Congratulations on your wedding! It’s such a gift to share one of the most important moments of your life with your family and friends. Live-Streaming will allow you to invite more people to join in the celebration and it’s a great way to include those who want to be there but are unable to attend. When you hire someone to livestream your wedding, you should expect them to deliver a streaming experience for your guests that provides HD video, multiple camera angles, and solid audio using their equipment or the DJ feed. They should also provide a clean and classy website for your guests to view the stream or be able to work with you to embed the stream into your wedding website.

We want to hire someone to make our wedding livestream amazing. What do we need to know and what questions should we be asking?

Hopes and Expectations

Before you connect with a livestream professional, it’s important to sit down and discuss with your partner the expectations and hopes you both have. You may not be able to get exactly what you want, but having a clear idea will help when you go to hire a professional. Do you want to stream just the ceremony or also include the dances and speeches? Would you like to be able to directly address the virtual guests, or a specific guest, at some point (maybe right after the ceremony)? Does your venue have internet access or at least a decent cell signal? Are you hoping to have the stream be available to a large audience or just a few special people? The answers to these questions will help guide your conversation and ultimately the choice of which professional you hire. 

Once you have an idea of what you’re looking for, I’d highly recommend getting on a video call with a potential vendor. Not only will it help to get to know the person and feel comfortable with them, but you will also get a sense of the quality of work they do. Your video call with them is a livestream they are producing and you can see what they are capable of when they have full control of the streaming environment. In addition to sharing your expectations, here a list of questions you can ask when speaking with a livestream professional.

Quick checklist of questions you can ask a livestream professional:

1. How do you ensure a fast enough connection to stream at our ceremony site?
2. What’s your video and audio setup? (Multiple angles? Multiple camera operators?)
3. If we don’t have a DJ, can you capture quality audio for the stream?
4. How soon can we get a link to send out to our guests?
5. Can we get a copy of the stream afterward?
6. If there’s an issue with the stream, do you offer any backup files or editing afterward?

What will this cost?

There are three options when looking for someone to livestream your wedding. The actual dollar amount is going to be all over the place due to the different markets and packages vendors offer. Keep in mind, due to the global pandemic, the demand for streaming services is rapidly growing. This means the costs will fluctuate for sure, but also that you should look for someone with experience.

Cheapest

The simplest option will be a wedding photographer or videographer who offers a “livestream addon” to their regular packages. This is often a very simple set up using a phone or GoPro that is set to stream and then left alone until the end of the ceremony since the photographer/videographer needs to focus on getting the shots they need. It’s essentially the DIY option but you’re hiring someone else to do it. If you go this route, double-check that they can provide quality audio and whether or not someone will monitor the stream in case something goes wrong. In general, you can expect to pay in the $400-$600 range. 

Make me a star

The most expensive option would be what I’d call the “Essentially a Live TV Production” and can cost over $10,000. You’ll get an entire crew of folks, multiple cameras, and high-end equipment. You should expect the very best and you’ll pay for it. They should take care of everything, offer total customization of every aspect of the stream, and hand you a perfectly mixed cocktail at the end of the ceremony.  

Give me quality but don’t break the bank

I’m guessing most folks will fall into this category. You can expect great customer service with at least two, if not three camera angles for your stream with solid audio. It may be a single producer with wireless camera connections or multiple camera operators. You should expect there to be some form of backup in case there are streaming issues. In general, this will be in the $750-$2500 range.

Let’s do this.

There are so many choices and decisions that you and your partner are going to make as you plan your wedding. Adding live-streaming to your day can take some of the pressure off when it comes to figuring out who to invite or how to comply with the constantly changing regulations around gatherings. If you hire a professional to handle the stream, you can rest assured your virtual guests will get to share in the most important moments of your celebration. Take the time to talk about your expectations and hopes with your partner and enjoy yourselves!

Congratulations again on your upcoming wedding!

If you’d like to talk to us about live-streaming your wedding, you can contact us here.

If you’re curious about trying to go the DIY route for your wedding livestream, check out my guide here.