How to Host Your Virtual Wedding

One of the neat things that has become a popular thing during this pesky pandemic is the increase of couples considering live streaming some or part of their wedding. Therefore, I thought I would provide you a quick guide to help you determine if this might be something you’d like to explore!

What is a virtual wedding?

Great question! Let’s clarify. A virtual wedding utilizes technology to live stream all or part of your wedding ceremony and reception. Many couples only want to live stream a ceremony, while others might live stream the entire day. The idea is live streaming allows guests who can’t physically be at the celebration to still experience some of the fun!

If this live streaming sounds like something you’d like to explore. Here are the steps to follow to make your live streamed wedding a success.

Step 1 – Choose a Platform

Zoom, Facebook or Instagram and some third party live streaming vendors like Love Stream are the most popular platforms to choose. There are pros and cons to each platform. However, if you are seriously considering making a virtual wedding part of your wedding experience, I would recommend going with a third party professional to help manage the day of event broadcast.

Step 2 – Invite Your Guests

This may sound simple, but then when it comes time to craft the verbiage you might be stuck. Here are some sample phrasing to reference:

Step 3 – Get the Right Equipment

Obviously, a camera and a tripod are the basic necessity for streaming your wedding. You will also need a laptop, tablet or smartphone with an internet connection to manage the livestream. Because this is a step that can cause some stress. I again encourage you to lean on the professionals to make sure you don’t run into any technical difficulties.

Step 4 – Still Plan a Rehearsal

Just as if you were hosting the ceremony in person, it is still a good idea to have a dry run of the event before actually live streaming the event. Be sure to get this pre-event walk through on all the key players’ calendars.

Step 5 – Include Your Vendors

Just because you may not be doing the entire wedding as you had originally planned doesn’t mean you don’t want food, flowers, photographs and the other details! Ask you vendors how they might modify your current agreement to include the services you need to make your virtual wedding special.

Step 6 – Don’t Stop at Virtual

I have found most of my couples who explore the virtual option, also plan to host a large party sometime in the future. Therefore, if you don’t want the virtual wedding to be the end – be sure to keep the excitement building for your future in-person event!

Step 7 – Be Sure to Celebrate!

Even if you are just streaming your ceremony – don’t forget to still savor the moment! Share a toast with guests, share an intimate dinner – have a slice of cake or two! Consider your virtual wedding as just one more fun component of your wedding adventure!

I hope this information is helpful! Of course reach out if you’d like to explore this option in more detail. I would be happy to help you get started!

Happy planning!

Casey

Casey Green Weddings, LLC Scottsdale | Sedona | Northern Arizona

602-448-8133

hello@caseygreenweddings.com