Skype for weddings: Broadcast your wedding “live” for friends and family who can’t be there!
Posted by Jason | Filed under wedding tips
Imagine planning the wedding of your dreams only to find out, just before the wedding, that your mom wouldn’t be able to attend.
That is exactly what happened to one of our clients. Our Bride’s mother was stuck in the very unfortunate situation of not being able to obtain a visa for travel from the Philippines to the US for her daughter’s wedding. After doing everything possible to get a visa, it became clear that it just wasn’t going to happen in time. I was extremely moved by the situation, especially by the fact that friends and family who were in attendance put their heads together and chipped in to provide some type of solution so the mother could be “present” to experience the joy of this great day.
The solution? Use some off the shelf software (Skype), a video camera, and a laptop to stream the wedding live over the Internet. In the corner of the ballroom at the Woodland Hills Marriott was a table, on which sat a Macbook Pro laptop, a small HD Video camera on a tripod connected to the laptop. The laptop was connected wirelessly to the Internet. One of the groomsmen helped set it all up and the results were worth it; The bride’s mother was able to watch everything as it happened from her home computer in the Philippines with other friends and family by her side. Mom even made a video of her “toast/speech” beforehand which was shown during a presentation just after dinner.
It’s a good example of technology making things better for everyone involved.
Here’s how to broadcast your next event live using Skype:
- You’ll need to make sure your Wedding venue has wireless internet access and that you have permission to use it. Test it early and on the day of the wedding. Wireless cell cards like the Verizon broadband card also make good backup plans in areas where there is no wifi or the wifi network is spotty.
- You’ll need a computer with wireless capability.
- You’ll need a video camera with someone assigned to occasionally operate the camera (to take it close to the action).
- You’ll connect the video camera to the laptop with a USB cable and have Skype use the external camera for the feed – have a techy friend help you set it up.
- And don’t forget, the party watching over the Internet needs a computer with an internet connection, Skype, and webcam or video camera as well.
- Test everything ahead of time!
I’m sure there are companies out there in the world that offer this as a package service, but the above setup is a quick way to do it at low cost. You may not have relatives overseas who can’t obtain a travel visa, but many people do have friends and family across the country, in the military, with an illness, or other reason they cannot attend your special day. Skype and an Internet connection can come to your rescue in these situations.
Planning your First Dance; our recent songs list
Posted by Jason | Filed under wedding tips
The Bride and Groom First Dance is one of the happiest moments of the entire Wedding Reception. As you plan your wedding, it’s one of the many little decisions you’ll make along the way.
The placement of the First Dance in the schedule is a personal choice. In most cases the First Dance follows the Grand Entrance into the reception room pretty much immediately. When this is done, the meal usually follows and open dancing is scheduled later, this can allow the Bride and Groom to have their special moment as soon as they enter, with all eyes on them, and it also relieves the stress for the rest of the evening because the hard part is over, now it’s time to let loose and have fun. You can break that pattern if you need to and we’ve seen the first dance influenced by the logistics of the event location and the style of the event. Some Weddings are very non-traditional, or have longer receptions, and it’s often appropriate to hold the First Dance after the meal.
Even if you do not like to be in the spotlight, our suggestion is to keep in mind that this is one moment your guests will want to see and it is one of the most memorable moments of your wedding. We suggest taking a few dance lessons to ease the pressure and loosen up for the dance. If you aren’t the dancing type, don’t try to choreograph a complex Sir Mix-A-Lot surprise dance routine, it will seem too arranged. But dance lessons can definitely help you to look and feel as natural as possible for your First Dance.
But what song to use! Read the rest of this entry »
A Tasty Way To Make Every Penny Work Double-Time
Posted by Chris | Filed under wedding tips
This blog caught my attention. A clever idea!!!! Photo by: Forever Photography by Kylene
A tasty way to make every penny work double-time
Los Angeles Weddings : What’s Your Budget?
Posted by Chris | Filed under wedding tips
A wonderful blog we found about Wedding Budgets. Why Having A Wedding Budget Is Necessary?.
“All of us at Elegant Event Entertainment understand what’s going on with the economy and the cost of a wedding. We can make sure you stay within your budget with our event planning team by creating the right package for your entertainment and budget needs. Hiring a Los Angeles DJ can be expensive, but we want to ease your concerns and prove that our services can be affordable to most clients. We believe clients will find a great value for our experience and highly respected reputation.”
Save A Buck Or Two!!
Posted by Chris | Filed under wedding tips
As I was searching through blogs I came across this. Brides and Grooms are putting money back in to their pockets. The Wedding Lens developed a list of 75 Cheap Wedding Tips that cover all kinds of areas of planning.
“You want your wedding to be classy, smart, and just how you imagined. We’ve created this list of cheap wedding tips to save you money without sacrificing style and grace.”
If you are an experienced wedding DJ who loves working to serve the needs of your clients,