Because of technology, you can now stream your wedding live to anyone, anywhere for free!
When we first got our dog Rudy, we wondered what he did during the day when we were at work. Therefore, I set up a webcam with a free stream site to see what he was up to. It turned out it was pretty lame; he slept all day. However, I was able to easily secure and set up a 24/7 feed for free that allowed me to be somewhere that I couldn’t be.
Maybe you want to stream your wedding, but don’t really know where to begin. Applying my failed “dog-cam” experiment to something that could be somewhat useful is no problem.
This article will give you a step-by-step instructional guide on how to stream your wedding for those who can’t attend. It will offer all the different planning aspects you need to make your online wedding stream free and seamless to your guests.
1. CHOOSE YOUR STREAM – Do some surfing and select a streaming video website. Several websites allow you to BROADCAST live for free! (JUST DO A GOOGLE!)
2. REGISTER – Set up your account early on. Once you have completed this step, your online stream provider will create your personal website address and/or log in information for your wedding guests to login to. This URL will bethe “channel” where they will access the live video stream on the date and time of your wedding.
3. DETERMINE WEDDING GUEST LIST – Let’s face it. Some people are more important to you than others. Uncle Charlie may be way more cool than Uncle Jerry. Sit down with your fiancée and figure out who you absolutely want at your wedding live.
Send out invitations. Nag the hell out of them all and make sure all your important “VIP guest” come! Make sure that you send out your regular invitations first WITHOUT THE VIRTUAL WEDDING URL. (You do not want to offer this option to guests that you really want at your reception. It could create competition and allow for more unwanted VIP guest absenses.)
4. DETERMINE YOUR VIRTUAL WEDDING GUEST LIST – Figure out who cannot make it to your wedding from your RSVPs. Create a new list of virtual wedding guests. Email the people on this list a virtual invitation with the streaming video information for your virtual wedding. It may be a good idea to remind repeat of the date and time of the wedding. You should also provide “dummy-proof” instructions on how to log in to see the wedding live.
5. ASSIGN VIRTUAL WEDDING CAMERA MAN – You probably do not want to have the added stress of setting up and checking on the virtual wedding web cam throughout the night. Therefore, it is probably a good idea to ask a close friend or family member to fully accept the responsibility. It is probably best to broadcast the wedding ceremony and the reception to give your guests the full flavor of the day. This means that your camera man will probably have to set up, break down and set up again at the reception.
6. PLAN THE SHOTS – Plan the shots and location of the web cam, beforehand. Go to your wedding location with your virtual wedding camera man and set up the webcam. Select the best shot with the least amount of clutter. One idea would be to set up a small “tv tray” with a table cloth an as minimal exposure to wires as possible.
If your ceremony is outside, it is probably best to run the laptop off of battery so you do not have to run wires. (Any good wedding DJ will tell you, “the goal should be that you do not want to see any wires at all.” If the reception is also outside, it may be best to try and set up out-of-the-way against a tent post or wall near the dance floor and/or head table.
7. TEST BROADCAST – Turn the webcam on and do an actual live run, with maybe someone watching at home on a computer, taking notes, on a cell phone with you and the virtual wedding camera man.
Make the needed adjustments to the location of the webcam or the height the webcam sits so it clearly shows your walk down the aisle and the location where you will be standing to say your vows.
You can even invite your virtual wedding guests to login during this test broadcast to make sure they can see . A simple follow up call could be the difference of a particular guest experiencing trouble being able to see it live, or not.
8. BROADCAST YOUR VIRTUAL WEDDING – Have your virtual camera man set up the webcam a little early at the ceremony on the day of the wedding.
Virtual Wedding Guests – Streaming your wedding to them
9: CREATE INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL WEDDING GUEST IDENTITIES (optional) – If you are really creative, we have is another virtual wedding idea blog that we call the “VIRTUAL WEDDING GUEST.”
The above link will explain how using Facetime, & Zoom can help creatively bring the otherwise absent faces to your wedding! ( This blog will also show how to create the opportunity for interactive virtual wedding guests, that can actually chat with the bride, groom & other guests at your reception.
PAY SERVICES ARE OUT THERE – Many wedding professionals believe that next year will be a defining year for this type of service, as streaming companies are breaking out with a whole new wedding online service for this very idea. New virtual online wedding stream services are emerging. SOme wedding websites offer streaming packages targeting weddings that allow guests to log-on and watch your wedding as it unfolds. A professional videographer films the special day, broadcasting it to a web site where your guests can watch live.
