I’m very excited to share the outcome of my cousins Adrienne and Robert Byrd’s hybrid (in-person and virtual attendees) wedding during the pandemic. Below are a few insights to help you when planning a hybrid wedding.
- Wedding Date – June 27, 2021
- Wedding Location – Santa Barbara, CA
- Wedding Attendees – 30 in-person wedding attendees and 100+ virtual attendees via Zoom
What was your favorite moment?
Robert –
- Seeing Adrienne come down the aisle made all the before ceremony snafu seem immaterial
- Walking down the aisle together = mission accomplished. No more worries about what happened or what to change, enjoyed being in the moment
Adrienne –
- Standing at the altar looking into Robert’s eyes
- Everything about the day was as beautiful as we’d hoped. Perfect weather, peaceful and serene
- The Beach scenery was perfect with friends and family around to enjoy the scenery with us as well
- Everyone we wanted to be there physically and virtually was there
What was your biggest challenge on your big day or during the planning?
Robert – As a member of the audio/video team at my church, the biggest challenge was thinking through the Zoom logistics for the virtual attendees and executing Zoom meeting after the planned device didn’t work out.
Adrienne – In hindsight, we should have done a Zoom dry run to avoid the same-day scrambling when Zoom logistics didn’t work out.
Is there anything you would have done differently?
Robert – Yes, being more comfortable relinquishing control to others to avoid extra stresses on wedding day which led to a disappointment that audio and video weren’t as successful. Key lessons learned were:
- 1. Conduct a practice run-through and simulate the zoom experience prior to ensure everyone understands how the virtual aspect of the ceremony should go.
- 2. Get a dedicated microphone for the altar to ensure all guests can hear
There were no issues with the ceremony itself when it began.
Adrienne – We did a Do It Yourself ceremony recording rather than hiring a videographer and encountered hiccups along the way. As the bride, I was grateful that Robert spared me of this stress so I could just enjoy the moment.
Are you having an in-person follow-up celebration?
Robert – An in-person wedding already limits the interaction with guests. Hybrid weddings are cost-saving benefits for everyone. Our hybrid ceremony was reasonably priced compared to a traditional wedding, so having an additional celebration would add more cost for everyone. We are not planning an additional celebration to allow everyone to use their money towards other things versus celebrating another wedding event.
Adrienne – We are now a few months out from our one-year wedding anniversary with no desire to plan another event. We had an intimate wedding and reception already and we are totally fine with that. We’re not a couple that likes to be in the limelight so having this hybrid approach worked out perfectly for us. Hybrid was good to include everyone at once. This allowed us to include more people since traveling and other cost factors were not needed.
Robert & Adrienne – While we are not interested in another post-celebration we were delightfully surprised with a Church reception when Adrienne’s official move to WA was complete. In addition as a couple we did a few road trips and flights to see family post-wedding. Doing this allowed for more informal interactions and quality time with family, friends and also couple bonding time.
What advice do you have for other couples if they are planning a hybrid wedding?
Robert – Practice with virtual wedding equipment and for new Zoom joinees ensure you default all participants to mute (so it doesn’t disrupt other attendees)
Adrienne – Have Zoom equipment ready and perform a run-through. Also, think of creative ways to interact with your virtual audience during your big day. For us, we took a moment after our wedding ceremony to say hello to our virtual guests. This gave us a chance for live interactions, to hear the congratulations, and to thank people for being there.
Lastly, the COVID guest count restrictions helped us limit guest counts without having to perform the uncomfortable task of narrowing down the list later and offending people. Everyone completely understood and was happy with the virtual option.
Do you have additional insights to add?
Robert – Overall the hybrid event option is a good way to go. You don’t have to do everything we did however you want to ensure you add an inclusive element/interaction with virtual guests. Hybrid events are inclusive for people who can’t travel, have medical limitations, or financial constraints, etc…
Announce early that you are having a virtual option so people can plan their attendance preferences. Consider including the Zoom virtual selection option in your RSVPs on your invite as some software may have a guest limit and you want to ensure you have the right account and can accommodate all our virtual guests.
Adrienne – Virtual options popularity has increased since COVID and more people and events are open to this.
Our wedding budget was slim however you couldn’t tell based on the beautiful outcome. Another cost-cutting measure for us was keeping everything digital. Our invitations were digital, we did a digital video of our love story and engagement. We had a wedding website for RSVPing and event info. We even had a digital wedding shower with our family and friends. During our entire wedding planning process, lots of family members were involved and everyone had a part to play.
Robert & Adrienne – Hybrid weddings are a great way to go, whether big or small. You still have memorable moments, get to walk down the aisle as husband and wife, have great memories, and record Zoom participant details. Zoom is a nice way to capture online interactions, comments, videos, etc… Overall, the COVID pandemic gave us the intimate wedding of our dreams on a small budget and inclusive of everyone that we wanted & who desired to attend.
JAS Blueprint 