At Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Massachusetts, Michelle Violette, director of sales and catering, says the club currently has one bride planning to live-stream her wedding to family in Tokyo. The club also hosted a wedding last summer where the best man—the groom’s twin brother—was serving with the military in Afghanistan, and technology helped reach across the miles via a live feed. “It was kind of funny,” says Violette, “they had a cutout of the groom’s brother—a life-sized cutout that they used for the ceremony.” The best man not only saw the ceremony via live feed, Violette says the groom’s brother was also able to “Skype in and do the toast” via a computer that was hooked up to a large television behind the head table. “These brothers are very close,” says Violette, “so to get him to be able to see the whole thing and to ‘be there’, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place.” With theses kinds of results, it’s not surprising that media outlets like the New York Times are noting the popularity of live-streamed weddings. But is live streaming right for you? Like the Dukas, you may feel it’s a little over the top. As the couple noted on their wedding website, “Yes, yes . . . we know it sounds crazy . . . but thanks to the wonders of technology, no one has to miss the day!” Ready to consider live streaming? Here are a few things you’ll want to look into:
Internet Connection For it all to work, you’ll need a broadband Internet connection at your ceremony and reception site. “To produce the highest quality results possible, we recommend couples use a hardline Ethernet connection,” says Max Haot, CEO and co-founder of Livestream, a New York-based event broadcasting company. “The second best option would be WIFI, followed by 4G [wireless modem] with a strong signal available.” continued on page 60
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BRIDE&GROOM Spring 2014 59