However, you can TOTALLY do it yourself and bring your own personality out with your choice of stream. Have fun with the creation of your virtual wedding online broadcast! Whatever you choose to do, this idea will increase the chance that more of your loved ones will be present for your special day!
Perhaps more than any other sort of celebration, weddings are full of traditions and trends. Most of us have a picture of the ideal wedding solidified in our minds: a groom in a black suit, a bride in a stunning white gown, plenty of flowers, friends and champagne. Beyond the basics, things can get a bit more inventive however, depending on the wedding. For example, DJ services often help to define the more unique style of a wedding, and design can vary quite a bit. But even the littlest elements of a wedding – like the wedding rings themselves – can move according to trends and traditions.
For many of us, wedding bands are also firmly defined: basic yellow or white gold bands with very little in the way of glitz or glamour. However, there are actually more options than many people realize when it comes to wedding and engagement rings, and it’s certainly worth taking a look at some of them if your own wedding happens to be approaching. Here are some noteworthy trends in wedding and engagement rings this year.
Wedding Ring Traditions
Multi-Diamond Engagement Rings
The standard image of an engagement ring tends to be a simple metal band topped with a beautiful diamond. However, in recent years a trend has emerged toward multi-diamond engagement rings. Even these rings can come in a variety of styles, many of which are available at popular stores like 77 Diamonds. For example, consider eternity rings – rings featuring tiny diamonds around their entire surfaces, symbolizing continuity and eternal love. Or, consider trinity rings, which feature two smaller diamonds flanking a larger, central stone.
Diamond Wedding Rings
Sticking with diamonds, another trend in wedding rings is for diamonds to be used in the actual wedding bands, rather than simply engagement rings. Generally, wedding bands with diamonds in them just have 1, 3 or 5 very small diamonds set in the bands at even intervals. And, though this may initially sound like jewellery meant for women, many men are beginning to opt for diamond-set wedding bands as well.
Gemstone Engagement Rings
While diamonds are still, and will likely always be, the standard for engagement rings, gemstones are also becoming quite trendy. Like Kate Middleton’s famous sapphire ring, gemstone engagement pieces can be elegant and beautiful, and offer very attractive alternatives to the standard diamond concept.
Mixing Metals
Another very popular trend for wedding bands is to mix metals for fun and interesting patterns. White, rose and yellow gold, as well as alternative metals like titanium and platinum, are all popular in wedding bands, and mixing them in patterns can make for very unique and original jewellery. For example, one popular option is to have a silver-coloured metal (white gold, titanium, or platinum) in the middle of a band, with small stripes of yellow or rose gold on the outsides. However, there are also more elaborate options, such as swirling or basket woven patterns.
Wedding Candy Cart – Roped Off With Party Streamers to Save for After Dinner
If you are planning on having a candle table at your wedding reception, here is a neat little idea I saw last weekend.
While DJ’ing for a wedding at The Hilton Garden Inn on Hoosick Street in Troy, NY, I saw the following neat little idea.
The newlyweds had a wedding candy cart arranged as part of the party favors. As a special thank you gift from the bride & groom, they decided to work their candy cart into the actual table place cards, for a little fun. (Ever watch a sweet-toothed guest salivate before they even walk in the door?)
Killing two birds with one stone, they printed the place card information on the candy bags; each individual guest name, along with the number of the table where they wanted the guest to sit.
Of course, the bags followed the color scheme and set the mood sitting just outside of the hall on a decorated table. As the people signed in on the guestbook and grabbed their bags, this sweet idea also created anticipation for the candy cart later on.
What a great idea! Below are some pictures of this creative idea in work.
Your wedding DJ’s set up should not look like a flea market explosion
HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR DJ IS GOOD OR BAD
Being in the disc jockey and entertainment business now since 1994, there are some things that I consider to be traits of a BAD DJ. These are practices that we, personally, stay away from.
If you are in the market for a DJ and, perhaps, able to see one operate live in action, there are a number of things you should really look for. There are many wedding DJ’s that care very little about the appearance of their presentation, despite the elegance of the wedding hall/venue.
PAYING ATTENTION TO FINE DETAIL – Having worked all around Capital Region as a DJ (and in the entertainment field all over the country,) I have seen the effort first hand that goes into creating a romantic and eye-catching room for wedding receptions and other formal occasions. Therefore, I can’t understand why “professional DJs” would under mind these efforts with their lackluster actions, but they do.
