Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NICE DAY FOR A VIRTUAL WEDDING
New restrictions mean only 15 people are allowed to attend a wedding, which at least means brides-to-be don’t have to invite their mother’s second cousin’s auntie Aida and her poodle with wind problems.
Trouble is, inviting your friends to a virtual party or ceremony could end up with a lot of people in silly hats shouting on a Zoom call.
Wedding dress designer Sabina Motasem, who at least didn’t have to worry about finding a dress, has just got hitched. And she’s written a blog at www.motasem.co.uk to help arrange a Covid-safe wedding.
“I married my best friend Stu two weeks ago with 15 of our family and 50 friends watching on Zoom. It was small, it was intimate, it was beautiful,” says Sabina.
“People dressed up as if they were going to a wedding, they could all chat to each other and we had virtual guests from as far away as Italy and Florida. ”
And loads of couples have been embracing online weddings, like Amy Dickenson, who tied the knot with Lloyd Dias in their South London conservatory, instead of a Scottish cathedral.
Here are Sabina’s wedding tips:
1. Invest in a good HD camera and microphone to record it on Zoom and also on your laptop via Camera app on PC or the Quicktime app on Macs.
2. If you record it on Zoom, think about the view you’d like recorded – gallery or speaker.
3. Turn off the annoying bleeping noise that Zoom makes each time someone joins.
4. Make sure there is no “waiting room” as you’ll have to individually admit all guests.
5. Be aware of nervous face – it will show on camera. Mine certainly did in the beginning!
6. Check where the microphone is, how it sounds and do a road test a few days before.
7. Fairy lights look pretty in the background.
8. Consider keeping the Zoom call on after the ceremony for the reception, or use Insta live so virtual guests can hear the speeches.