Posted by
Vimeo is known for its high-quality streaming (in full HD up to 4k!), which means your wedding live stream will be top-notch and look badass. It also offers a customizable video player, auto-adjusts for different internet speeds, has password protection, and no viewer limits.
Which service is best for live-streaming your wedding in 2022? UPDATED
"For various reasons, our family won't be able to attend our wedding. Do you have any tips on how to go about live-streaming our ceremony... Read more
The biggest caveat to a Vimeo wedding live stream is cost. You'll need a pro account (starting at $50 per month) to stream on Vimeo Live. If price is a hurdle for you, check in with your photographer or videographer (if you have one) to see if they have any packages that include a live stream on Vimeo. They often have accounts and may be able to hook you up.
If you're planning to DIY your wedding live stream, here's how to do it on Vimeo…
Set up the Vimeo stream
Head to your account at Vimeo.com and click Upload to start the stream. Look for the “Create live event” button and you'll enter the details for the stream like the name, date, time, and privacy (controls who can see the nuptials). You can either start streaming live right away or schedule the event and being streaming it manually at that later date and time.
Adjust the settings
Hit Next and you'll see the settings. Here you can add a thumbnail preview image, grab the code to embed the video elsewhere (like on social platforms), enable chat shown below). Look for a pencil icon to start editing your settings. You can even add poll questions and a Q&A. Maybe you could poll your guests on who says their vows first?!
Click Next to set up your webcam or camera ahead of time — well ahead of time. You don't want to be figuring this out the day-of.
The Connect tab also has a link to download Livestream Studio, Vimeo's broadcast software included with your pro Vimeo membership.
Managing the stream
You're capped at 12 hours in the stream, which should be far more time than you need, though you will see a countdown just in case you're planning a VERY long ceremony. After you've gone live, someone you trust can monitor any questions that come in via the chat feature. A guest could have technical issues and having a wedding planner or trusted friend on deck to handle this is key.
You'll also be able to see how many guests are connected and watching, total views, etc.
Ending and archiving
Once the ceremony is done, you'll hit End event and it will appear in your video archive for you to share with anyone and everyone. Vimeo also allows you to replace your stream with a higher quality video version if you happened to have a pro capturing it or used a separate HD camera.
Tips for streaming your wedding on Vimeo
- Since this will be a live ceremony recording, you'll want to set everything up beforehand, preferably well ahead of time in case anything goes wrong. Here are some Vimeo streaming tips for your wedding:
- Don't use any copyrighted music or you may run into streaming issues. Either turn off the sound during those parts or choose some royalty-free music.
- Get the camera framed around you nicely. Make sure everyone you want to be seen is centered in the frame. Also, make sure the lighting is right at the time of day you're planning to stream. Add some studio lights if you need to.
- Check your audio levels. Run a soundcheck to make sure there aren't any outside noises that could get in the way of your guests hearing you, like wind or construction.
- Charge your batteries and phones, and make sure your internet is good enough to stream. Grab any wi-fi passwords for your location ahead of time.
- Turn off any sleep functions on your computer or streaming device and any notifications or noises.
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
Vimeo changed its packages so the only membership option that includes live streaming is $900 (they don’t offer monthly options, just this very expensive annual membership). We communicated to our guests that we would be using that platform via the withjoy website and when we went to buy our membership a month before our date we found that they changed everything! Not only did we have to switch venues, we now have to switch streaming platforms. #coronawedding
Do you think they’re trying to take advantage of the covid situation and make more money?