To have and to hold. ‘Til death do us part. Happily (hopefully) ever after.
Weddings are a big deal, obviously. A lot of time, effort, money and tears go into planning and celebrating such a monumental life event. Which is why creating a wedding slideshow to capture all the emotion and display a couples’ love story can be the perfect complement to anyone’s “I do’s.”
So, let’s see exactly what it takes to make a wedding slideshow and why you should consider it for yourself or for someone you know who’s getting married.
How to Make a Wedding Slideshow
First thing’s first, the perfect wedding slideshow is unique to you or the couple getting hitched. What works for one couple might not work for you. That’s the beauty of creating your own slideshow, so you can tailor it the way that works for your love story. After all, no one’s wedding is exactly the same, so think of your slideshow as just another part of the wedding planning to match your theme. Everything from colors and music to types of photos (funny or more serious) and word choice. The options are limitless, so make it feel special to you. Starting with …
Determining How Long the Slideshow Should Be
The optimal time to show your wedding slideshow is after the ceremony but before the reception really kicks off. While your guests are anxiously waiting to eat all your food and drink all your adult beverages, having a slideshow is a great way to capture their interest and curb their hunger. You don’t want your guests to get hangry.
While you’re off snapping pictures with your wedding party for 15-20 minutes, a slideshow can help ease some of the wait. It’s recommended that your slideshow be around 5-10 minutes which evens out to about 60-120 photos total. After all, it’s a slideshow not a short film, so it doesn’t need to feel like an entry at Cannes.
Choose Your Theme
This one can coincide with the overall theme of your wedding, or it can be something totally different. It’s up to you. A few go-to themes usually consist of timelines of the relationship featuring everything from parties and sporting events that the couple attended to vacations and various candid moments. Nothing is too big or too small if it means something special to the couple.
Pick Your Photos
With today’s smartphones, it’s a good chance that the majority of your photos are already digital. But, if they’re not, you’re going to need to get those physical prints digitized, and we can help! Our professional team of digital preservationists will handle your most prized memories with the utmost care as they scan them in, preserving their nostalgic contents to a thumb drive, cloud download or DVD.
Choose Your Software
One of the biggest decisions to make, outside of saying “I do,” is to decide on what software you want to use for your slideshow. And, there are a lot of options. Luckily, the internet can help tell us what some of the most popular slideshow software options are. Check out this list for some help. But, if you ask us, you can’t go wrong with PowerDirector or SmartSHOW 3D, plus, they’re free! What’s not to like about that?
Select Your Tunes
Much like you had to pick the music for your actual wedding and reception, you’ll need to pick the music for your slideshow. So, if you didn’t give your husband free reign on the ceremony tunage, then maybe give him the wheel for the slideshow. It’s the least you can do.
But really, this is a total preference for what the couple prefers. You could go with something traditional and ambient, or you could infuse some top 40s or full on punk rock, if that’s your thing. After all, it’s your wedding. You and your boo, do you.
Interview Family and Friends
It’s one thing to just have a slideshow of beautiful and fun pictures that capture the couple’s relationship. But, if you really want to take it to the next level, then consider interviewing family members, friends, coworkers and more. It will be a welcomed treat to see all the nice (and probably embarrassing, if we’re being honest) things they have to say about the couple. It’s a wedding – have fun with it!
Focus on the Event
Old photos of how your relationship has grown over time is an obvious inclusion, but don’t forget to focus on the event, too. Think about including pictures of the rehearsal dinner, planning and more. Not necessarily related to the slideshow, but kind of, consider having a photo booth at your reception so everyone can capture the moment for everlasting memories that you can stick into the slideshow at a later date after the ceremony.
Digitize! Digitize!
Don’t feel like you have to stop at just photos! Sure, this whole article is about a picture slideshow but just like scanning in any old print photos, we can help you convert any old videotapes, film reels, cassette tapes and more to add to your wedding slideshow.
It might be a really cute way to show everyone what the couple looked like as little Mr. & Mrs., and chances are that old footage is not easily accessible on your smartphone. At least, not yet.
Cheers to a happily ever after with a wedding slideshow your guests will love!
