A few months ago I got engaged to my girl frie- fiance (still getting used to that), and since we’ve been wedding planning one of the HARDEST parts is narrowing down the guest list. I mean, you may be cool with extended family, but are they $120/plate cool? It’s rough, especially with family politics on both sides of the aisle (no pun apologies). Anyway, the reason you’re here is you have figured out a brilliant way to bring your wedding to everyone that wants to celebrate with you, a live stream! But how the hell are you going to make sure it works, especially when YOU will be doing much more important things, like getting married. Don’t worry, I got you. I’ve been live shooting wedding video and live streaming weddings for years, and here is my honest opinion on the best ways to live stream your wedding.

1. Use Your Phone to Facebook Live

I hate to say, but if you’re not looking for anything fancy you can use your phone. If you want it to be private, create a secret group on Facebook. Invite everyone you would like to watch to the group, and when the time comes simply go live to a post in that group. Easy, free, and you can set it up and have your nephew do it.
WARNING: As easy as it may be, there are some drawbacks to this cheap solution.
a. Check your cell reception or internet connection at your venue. If you do not have a fast enough connection, your video and audio quality will suffer. Do a test stream before hand. Just because a venue has wifi does not mean it’s fast.
b. Audio: your phone’s microphone kind of sucks… it may be difficult for your viewers to hear your vows.

2. Web Conferencing Apps

Although these have the same drawbacks as using Facebook Live, it is another solution if you’re only inviting a few people to watch. Google Hangout, Skype, Zoom and more all work just fine. You still have the same issues of audio from your laptop or phone, and you you will need venue wifi or a mobile hotspot to get an internet connection.

3. Hire a Professional

This is the one way to ensure everything goes right. From a well composed and exposed image, to audio coming straight from your microphone, to confirming a fast and reliable internet connection. So how do you find a wedding live stream vendor? Like all wedding planning, more options!
A. There are services like I do Stream and My Streaming Wedding that will either send your the gear to do it yourself (silly in my opinion), or they will send someone out to do it for you. Their services typically start at $2,500 for one person for two hours. So… basically setting up and your ceremony.
B. Talk with your other vendors. It’s likely your videographer, photographer, or planner know someone who can live stream your wedding.
C. Hire a live streaming company. Studio 637 offers live streaming services for a wide variety of events. Because we have done projects of all sizes, we can scale our services to meet your budget. From one camera and a professional engineer for just $800, less than half of the other guys. Why? Because we are not a network that needs to mark up our prices to pay our contractors. We own all of the gear we need to provide an exceptional experience for all of your loved ones. From 1 camera to 10, we can do it all (even 360 live video). We also create a custom web and send you the recording of the ceremony.

When it comes to weddings it is very easy to get caught up in the details when dealing with vendors that speak another industry language. Don’t get caught up in all the techno babble of  live streaming. The purpose is to make sure your loved ones get to experience your wedding as it’s happening, live.
If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to reach out. We only provide services for the Southern California area, but I would be happy to help give you figure out the best solution for you.

Cheers!
Brian