The coronavirus pandemic has forced many to look for safer ways to celebrate their marital union in 2020. From downsizing to virtual wedding ceremonies, people have had to get more creative. Virtual ceremonies don’t have to be bland; you can add some spice. If you’ve opted for a virtual wedding ceremony to commemorate your union, you can include everything you dreamed your wedding would have.
What You Need to Know
Virtual weddings might not be legal in your state. While states like New York and California recognize virtual weddings, others like Tennessee may require your physical presence for the marriage to be legalized. Look into your state laws so you can get the legal nitty-gritty resolved before you begin planning.
JOCELYN & AL
How to Organize Your Virtual Wedding in 2021
Virtual weddings are not ending in 2020, and many are looking forward to hosting one in 2021.
If you’re hoping to organize a your dream backyard micro virtual wedding in 2021, you might want to use this guide to ensure a smooth ceremony.
If you’re hoping to organize a virtual wedding in 2021, you might want to use the following tips from Natalie Cardens, the founder of Little Miss Party Planner, which have helped her own clients ensure a smooth and memorable ceremony.
– In-person celebration with your 5 closets people, invite the rest on zoom to watch
– Create a cool backdrop, use vendors you would have used for your wedding to support small businesses, like: florist
– Get the intimate affair catered with drop off or pick up food options, then set a pretty table
– Create a fool proof run of show, where key players can say a few words like at a regular wedding
– Create a wedding playlist, and share it with your guests so they can party too
– Send out invites in the mail & include a signature cocktail recipe so everyone can enjoy a fun cocktail the day of
– Mail favors to guests (if you want, not necessary)
– Follow up with a mailed thank you card and include any photos from the day (capture a pic of the zoom meeting to commemorate it)Natalie Cardenas @ Little Miss Party Planner
KIERA & AMIT
Virtual Wedding Planning Team
You might want to plan your virtual wedding before the big day comes if you want things to go smoothly. Also, you’ll want to include a few of your closest friends and family while planning your event.
Or, you may opt for the services of an experienced wedding planner to organize your wedding ceremony. You have the freedom to choose themes, color codes, the whole nine yards to create the wedding of your dreams.
Services offered by virtual wedding planners include a virtual wedding plan, tech support, officiation services, and photography sessions.
JENNA & MATT
Outfits, Hair, and Makeup
Pajamas, casual, corporate, or traditional, it’s all up to you. There are no rules.
Have fun picking out your outfit. If you plan on having a larger ceremony later, then you might want to save your big wedding dress for that and go with something simpler.
When it comes to makeup, less is the way to go. Too much makeup, if not applied correctly, can give you flashbacks. Your hairstylist may give you a virtual hair tutorial for the perfect wedding hair.
How to Invite Your Guests
KAYLA AND SHARIF
Virtual invites like email and e-vites are popular options, but you could consider mailing a traditional invite to guests.
Whichever way you go, consider adding a personal touch. Let your guests know the theme, how to dress up, break out groups, or not. They’d love to have all the information.
Lastly, don’t forget to include the invitation link in your invite.
Create Virtual Invites
You could try creating the invites on your computer or mobile device using apps like canva, or request the services of a professional graphics designer.
Once your invites are ready, send them out.
ALY & ANDREW
Get an Online Photo Booth
You won’t be missing out on fun creative shots from your wedding if you use an online photo booth. Forward the photo booth URL to your guests, and they’ll have fun taking creative snaps for your wedding photo album.
With the online photo booth, you can add props, filters, stickers, and remove backgrounds. Your guests will also have access to the customized photos for their use.
RACHEL & ALP
Create a Killer Playlist
Consider getting an MC who’s willing to work virtually provide all your music needs.
Your guests can join you on the dance floor at the virtual wedding party and relax to background music when other activities are going on.
ORGANIZE YOUR WEDDING CEREMONY
Virtual ceremonies don’t have to be as long as traditional weddings.
Consider reducing the duration of the ceremony to half of the average wedding. That might mean you may have to omit some steps.
There are four primary wedding service types.
- Traditional service
- Civil wedding service
- Religious service
- Modern service
In choosing a service type, you might want to consider your heritage, culture, religious affiliation, and local laws. These factors will help with deciding which rituals to include or omit.
The civil wedding service offers more room for optional changes.
Choose Your Wedding Platform
You have two primary platforms for a virtual event.
Live Streaming
YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram are platforms where you can live stream your event.
To set it up, click on the ‘Go Live’ button on either platform, and your guests can join in depending on your privacy settings. Share your live stream URL with your guests so they can access the event smoothly.
You’ll not see your guests, but you can view their reactions as hearts and comments.
An advantage of live streaming is that the event will be free of distractions and interruptions, but you might miss out on the personal interaction with your guests.
Video Conferencing
Zoom video conferencing allows you to see your guests and interact with them during the ceremony.
You might want to send out zoom wedding invitations to guests well in advance so they can clear their schedules for you.
If you’re not sure how to do a zoom wedding, it’ll only take a few minutes to learn all the basics. You could get a moderator to organize things for a hitch-free event.
To reduce distractions, have your guests muted and unmute them when you’d like to hear their responses. Consider creating breakout rooms for the guests to interact with one another, kind of like a table at a typical wedding. Your guests will have fun chatting with each other and catching up.
How to Document Your Virtual Wedding
If you use professional wedding planning services, consider having the photographer take professional pictures before the wedding begins, exchanging vows and other symbolic moments.
You could put the professional and photo booth photos in an online photo album for safekeeping.
You might want to record the whole event by tapping the record button on a live streaming service like Zoom.
Virtual Wedding Ideas
Here are some extra Zoom wedding ideas for you.
- Have your guests follow a dress code. It’ll be fun to the fun outfits they come up with while following your rules.
- Bake a simple wedding cake for the ceremony. If you can’t bake, see if your local bakery offers small wedding cakes for virtual ceremonies.
- Add some fancy decorations to the venue. Create a fun backdrop for your live stream.
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