I attended my first Zoom wedding (and my first Zoom bachelor party) last week.
Like many people who started planning weddings before the pandemic, my friend Alex had originally hoped to host a traditional wedding bash before the world changed and large gatherings no longer became feasible. So he and his fiance pivoted, and the result was a beautiful wedding attended only by close family (and probably at least dozens of people via Zoom).
I’m getting ahead of myself, because the bachelor party actually happened a few days before the wedding, and it also used Zoom. A bunch of people–many in the gaming industry–popped into a call that included as many as 25 people at times to toast Alex (and each other). I was definitely out of my element as an introvert among extroverts, but it was fun to sit back and enjoy the show.
The wedding followed a few days later. I wasn’t quite sure to expect–I grew up Catholic, so when I think “wedding,” I think “2-hour ceremony.” That seems to be more the exception than the norm now. Alex and Abby’s ceremony took about 15 minutes, and it was really great to witness it, especially the vows they wrote. Also, technically the video was on Red House Streaming, not Zoom.
I think most people have some sort of vision for their ideal wedding, and I can only speak for myself in saying that I really liked a lot about this. For me, if I ever get married, I absolutely value the element of people bearing witness to the vows. But they don’t need to be there in person to do so–it’s far more convenient for them to watch it from where they are. There’s also the celebratory element, but I would personally prefer to celebrate my wedding in lots of little celebrations rather than one big one. That seems a lot less stressful to me, both from a planning perspective and as someone who loves small groups much more than big parties.
What do you think? Have you attended a Zoom wedding this year?