Live Streaming Your Wedding
In the age of Covid-19, live streaming has become more and more popular as guests are unable to travel. We've had 99% of our couples over the last 18 months chat to us about live streaming options so here’s a run down of how you can ensure your loved ones are there on your big day to witness all of the love, even if it is from a far.
If you're going the DIY route you only really need a phone, but to get even better quality we would definitely recommend a tripod with a smartphone handgrip to make it handsfree and to stop any shaking. It it will mean the person filming for you can still be present at your ceremony as they only need to stop and start your live stream and it will also create a better viewing experience for your guests watching from home.
1. Facebook Live
Facebook lives are a super popular option since most people have social media. Start with creating an event or a group on facebook for your wedding day and then add in your guests, it will allow you to live stream to only those who are closest to you instead of your whole 300 person facebook friends list. One tip with facebook live especially if you live in a different time zone to where you are getting married is to set the timezone on the facebook event to the location of your wedding and use this to input the time and date details. You won't be able to start the live stream until the event time and if you happen to be from Australia and created the event while you were at home, your event will be out by a few hours now you're in NZ! A small detail that could delay your ceremony trying to work the technology!
2. Zoom
Everyone knows how to use zoom these days and it is a great option especially for those without social media accounts. All you need to do is create a meeting and send the link out to your guestlist to sign into on your wedding day. One of the awesome things with zoom is not only can everyone see you but you can also see everyone who is signed in celebrating your day with you. With zoom there are a couple of things to consider. Meetings with over four guests can't extend past one hour in the free version, so depending on how long you want to live stream for, you may need to pay for a subscription to cover your wedding date. Also zoom meetings aren't automatically recorded so if you are wanting to watch it back in the days afterwards make sure someone hits that record button! All of your guests screens will also be recorded so you can see who reaches for the tissues!
3. Live Streaming App
There's an app for everything so of course there is one for live streaming too! Our favourite and the one we recommend the most to our Alta couples is Event Live. There is a one off fee for your wedding and you can film for up to 24 hours as well as download the footage after your wedding. Your guests also don't need to download an app, they are sent a link that they click into and all streaming for the evening will be available on the same link. Event Live also gives you the option to pause and resume your live stream throughout the day so your guests at home can watch your ceremony then click back in later for the speeches. It's a great option for seamless DIY streaming throughout the day, you will just need to make sure someone is in charge of moving the stream and pushing stop/start.
4. AV Professional
Want to make sure the streaming is perfect? Well bring in the pros! They have all of the equipment and know exactly what to do so you don't have to stress that someone forgot to hit record or has the screen on front facing. If you are having a videographer check to see if they have a live streaming ceremony add on in their services. If not, then touch base with your local Audio Visual tech's to see if they can provide this for you. One huge benefit about going with a professional is you can set up large screens and have any guests from home give speeches so you don't have to miss out on those embarrassing stories from your besties who are still living overseas. Our favourite in this neck of the woods is Mike From Wanaka Video, he is a perfectionist and will make sure everyone at home gets to take in every moment from your wedding.
Whichever way you go for live streaming your wedding we always recommend having a test run at your rehearsal. This way you can work out where your stream will be set up, test the links, see if the sound and visuals are on point and check the phone reception at your ceremony location. On the wedding day if you are using a phone, put it on silent so you don't have any notification noises in your video and of course make sure it is fully charged with plenty of data available!
Need help? Just shoot us a message and we can guide you through.
Mrs Ash xx