To Stream Or Not To Stream? Everything you didn’t know you need to know about live streaming your wedding.
By Jessica Burke, Publisher, NOW Weddings Magazine Photo: Capture Studio Photography
PLANNING A WEDDING COMES WITH SO MANY THINGS TO CONSIDER AND NOW THANKS TO SOCIAL DISTANCING necessities, couples have so much more to think about and more decisions than ever to make. While sorting out a guest list may have been a harrowing challenge pre-pandemic, it can be even more difficult now - or easier if you were looking for an excuse not to invite someone, or many someones...we’re not judging. So let’s say that local restrictions require a more “intimate” guest list, but your original “must invite” file was upwards of Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras night; or, let’s say you have very important guests, like grandparents or family and friends living abroad, who just can’t be there in person due to health reasons or travel restrictions. Sometimes postponing just isn’t an option, but that doesn’t mean those guests have to imagine what your wedding was like. This is where live streaming comes in. Thankfully technology is pretty awesome and can help keep us connected even when we’re far apart. But the first question is, who should be in charge of this very important job? In a pinch many couples start taking volunteers from their guest list for tasks like these, but is this really how you want your guests spending their time? “We’re all really thankful Aunt Sally is a champ and has volunteered to hold her phone perfectly still and level for the full duration of your wedding ceremony,” says Brian Jarreau of HootDown, a local live streaming service, “but later, when it’s time to dance, she’s going to be wiped out, which is unfortunate because everyone knows she’s the best at ‘Cupid Shuffle.’ No no, I kid, but really, your guests are just that, guests, and though no one really minds doing it, someone will inevitably mind how it’s done.” 38 | N.O.W | NOWWeddingMagazine.com
LaVina Bostock of Your Day Video and Photography agrees that how the live streaming is done matters. “We are bringing our many years of video experience to the table,” she shares. “We are not just using a phone or tablet to shoot with.” Pros like HootDown and Your Day Video and Photography use professional cameras. Yes, cameras, as in more than one camera and upwards of four, to cover your event and they can switch between views seamlessly too thanks to their production level equipment. This means that your guests watching from afar see a more interesting and engaging broadcast of your wedding, instead of watching from one person’s perspective. Apologies to Aunt Sally. So what’s the difference between a traditional wedding video and live streaming you may ask? “Live Streaming is different from the traditional wedding video in the fact that we are allowing your guests that are not able to attend your ceremony the experience to watch it live as if they were there,” says Bostock. Jarreau adds, “Live streams and traditional wedding videos are very different in execution. Picture the differences between watching a feature-length film versus a reality TV show. Both are captivating and offer a different look and feel in the content
