Social distancing, weddings & on-line guests

Are you fed up with lockdown? Whilst I recognise it is important, I simply can't wait for life to return to normal!

But what is the normal we are returning to? I can't escape the feeling that we will be required to "Social Distance" for some considerable length of time. 

What impact could this have on your wedding? 

I don't have all the answers but most of the wedding industry groups I've been hanging out in seem to think the biggest impact will be on the number of guests you can have at any particular stage of your big day.

So if your ceremony was being held in a church with a capacity of 200 their is a fair chance, depending on the layout of the building that the number will be limited to about 70 to 100! If you are booked for a council registration service again you could be looking at a reduction of about 40 to 50% 

Then thinking about your reception, again numbers will be a massive consideration. Over the years I've attended many wedding receptions where guests are squeezed into a small space, 10 or 12 people round a table and probably one or two too many tables in the room! Slightly uncomfortable but just about OK. This will not be option in the new normal. Many venues are currently doing some very important calculations trying to figure out how they manage seating arrangements and the "chat and mingle" times. I've been to many evening dos where the dance floor is only about 6m square, socially distanced dancing would be impossible. This is a really difficult situation - but one thing you can be sure of is that the numbers any venue can cater for will have to be reduced.

The other thing to consider is the "at risk" demographic, elderly and people with underlying conditions You need to consider how are you going to cater for grandparents and elderly Aunt Beryl! Are you happy to put them at risk - they may well feel compelled to come to your wedding but actually be quite scared

So that's a long way of saying you will need to cut your guest list.

Live Stream - on line guests

The more I think about this situation it seems to me that asking your photographer to Live Stream parts of your wedding is the only way forward.

I'm now offering a hybrid package consisting of stills, video and live stream. So couples will be able to draw up two guest lists the first being physical guests who will share the day with you at the location, the second will be On Line guests who will be invited to view the ceremony on a private live stream link.

So how would this work in practice? Initially we would need to talk things through with your venue but it may look like this.
Your ceremony, speeches and first dance would be streamed live to all on-line guests. During selected parts of the day we could set up live stream "chats" or "interviews" so for example if you have grandparents who have to stay at home we could set up a chat with them, this could be recorded and filmed and the clips used as part of your show real. At other parts of the day I could record your online guests sending their best wishes, potentially these could be shown as part of your speeches. People of a certain age will remember the best man "reading the telegrams" this is just the modern equivalent.

Whatever happens over the coming weeks and months weddings will be changing and some new wedding traditions will emerge I do believe that live stream has a part to play and if you want to find out more please do give me a call, let's chat

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