Order of Events for a Virtual Wedding

When having a virtual portion of your wedding, the typical order of events doesn’t always work. You can, of course, do everything as you normally would – but our team has a few suggestions for those looking to cater their event to their online guests.

Traditional Order of Events

For a typical western wedding, the standard order of events are as follows:

·      Processional

·      Ceremony begins, including readings, exchange of rings and the kiss

·      Recessional

·      Cocktail hour – wedding party and family members might be taking photos during this time

·      Reception begins

·      Introduction of the wedding party and newlyweds

·      First dance with the newlyweds

·      Parent dances

·      Meal

·      Toasts

·      Cake cutting or dessert

·      Guests join the dance floor

·      Grand exit

There might be a few hours between the time the ceremony starts and the cake cutting. For in-person guests, this works out great. But at-home guests who are watching your virtual wedding online might not have the same experience. For that reason, we always suggest including a few special moments, such as the first dance, parent dances and cake cutting, in your stream. Have a mostly virtual guest list? Consider including all the big moments before dinner so your at-home guests can watch those fun parts. Otherwise, they’ll either miss it, or they might get some FOMO from watching your in-person guests eat, drink and dance.

So, how can you adjust your wedding timeline for a virtual wedding? Try this:

·      Processional

·      Ceremony begins, including readings, exchange of rings and the kiss

·      Recessional

·      First dance with the newlyweds

·      Parent dances

·      Toasts

·      Goodbye to virtual guests

For a shorter event or maybe a hybrid event with in-person and virtual guests, try the following:

·      Processional

·      Ceremony begins, including readings, exchange of rings and the kiss

·      Recessional

·      First dance with the newlyweds

·      Goodbye to virtual guests

After you say goodbye to your virtual guests, you can continue on with the rest of the wedding events as normal – or, as normal as it can be considering the circumstances!

You don’t even need to share any special moments with virtual guests, but truthfully, it does make them feel really good when you do! Remember, try to frontload those special events for your at-home guests, and then save the more tangible events such as eating and dancing for after your virtual guests sign off.

Photo credit: Radian Photography