Don't wonder why. Just do it.
But, if you're still on the fence, this post will convince you to livestream your wedding.
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| Yes, that's the back of my head on a recent wedding livestream. |
4 Reasons Why To And Tips For How To Livestream A Wedding Ceremony
1. Guests who can't make it can still see you get married
We got married in North Carolina, and the majority of our guests were coming from New York. We were so lucky that so many people were able to travel and be there. Our wedding was, basically, a destination wedding for everyone but us. So, unfortunately, some of our guests who really wanted to be there weren't able to make it.
And that's what's happening right now, even with local guests. They so badly want to come to your wedding and see you get married, but people are still wary about large crowds right now.
Or, some guests may get sick at the last minute and don't want to risk spreading it to anyone.
If you are livestreaming the wedding, you can share the link ahead of time (either on your wedding website or via text) and guests can stream it from their own home.
2. A livestream doesn't cost you anything
For the most part, livestreaming a wedding ceremony won't change your wedding budget at all.
Arguably, yes, it may cost you a little bit in data costs because your phone (or someone's phone) will need to be on a cellular connection to stream. If your wedding ceremony site has WiFi, that's great. And if you have a phone plan with unlimited data, that's great too. But, if not, you'll have to pay whatever it costs for your data for that 45 minutes.
You may also need to purchase a tripod to set up the phone, if you don't have one of those.
But, pretty much, it won't cost you anything.
3. You can watch the livestream later
If you stream on Facebook live, or if you have the host hit record on the livestream, you can reply it later.
Wedding guests who have a prior commitment at the time of your ceremony can stream the replay any time. So that's great for them.
But, great for you is the fact that you will be able to stream it later -- and any time you want.
Most couples don't get to see the wedding. Yes, you're there for the ceremony, so you can see the priest or officiant. But you're busy. You're about to get married. Your mind is going a million miles an hour and only capturing brief scenes of what's happening. And in the future, you'll really only remember your wedding briefly, in snapshots, rather than as a full video.
But if you livestream your wedding ceremony, you can watch it later on a day that's not such a blur. And that's a great memory to have.
4. You'll save on a videographer
One wedding cost that might not fit into your budget is a videographer. A videographer sounds great in theory, but they can get expensive. And you can't fit everything into our budget, so you may have to cut the idea of a videographer.
With a livestream, you have a video of the ceremony. Of course, it won't be exactly the same quality you would get from a professional videographer, but it is better than nothing.
Especially when it costs nothing.
Tips For Livestreaming A Wedding
1. Designate someone to set up the livestream
As you're planning your wedding, and you plan for someone to livestream it, designate a specific person to be in charge of it.
Choose someone who doesn't already have a role during the wedding ceremony. So don't pick a bridesmaid, groomsman, reader, parent, Eucharistic minister, flower girl, or ring bearer. Choose someone who has nothing else to do at the ceremony but livestream.
Make sure that person has a working device that can be used to livestream, but also make sure that person has access to a program that can livestream.
It's not as easy as opening Zoom. For Zoom, you need a paid account to host an event that's long than 45 minutes. So keep that in mind.
You don't know how long your priest or officiant will talk for, and you don't know if the ceremony will start late. So you don't want the ceremony to run over that 45 minute mark and have the livestream cut off before the end. So someone with a paid Zoom account should be in charge.
With the world focused so much on remote learning and virtual events right now, Zoom has a lot of competitors, but honestly, Zoom is easiest because people don't need a account to watch like they do with Skype, Google Meet, and some of the others.
2. Set the livestream up prior to the wedding ceremony
With a paid version of Zoom, the host can create the meeting link ahead of time. Definitely do that. Don't try and fiddle around with it moments before the bride is about to walk down the aisle.
Set the livestream up ahead of time and save yourself the trouble.
3. Send out the livestream link before the ceremony
If you set up the livestream prior to the wedding, you can send out the livestream link before the ceremony. You can add it to your wedding website, put it in a Facebook group, text it ... however you need to reach your guests.
That way, your guests who aren't familiar with virtual events and meetings can play around with the platform and get familiar with the link. And they can ask questions about how it works (either to you or to their young relatives) before the wedding date.
4. Test the livestream ahead of time
If remote learning and working has gotten your designated livestreamer in the habit of hosting meetings, you can skip this. But, for someone who is doing this as a favor, set up a test livestream just to make sure everything will go off without a hitch (so you can get hitched without a hitch, haha).
Have someone man the device for the beginning and the end of the ceremony
Whoever you choose to set up the livestream, ask that person to man the device at the beginning and end of the ceremony.
You want someone to aim the camera towards the back of the room as the bride walks in, then aim the camera towards the front of the room as the ceremony is happening.
And of course, you need someone to end the livestream once the ceremony is over.
Should you livestream your wedding ceremony?
I'm an wholeheartedly, fully on the livestream train. So yes, 100% yes, you should livestream your wedding ceremony.
The world has changed thanks to 2020. Some of the changes should stick around, like livestreaming your wedding ceremony. Now that people understand technology and virtual events, I think livestreaming your wedding should be standard for every wedding ceremony from now on.
BRIDAL BABBLE: Do you have other reasons couples should livestream the wedding ceremony? Let us know in the comments.
