14 Essential Virtual Wedding Ideas to Keep Your Guests Engaged

The first time you heard somebody mention the concept “virtual wedding” your first thought probably wasn’t ‘wow sounds fun and engaging’. You most likely had visions of sitting on your couch and watching yet.another.Zoom.meeting pass slowly & painfully. You probably envisioned something being very wrong with the audio. Or maybe you pictured some random unmuters having a side convo about their dogs. And, hey--that’s ok. We forgive you.

The CRAZY thing about virtual weddings is that they are actually so dang engaging. We consistently hear from guests after they have attended their first virtual wedding. They share how the virtual wedding far exceeded their expectations and it felt like they were right there in person. In the following blog post we will explore the 14 essential virtual wedding ideas to make sure that your guests have the time of their lives!

Virtual Wedding Ideas to Include Beforehand

There are some important things to consider before your actual wedding happens. These are some keys to promote high engagement + excitement in the days leading up to “I DO”. You really want to communicate to your guests that their presence at the virtual wedding is important to you and that you are taking it seriously.

Send Out Pre-Wedding Goodies

Who doesn’t love getting fun items in the mail?! In a world of constant text messaging, getting something sent via snail mail is just pure fun. Consider sending out small items to your guests before the wedding. Listed below are some items that won’t break the bank.

Custom Koozies. Opt for personalized drink holders like this one. You can customize it with your names + wedding date and ask your virtual guests to use it during your wedding.
Personalized Wine Tumblers. Another affordable option is a plastic wine tumbler that you can send out to all of your guests. Pair it with a DIY signature cocktail recipe card and you are set!
Funny props. Another route to take when sending out items beforehand is to consider sending funny props that your virtual guests can use during the wedding. Send them all silly glasses, hats or mustaches & ask them to wear them during the group dance.

You could also send out personalized masks in the mail as a pre-wedding goodie!

Give Your Wedding Playlist to Your Guests in Advance

Another fun (and free!) virtual wedding idea to get your guests excited about your wedding is to send out your Spotify playlist to all of your guests. They can be blasting this playlist at the gym or on their way to work before your wedding. Or...consider having your guests be the creators of your playlist. Send out a mass email asking for song recommendations and chuckle as the throwbacks come rolling in.

Include a Surprise Video

The surprise video continues to be on the most beloved Wedfuly add-ons. Your job is to compile a list of people that are special to you and send it to us. We will then instruct your loved ones to film a short video of themselves congratulating you. Then, the surprise video gets edited into an amazing 10-15 minute video that can be played during your wedding. This is an incredible way for your virtual guests to feel like they are right there with you!

The surprise video is such a fun way for you virtual guests to feel like they are right there with you.

Have Your Guests Dress Up

While this is entirely up to preference, we find that asking your guests to dress up really sets the tone. This helps distinguish your wedding from the million other virtual events that we are currently attending right now. If you are opting for a themed wedding, have your guests dress accordingly. Otherwise, message to them that they should dress up & get ready to party!

How to Engage Your Virtual Guests During the Wedding

Many people fear that their virtual wedding will be boring for their virtual attendees. They want it to be as engaging + entertaining as possible. The key in this is to ensure that your virtual guests feel like participants and not just passive viewers. Listed below are some virtual wedding ideas to keep the engagement high throughout the whole event.

Ask For Participation Throughout the Ceremony

Think of how you can engage your virtual guests in various ways throughout the wedding. Consider asking your grandma to do a virtual reading or a poem. Have a musically talented cousin? Enlist them to play the piano and record a clip that can be played. This is a really great way to help your virtual guests feel special & included while participating from afar.

Asking virtual guests to participate in the ceremony is a great way for them to feel included in the wedding.

Play Games Throughout the Wedding

Games are another great way to keep the spirits high and the people laughing. Your Wedfuly host will be more than happy to facilitate. Consider playing games such as “Who Knows the Bride + Groom the Best” “2 Truths and a Lie” and Trivia about the Couple.

