Having a wedding doesn’t necessarily mean having all the attendees in one physical venue. Technological advancements have allowed for virtual weddings.
Virtual weddings have eliminated the necessity of having your friends and family travel across the globe to celebrate weddings together. Thanks to professional wedding live streaming services people can organize a virtual wedding where every person can be part of the celebration from wherever part of the globe they might be.
However, to make the wedding more memorable, you need to have more than just a camera, a computer, and a streaming software. The following are some ideas that can make your virtual wedding memorable for your online guests:
1. Send Food, Drinks, Décor, And Other Favors In Advance
Just like offering a welcome basket to your out-of-town guests, sending goodies such as a pre-wedding basket of items can set your guests in a celebration mood. Some things you might include are wedding shower gifts such as balloons or banners, personalized creations, a bottle of champagne, special snacks, cookbooks for couples, a small floral centerpiece, a fun favor, or a unique item.
These pre-wedding items portray how special your online guests are to you, hence making the gesture memorable to them. You can even have a zoom background that everyone can use.
2. Create Designated Spots For Your Video Equipment
While preparing the ceremony, find a perfect spot for your tablet, camera, or computer that will broadcast the happenings of your event. You have to ensure that the site you select gives your guests a clear and unobstructed view of everything occurring in the event.
If the setup has to change at any given time between the ceremony and the reception, it would be wise to get a perfect spot for each location.
3. Enlist A Tech Coordinator And An Emcee
You need to have at least two people helping out with live-streaming the wedding event. Livestreaming can be hectic and requires experts. Therefore, hiring a technology coordinator would ensure that the live stream is working correctly, virtual guests see all the proceedings clearly, and troubleshoot any problems.
The coordinator also ensures that everyone is muted where appropriate and there is a direct line of communication with the assisting personnel. Having an emcee is also vital since you would require someone to facilitate the activities and games that the online guests might be playing.
4. Host A Pre-Party
Get the party started early. The best part of having ceremonies like weddings is the chance for people to reconnect with the loved ones they haven’t seen in years. Even for a virtual wedding, people might be anxious to see each other through software like zoom.
Giving them a little time to chat and reconnect before the wedding can make your online guests feel appreciated. If your schedule is tight, you can hire a host to facilitate games or create breakout rooms where your guests can catch up.
5. Play Some Games
Your virtual wedding can be fun and unique by incorporating easy-to-play games in a virtual hangout, such as who knows the couple best, or online games like JackBox. Including games in your virtual wedding can turn out to be a fun bonding experience for your virtual guests.
6. Including A Virtual Lounge In The Reception
Ensuring that your online guests have the best seats makes the event memorable to them. Everyone wants to see every detail of the event. Therefore, having your venue coordinator set up an audio-visual component where the in-personal family members can communicate with your online guests would make them feel more included in your wedding plans.
7. Initiate A Dance Party
Your online guests should be in a celebratory mood since they are attending an event. Creating a platform where your guests can let loose might be a clever way of including them at your wedding. You can get a system that can broadcast the music on the event to your virtual guests and allow them to bust some moves. This can be a fun way of making the wedding memorable to your online attendees.
8. Show A Slideshow
While waiting for the event to commence or during breaks, you can show a slideshow featuring childhood photos of the events of the newlyweds and throughout their relationship. This can be a unique way of bonding with the online guests since they would know more about the couple’s love journey.
9. Thank Your Online Guests Directly
It would be a great idea to check in and thank your online guests for celebrating with you. The day’s schedule might be tight, but creating time to thank your loved ones for being present at your virtual wedding can mean a lot to them.
Conclusion
Weddings have been known to be in-person gatherings to celebrate a loved one. However, having a virtual wedding can be as fun as an in-person wedding. The outline above highlights how you can make your virtual wedding memorable to your online guests.