Five Things That Will Make Your Zoom Wedding the Next Best Thing to Being There

One of the harsh realities for those planning their wedding in these unprecedented times is the fact that their loved ones interstate and abroad may be unable to attend the big day. Part of keeping the world safe means heavy restrictions on air travel and even the ability to cross state lines can change week-to-week. Whilst many couples have made the unhappy decision to postpone their nuptials indefinitely, others are pressing on regardless.

The current restrictions on physical attendees have opened the creative floodgates on how to best broadcast your wedding to the masses through video link. But there is more to it than just setting up one of your guests with a phone. Here are five things to consider that will make sure your digital guests have as good a time as you do as you tie the knot!

Technology has opened up creative possibilities for Wedding locations and set-up

1. Can Everyone Online See What is Happening?

Positioning the camera so that everyone can see the couple clearly is probably the most important thing to consider when digitally broadcasting your wedding. You have to consider the position of the sun, if outside, or make sure you are facing into the light without shadows if inside. The use of a tripod makes life a lot easier here. You can pick them up cheaply online and can be reused for all sorts of things post-wedding.

It’s also important to liaise with any photographers or videographers capturing the occasion to ensure that they can work around the camera position and still get that perfect shot! Also, when the couple walks down the aisle, it can be a really nice touch for one of the guests to pick up the camera and walk backwards, so the online guests can take in the full walk.

2. Is Everything Audible?

A close second to the video is the audio, and clarity is of the utmost importance here. Elderly people can have a lot of trouble picking up articulation of speech spoken from a distance. So if you have a video set up some way away from the ceremony, the speech will also be soft and hard to hear. It’s worth considering options here such as bluetooth earbuds or another form of direct input into the phone. If wired, remember to consider trip hazards - there is a lot of moving around in a ceremony!

Zoom or Skype allows multiple guests to view the same thing

3. Make Sure You Can See the Guests

It’s one thing for guests to be able to see and hear the ceremony, but the other half of the interaction is that the couple is able to see and feel the support of the guests! If you can, a large monitor set underneath the camera will go a long way to helping you feel close to those who can’t be there in person. Power can be a problem if your ceremony is outdoors and will need to be supplied by a large battery pack like those used by tradesmen. You’ll need to research which ones are up to the task of powering the screen!

4. Ensure Everyone Online Knows How to Mute Themselves!

Life at home is noisy! There are often kids running around, doorbells ringing, phones notifications going off to name a few things that can spoil a wedding. One of the things that your celebrant can do prior to the wedding is address all Zoomed-in guests and have them all mute themselves. Setting up the meeting with guests pre-muted can also go a long way to helping this process along. 

Making sure guests know how to unmute themselves to give audible applause is also really important so the couple can hear their appreciation and support. 

You can still hold a special wedding ceremony despite restrictions on travel

5. Restructure Your Ceremony To Suit Everyone

Celebrants need to be mindful that a combination of a digital and live audience means there can be delays, interruptions and other challenges to the smooth running of the ceremony. Not only is patience the order of the day, but proper planning and some slight restructuring of the ceremony may be required. For example, the signing of the register is often done after the kiss, but prior to the couple walking down the aisle together. However, if this were to happen, the online audience could feel left out of the action during this 5-10 minute interlude. It could be a better option for the celebrant to sign the register with in-person witnesses post-ceremony.

There is so much room to include those who can’t make it to your wedding in person and with a little bit of preparation in conjunction with your celebrant, you will certainly give those guests an experience to be remembered!