As a DJ from from the Albany, New York area, there are many things that may work here and may not work somewhere else in the world. However, the traits defined below and the following picture gallery could very well indicate a bad DJ.
Before you select a wedding DJ, the single most important element relating to the success in your entertainment value of your reception, ask to see pictures or videos at weddings, ask for references. If you are not sure if your DJ prospect is bad or not, here is a list of things to look out for when trying to identify “The Dad Wedding DJ”:
Top 10 Signs of a Bad Wedding DJ
1) WIRES, WIRES, & MORE WIRES
Nothing gets me more wired than seeing a lots of wires. You should really NEVER see much of any wires, at all. This mess is an eyesore and lacks professionalism.
2) TALKING UP RECORDS
A mobile DJ is not a radio DJ. Too much talking, especially during dance time, slows the fun and kills the dance floor. Your audience does not need to hear the artist names and the title of the song they are about to hear.
3) “LOOK AT ME!”
Stealing the spotlight is wrong. While a wedding DJ is, in fact, booked to entertain, the newlyweds are not looking to pay for a four hour stand up comedy act, or someone trying to use their event as a commercial to further their business.
Shameless Self Promotion
A DJ’s personality should be peppered in as a season, but not the main course. Some DJ’s really just like to hear the sound of their own voices, and chime in with way too much to say. They attempt to be funny and always try and get the last word in like Ron Burgundy. This steals the spotlight from the bride on her special day.
DJ’s also should NOT ADVERTISE DURING YOUR WEDDING! That means they should not have a massive banner or sign promoting their business during your wedding. Who wants a DJ commercial in half of their wedding pictures? They are being paid to work for you, not to promote their business / name during your time.
At very most, a business card can be handed upon request, but further self promotion is cheesy and shameless.
4) DEAD AIR & NO BLEND
is absolutely terrible. A second or two of silence between songs is just enough to entirely kill the dance floor. Dead air gives the reluctant dancer an immediate reason to sit down. If the DJ is using a laptop but there is dead air between every song, they are probably not using a professional DJ program. Shame on them. (One way they try and hide this is to talk between EVERY song so they can cut the slow fade. See if you can catch this!)
5) MIXING IT UP
A DJ should never play the same type of music for extended periods of time.
Lots of little “rock blocks” of many particular types of music / genres is the best way to keep diverse crowds happy as a whole. A good host wants everyone to have fun, not just a select few. Therefore, your DJ should put in a little something for everyone all through the night.
Just a mustache…
6) JUST A MUSTACHE
Just a mustache is bad. You can have one with a beard or a goatee, or even perhaps the exception: a Fu-Manchu Hulk Hogan-style mustache, if you really really think you can rock it. However, the Chuck Norris mustache by itself is a “no-no.”
If your DJ has just a mustache, look out! No matter how bad-ass your DJ may profess to be, he is not Tom Selleck, he is not Burt Reynolds, and he certainly is NOT Chuck Norris.
7) TOO MUCH TO DRINK DJ
If your DJ goes right to the bar when he gets there, this is bad. I can see one or two maybe, but when your DJ is stripping on the bar like Coyote Ugly… please…
8) DELILAH SHOW PLAYLIST
Have you ever been to a wedding that is all old 80’s love ballad songs (like Richard Marx) even after dinner? Too many old slow tunes is LAME! Out of date, means out of touch with today. That means your general base of guests will be hearing music that they do not relate to.
9) “I KNOW BEST”
If during a planning session, your ALBANY NY DJ or any DJ in the world gives the impression that he doesn’t take requests well or even at all, run far away. Some DJ’s think they have created the all-purpose, one-size-fits-all golden playlist, and their agenda is to force it on you. While your DJ’s expertise can really help in the creation of a playlist, they NEED TO BE FLEXIBLE. It is your night, and you are paying them to play music that you want to hear.
Bad DJ’s default to outdated schtick like The Chicken Dance, Celebrate, We Are Family & The Last Dance…
10) THE CHICKEN DANCE
Maybe 30 years ago you could say, “this is my jam,” but not today.
With all the modern activity / line dances that are out now, there is no reason to ever play this horrible track at a wedding, unless there are like 30 preschool or grade school kids in attendance.
