a phone on a tri-pod, (You don’t want it shaking the whole time from someone moving their hand) and go live as soon as your ceremony starts. Be sure that you are either Facebook friends with all of your guests or you make your profile public for the day; otherwise, not all your guests will be able to watch.

The only downfall to going live on one of these platforms, is that your guests will all need to have an Instagram or Facebook account.

Zoom:

At this point, we are all familiar with zoom, as it’s one of the most popular video conferencing apps available. With zoom, you will simply need to create a meeting and share the meeting ID and password with all of your guests. If you go this route, there are a few things I would recommend:

  • Be sure to have someone available to troubleshoot with your guests as they all try to login. Once again, think about Grandma here!
  • Encourage your guests to put their zoom on ‘Speaker View,’ so that they see a full screen of the wedding, instead of all of your guests.
  • Ask your guests to mute their computer, otherwise your guests won’t be able to hear you very well
  • Last but not least, be sure you have your meeting set to record, as you are going to want to be able to go back and watch your video at a later date!
Photograph: Stories by Victoria