Simply put, weddings are a wonderful time that you want to spend with family and friends. After all, if it wasn’t for wanting to share this day with all of your guests, you would be eloping, right? However, there are always going to be some people that can’t make it, whether it’s simply bad timing, poor health, or you’re planning a destination wedding and family and friends can’t make the long and expensive trip. Whatever the reason may be, there is a way; if you can’t bring all of your guests to your wedding then you can still bring the wedding to them by streaming it live online.
Pick a Service
You can go with the basic options like Skype or FaceTime, but this requires your streaming guests to have these services as well. However, if you use something like YouTube Live, Livestream, or a service specifically created for weddings like I Do Stream, all your guests will need is a computer and an internet connection to access your live stream. Livestream is highly regarded and not only streams the wedding, but it also records and stores a video copy in cloud storage for you to be able to access later. However, if you go with their free options, you can’t make your event private, which may be of interest for something as intimate as a wedding.
Make it Private
Although usually setting the stream to private means you need to manually invite everyone, the extra work is often worth it. So when you choose a streaming service, make sure you look into the ins and outs of unlisted and private streaming options. Many of the services that offer private streaming also implement a proxy server. It sounds complicated, but ultimately a proxy server keeps the connection safe between a private network and those accessing it on the internet – see here for a better description. This type of connection will ensure that, even though you are streaming on something as public as the World Wide Web, only the guests that you have invited – and given the access code to –will actually have access to it. Also, it won’t get hacked or interrupted by outside sources; just a little extra peace of mind to make your big day run as smoothly as possible.
Make Sure You Have the Right Tools
And of course you need to make sure that you have the right tools and set-up. You obviously need a video camera or at least a high-quality webcam, a computer, and an internet connection – preferably broadband. And because no one wants to watch a poor quality, obstructed, or shaky stream, it is best to set up the computer within perfect shot of the couple, and on a flat or reliable surface. This could be a tripod for phones and tablets, or a chair or table for a computer. Asking someone to hold the tech throughout the ceremony is usually a recipe for a shaky video, so we would recommend avoiding that. Do, however, have someone tech-savvy on hand to handle any glitches that you may experience with the stream and do a test stream before the big day to make sure everything is working properly. Oh, and don’t forget to disable screen savers and sleep mode! The last thing you want is for your stream to get cut off just before “I do”!