If the bride & groom absolutely love this dance and have requested the DJ to play it, that is one thing. But when the DJ defaults on this song on his own accord, and follows it up with “Celebrate,” and “We Are Family,” then ends the night with “Last Dance,” your DJ is officially an OLD FART…
THE SEARCH FOR A GREAT ALBANY NY DJ
Below are some pictures of bad DJs. It pains me to see flea market explosions , gear purchased at Job Lot, and out-dated eyesore set-ups that kill the atmosphere. There is no excuse for it. Cables should always be hidden. Lighting hardware shouldn’t dominate the room, and speakers shouldn’t come from The Salvation Army.
If you choose a wedding DJ in the Albany NY area that will not bring the traits you see listed above or in the pictures below, drop us a line. You can reach via phone or TEXT at 518-506-3305. Thank you!
A great thank you letter to us for being their DJ…
A GREAT WEDDING THANK YOU LETTER TO THEDJSERVICE.COM
These customers pleasently surprized me, almost six months later after their wedding, with some very nice words about our services.
Anna and Stephen Rogers were great to work with, as well as their venue staff at Chirst The King, 575 Burton Road in Greenwich, NY. Anna covered all the bases for someone looking for a review on me as a DJ. A full review was pretty much right in her thank you letter. Therefore, I asked if I could print it here, and they agreed without hesitation. So here it is:
Dear Kenny:
Thank you so much for DJ’ing our wedding! It was so wonderful to have you there; I still get comments from our guests who say that you were truly amazing– and I agree 😀 …Steve still says, “He played what I would have wanted him to play, even though I never wrote those songs down… It’s like he was in my head!”
I apologize for this email being 5 months late, but seriously and beyond a doubt you are, by FAR, the best DJ I have ever been in the presence of! You blended my wishes seamlessly with my husband; Country, Christian, Rock, Celtic rock… (I am the girl who likes country who was marrying the man who hates it). I don’t think Steve stopped dancing until the reception was over. I think he would have KEPT dancing forever, frankly.
Thank you SO SO much!!! You made a magical night even better! Even all of the event Staff from Christ the King said that this was the best music they had EVER had there (I think they get a lot more older, conservative, christian weddings). They literally thanked Steve and I separately at least once per staff person (for going with you as the DJ.)
Steve was ecstatic at the light show and the glow necklaces and, even though that sounds like a rave, it was still classy, elegant and wonderful.
Your energy is electric and wonderful and we can’t thank you enough. You truly helped to make a memorable night even more amazing for everyone– our guests being happy on the happiest day of our lives meant the world to us and you delivered in full force.
Having been the DJ for a number of events at 235 Hoosick Street, in Troy, NY, I an safely say that The Hilton Garden Inn is a great place to have your wedding, in and around the Troy, NY area.
COCKTAIL LAYOUT – One thing that I really like as a DJ is the layout. The main event hall is perfect for a wedding with a cocktail hour at hand. A portion of the hotel is sectioned off so that there are no real issues of interaction with guests staying at the hotel not related to the wedding.
The event kitchen, the wedding hall and the bar for the cocktail hour are all removed from the room and hotel business.
As you enter the event wing of this newer hotel in Troy, NY, there is a long wide hall in front of the dining room. There is a branch off of the walkway perfect for horsderves, with a comfy sofa area that even has a large screen television. This area even has a private restroom area for events, separate from hotel guest use.
At the end of the hall there is another opening, which allows for additional entertainment in front of a full bar. This place is perfect for wedding vendors, or activities. One thing I have seen that works well is having a photo booth or magnet shoot in this area.
Hilton Garden Wedding Dining Hall
DINING ROOM – There are actually two rooms that can be used, with a folding divider partition down the center. What I have experienced as a disc jockey there is usually weddings with around 150 people or so in one section of the hall. (The use of half of the alloted space seems perfect for most weddings that I seem to take part in.)
The room is carpeted with a slightly-raised removable dance floor (provided by the hall). The acoustics are great for music and the tables always look sharp.
STAFF – The event organizers do a great job. The wait staff is really funny, too. Setting up, they have a good time with each other and are good people. They even danced a little here and there while waiting on the guests.
FOOD – I’ve had both chicken and prime rib there. Both were very very good! No complaints!
OTHER GOOD STUFF – You are also looking at an ample parking lot for any crowd, The Recovery Room bar built into the hotel for an after-party (for those who want to keep the night alive when the DJ is done,) and even rooms to stay in when the night is over.
Without hesitation, I recommend The Hilton Garden Inn on Hoosick, Troy, NY to be considered for your wedding!
