By Have you ever thought about live streaming your wedding? I know we have covered the unplugged wedding, but I want to expand on the subject, because even though it can be super rude to hold your phones up with your hands while blocking the view, but some technology can actually make a wedding. These days, nothing comes as a surprise, and with technology reaching new heights everyday, I’m sure we are only a hologram away from staying seated on our couches while the laser version of ourselves attends a wedding.
I actually think that live streaming a wedding is a great idea for those whose family members and closest friends are unable to attend their big day. I’d say, if you want to keep the number of “un-attendees” low, then keep the idea of live streaming private. Only offer the option to the few people you know really won’t be able to make it, like a grandma with a fear of flying or your a cousin with octuplets.
However, if it is something where you are having a very small, tight-knit wedding with strictly family members, you could always live-stream for the close friends you couldn’t invite to be there in person. Hopefully, they won’t be offended. Go ahead and send them their own personal e-vite that offers them their own seat at the ceremony via video stream and ta-da, you have successfully added to your guest list without adding to your budget!
Here is what you’ll need to successfully stream your wedding:
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Good internet connection (if your device has mobile internet or a wireless hotspot, this can work also). Remember that video streaming usually drains all of your mobile data, so you want to try to use WiFi
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A laptop, tablet, or smartphone with a webcam in order to actually capture the video - duh
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Make sure you have a dedicated webcam person - someone with very steady hands that will be willing to hold the smartphone or tablet during the ceremony. If it’s via a laptop, set that thing on a chair with a good angle.
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Make sure none of the devices go into sleep mode during the service - you can usually change this function under the settings
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Oh, and no one wants to hear the cousins 5th octuplet screaming through the video while the bride is stating her vows, so make sure your guests turn their side of the vocals on mute
Some video services and mobile apps allow you to live chat with one person at a time, and some allow you to stream to any number of people. While Skype and Facetime may be the obvious choice of live video services, we can recommend a few others that are accommodating toward more people-
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HangWith
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UStream
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Tango
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Facebook Video
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YouTube Live Stream
We’re curious to know, from both a bride/groom and a guest perspective, would you participate in a live stream wedding to save money? Guests, would you feel offended if you were invited to a virtual wedding? Bride and Groom, would you feel awkward if someone asked to Tango into your wedding instead of attending in person?