What is Live Streaming and Why Do I Need it?

Hey everyone! Hope you are all happy and healthy during these crazy times. It’s been a while since we wrote a blog post, but I will try to do a better job keeping up. Ever since we announced our new Live Stream services, we have received tons of interest, but also lots of questions about what it is. As a result, I figured I’d write a post explaining some of our most commonly asked questions.

Before I do that, I’d like to explain the origin of how we came up with the idea. Like all wedding vendors, this Covid 19 disease hit us hard. Like really hard. We had so many couples that either rescheduled their wedding, or canceled altogether. Virtually every couple had to make major changes to their wedding. Couples have had to greatly reduce their guest count, and unfortunately it appears that will be the case for quite a while. We decided that we could help these couples by allowing their friends and family that couldn’t be at the wedding to still be able to view their wedding as it was happening. And of course, we wanted to be able to do it in a high quality way. We spent a few months getting the right system, and practicing using this new system. The results have been fantastic, and we are so excited to be offering this new service.

That being said, here are some of our most common questions:

What exactly is Live Streaming? Live Streaming is a way to share your wedding or event live with friends and family. Typically they will be given a link ahead of time, and they will tune in at the correct time and enjoy the event.

Why would I hire you for that? Why wouldn’t I just have a friend go on Facebook live? You can absolutely do that, and it will do the job. However, what we do is so much more than that. First of all, we use tripods. There is nothing worse than watching shaky video:) Second, we use multiple cameras. This allows us to be able to alternate angles, which keeps the video exciting, but also provides different viewpoints. Third, we use professional cameras. We are able to use the same pro cameras that we use when we shoot video. You will definitely notice the quality difference. Finally, and probably most importantly, we use professional microphones. You will actually be able to clearly hear the officiant speak. You will be able to hear the vows (probably even better than you would if you were at the ceremony). All these reasons together make for a pleasant viewing experience.

Will I be able to watch the video after the Live Streaming is done? Absolutely! The link will stay active. If you want, we can even send you the movie file so that you can put it on your social media.

Does this mean I don’t need to get video? If you have the budget, I would still recommend getting video. It will be a more polished product, as you can go back and fix the video later on and get everything exactly how you want it. However, if you don’t have the budget for video, this does make for an excellent alternative, as well as allowing you to be able to immediately go back and watch the video.

Will the link be public for the world to see? Only if you want it to be. We can make it a private link if you prefer. Just let us know what you want and we will make it happen.

What do you need to be able to Live Stream? Internet. The faster the better. We will try to get the Wi-Fi information days ahead of time.

What happens if we don’t have internet at our venue? In that case, we will use a mobile hotspot to try to get an internet connection. Unfortunately this will reduce the quality a little, as the internet will be slower so we will have to reduce the bandwith. If for some reason the mobile hotspot doesn’t work, we will still shoot the wedding and upload it immediately, so your guests won’t have to wait long. Fortunately in most cases we should know ahead of time if this is a possibility.

Can I stream more than just the ceremony? Of course! If you want to have your reception streamed as well, we will typically provide a second link for the reception coverage.

Are you offering any special packages for Live Streaming and Photography? We sure are. We have an amazing introductory package of $2495 for 8 hours of photography with 250 images, as well as live streaming of the ceremony and reception. To receive this package, you must book by December 31, 2020.