Host an Intermission Mixology Class

Many couples wonder how to make the timeline possible for a hybrid wedding. They worry that they won’t be able to attend to both their in person and virtual guests. They might also worry about what to do with their virtual guests if they are having a cocktail hour or pictures after the ceremony.

If it is necessary to keep your pictures after your ceremony, consider having an intermission for your Zoom guests. During this time, your Wedfuly host can double as a bartender/mixologist. They can lead your virtual guests in creating a delicious hand-crafted cocktail to drink from the comfort of their homes. If cocktails aren’t your thing, consider having breakout rooms for your guests to chat or playing a video slideshow of pictures. Additionally, this wedding planning company suggests using the intermission as a time for guests to record special messages for the couple. Then, when the couple is rewatching their Zoom footage they will be surprised with all of the warm wishes and messages they received.

Oh I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Another way to engage your virtual guests is to get them up off their couches & dancing during the group dance. Your job is to pick a song (or songs) that will get the people itching to boogie. Think “Uptown Funk”, “Shut Up and Dance” or “September” by Earth Wind & Fire. Pick songs that all of your guests will know and love. Then, the Wedfuly host will scour the mini Zoom screens to find the best (or funniest) dancers and will spotlight them Jumbo-tron style. This always ends up being everyone’s favorite part of a virtual wedding. If dancing just isn’t your style...consider opting for a “Kiss Cam”. The Wedfuly host will choose different couples/families/etc and will spotlight them and instruct them to kiss! We’ve seen people kiss house plants, pets & dolls--nothing is off limits and everyone gets to be a part of the fun!

The group dance is one of the best and easiest virtual wedding ideas to engage guests.

Record the Fun Through a Digital Guestbook

Another one of our fave virtual wedding ideas to engage your guests is through a digital guestbook like Kudoboard.com. During the wedding your guests can visit your guestbook and leave messages and wishes for you. They can also upload selfies and pictures that they took during the wedding. This makes for an amazing keepsake to look back on afterwards.

How to Keep the Party Going Afterwards

Many couples that are opting for a virtual wedding don’t want the party to end early. Even though most (or all) of your guests may be virtual, that doesn’t mean you can’t extend the fun. Listed below are a couple of ways to keep the party going longer.

Host a Drive By Parade

Consider hosting a drive by parade, either after your ceremony or reception. This is a great way to “see” your virtual guests in person without stressing about whether or not it will be safe with COVID restrictions. Additionally, it is a great way to include these guests while still keeping the cost down. Invite them to drive by your house/venue and honk and yell congratulations. You can stand on your driveway and soak in all of the love and support from all of your loved ones.

Have a Virtual After Party

Don’t Want the Fun to Stop?? Offer a virtual after party Zoom link for guests that want to keep the night going. By offering this an optional part of the wedding, you give folks the freedom to stay or go as they please. Create a killer Spotify playlist, invite your guests to pour some fresh drinks and keep the living room dance parties going strong. The beautiful part about this after party is that it will be the one really unstructured part of the wedding and will allow for guests to mingle authentically. You could even have your guests go into breakout rooms for part of the time to catch up in smaller groups before continuing to dance.

Who says the party has to stop after 2 hours?? Keep it going with a virtual after party.

Think Through the Timeline Carefully

Something to keep in mind when coming up with virtual wedding ideas is people’s attention span. In general, people’s attention spans are shorter in the virtual world than they are in person. It is more difficult to maintain focused attention to a screen that it would be to have organic conversations in person. That being said, we limit the time to 2 hours of “run time” (**additional time available upon request) and find that this is more than enough time. When planning your timeline of events for your virtual wedding, you might need to shift a few things around from a traditional wedding timeline. Our recommendation is to squeeze in all of the special moments that you want to include your virtual guests in and then end the Zoom. This way your virtual guests will be able to feel present for all of the important parts and then you can spend time with your in person guests. Listed below is a sample traditional American wedding timeline that could be followed.

Captured on the Zoom:

Wedding ceremony
Brief intermission
Cake cutting
Toasts (virtual + in person)
Dancing
End Zoom
Continue with dinner, drinks + dancing with in person guests