We realize that you may need to postpone or adapt your wedding plans due to COVID-19, and we are here to help as you think about your upcoming wedding. But why not consider a virtual wedding.
A wedding website can be an amazing way to provide this essential information. Helping to ensure your live-streamed wedding goes off without a hitch, your Joy website is a convenient one-stop-shop for details on technical support, virtual wedding etiquette, reliving happy memories, and more.
If there’s anything this pandemic has taught us (besides religious hand washing), it’s the power of technology. We’re lucky to live in a digital age where information is at our fingertips, video chat is on our screens, and wedding planning is possible from the couch!
Many engaged couples aren’t letting things like a global pandemic or social distance get in their way of getting married. Because love always wins. Instead, they’re finding creative ways to make their wedding plans happen—from Skype consultations with vendors to Zoom bridal showers. Where there’s a tech-savvy will, there’s a way!
Here’s how to virtually plan every aspect of your wedding. And even live stream the big day!
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1. Welcome Page
Some guests may not know whether you’ve changed wedding plans, so it’s crucial to give them a heads-up as soon as they visit your website.
For a wedding website with Joy, an ideal way to approach this is to create an eye-catching Announcement Banner that includes phrases like “From the comfort of your home” or “Join us for our virtual wedding!”
You’ll also want to include the live stream link on your Announcement Banner to make it easy for guests to join the e-festivities.
Tip: Even if you’re sending e-card announcements about your change of plans, you should still edit the Welcome Page. After all, guests may be confused if this page still features information about your original wedding arrangements.
2. E-Cards
In addition to the Announcement Banner on your Welcome Page, it’s important to send guests an e-card alerting them to the change. While it’s a gamble whether guests will peruse your wedding website in a timely manner, you can be pretty certain they’ll at least check their email.
Simplify this task by utilizing Joy’s Change the Date e-cards, which help you create fully-customizable cards that convey your live stream wedding plans. For these purposes, an e-card is preferable to snail mail, as you might be changing your plans last-minute and need to share the information ASAP.
3. Q&A
It’s almost guaranteed that some wedding guests — specifically the non-tech-savvy ones — will have lots of questions. Prevent this from becoming your part-time job by editing the frequently asked questions section of your wedding website. Then, if anyone texts or emails with the same question nine other guests just asked, you can easily refer them to this page on your site.
The following are a few live-stream-focused Q&A questions to get you started.
- Do I need to download a certain streaming platform? If so, how do I do that?
- What do I do after I download the platform?
- What/where is the live stream link?
- What should I wear?
- Should I have my camera on during the ceremony?
- Should I mute myself during the ceremony?
- Will there be a virtual reception?
- Is there anything else I should know?
Tip: To keep things as simple as possible, you can live stream your wedding with Joy — directly through your wedding website. In this case, guests can just go to your wedding website on the right day and time, and they’ll be met with the live stream of you and your partner pledging your love.
4. Wedding Schedule
Prevent confusion by updating your wedding schedule page to reflect the change from an in-person wedding to a virtual wedding. On the schedule, you can include details for your live-streamed ceremony, like the date, time, and link. If a live-streamed reception will follow the ceremony, be sure to provide the necessary information for that event, as well.
5. Throw a Virtual After Party
Use a platform like Google Hangouts to have a virtual “reception” with your guests! Tell them to get dressed to the nines and get ready to par-tay.
Include some formalities if you’d like: Hook up your speaker and have your first dance. Cut a homemade cake. Make your signature cocktail (the “Quarantini” perhaps?) and give guests the recipe in advance so they can drink with you. Open up the “mic” and let your guests make a toast. Throw the most epic virtual bash any of your guests have ever seen.
6. Video and Moments Album
As everyone loves to relive heartwarming milestones, consider uploading a recording of your ceremony on your wedding website. You can also use Joy’s Moments album to upload photos taken by someone who was physically with you during the ceremony.
This allows virtual guests to gain a range of perspectives from your big day. You can enjoy this same perk by also asking guests to take photos of themselves during the live stream and add it to the shared album.