Wedding Blog
In the comments on Mr. Bee’s post about The Little Things, a few people asked about slideshows:
I’d love to do a slideshow for our reception, but am worried about how to put it together. I think it would be really cool if you could do a post about how to make a great slideshow: what should definitely be included, unique ideas that can really make a slideshow great, and/or some examples of great slideshows you’ve seen in the past.- M
My mom really wants me to do [a slideshow] but I wasn’t going to initially b/c I have no clue how to put one together! I haven’t seen a slideshow at any other weddings I’ve been to. If anyone has examples they would be much appreciated! - Eileen
Any advice for our budding slideshow makers?
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Probably all the same advice a scrapbook maven would give: don’t feel you have to limit yourself to going chronologically. Group photos by topics that work better for you: us with pets, us with our grandparents, our most awkward school pictures, whatever.
The most highly-produced wedding slideshow I’ve ever seen was one that a friend did for his brother. He collected the silliest and most unfortunate photos of the bride and groom, and wrote a documentary-style script full of complete lies to go along with it. It was definitely funny, but it took a lot of work and a lot of specialized skills and tools.
The most effective wedding slideshow took neither of these. It was silent, and it was just running off of iPhoto on a laptop in a corner of the reception. We went to that wedding thinking the bride and groom were really mismatched, and that it would never work. The slideshow alone convinced us they were far, far better matched than we ever imagined.
My sister did one at her wedding this past March! The DJ put it together for her. That is one option. A lot of DJ’s have that ability!
All she did was give him the photos and picked music and he put the whole thing together!
They first started with her baby pix thru High School, then his, then they did pix of their relationship together and a bunch of family photos at the end. They really wanted to include family members that were traveling far so that everyone felt a part of it!
It was a huge hit!
my MC in NYC is creating one for us. my FI is a computer guy but we opted to have it done by the MC b/c he would be transporting the screen, projector, hooking up to his “awesome” speakers, etc. we didn’t want to bother with renting our own equipment. the MC tells us there’s 3 parts…groom as a baby, childhood, family. then bride as a baby, childhood, family. 2nd part was of friends/family. 3rd part was us together.
hey lily, mind sharing which dj/mc service you’re using? I’m still looking for one in the NYC area that’ll take care of all that stuff too.
Choose music to suit to mood you wish to create!
If anyone has a mac, iLife makes slideshows a snap. You can make a pretty advanced one on iMovie or simpler ones on iPhoto or iDVD. The software is great and really easy to use.
If you made the slideshow on your computer, do you just hook the computer up to a projector at the reception site? (sorry if that’s a dumb question).
MK..not a dumb question. we were wondering that ourselves and realized we would need to either rent a projector or bring a laptop, rent/bring a screen and not sure if the MC would allow us to hook it up to their speakers. so we didn’t want that headache…
OT–we’re using SangAlong on 230 Grand Street Suite L5 # 212-431-6893.
a cousin and friend used them so we at first wanted to change things up. but after comparing them with 2 other groups…they had the best price and the most to offer. we spoke with kenny who suggested using a different MC from the other 2 weddings. good luck!
MK–give the right projector, yeah, it’s that easy. If your site also holds business meetings (a hotel, for example), they probably have that kind of thing available.
On the other hand, I’d suggest having the slideshow just on a computer off to the side, as an optional thing, rather than taking time out to compel everyone to watch it together. The last wedding I went to, the laptop was on a table you had to pass in order to get to the restroom. Thus everyone knew about it and had the option to watch it, but the folks who wanted to dance got to dance.
Thanks everyone! 
Sarah brings up a good point. For those of you doing slideshows, are you having it on a laptop that can ppl can look at whenever they want? Or are you projecting it on a screen at a set point in the evening for everyone to watch?
This is so timely. For those of you on a PC: WHAT PROGRAM ARE YOU USING?!? This has been driving me and my fiance nuts!
Powerpoint instructions:
Working with photos…
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA102176471033.aspx
Setting it up to advance slides automatically…
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA012342001033.aspx
i was thinking of doing a slideshow, but then, since im a scrapbooker, and have our 6 years together in albums…i was thinking maybe i could just have a table with the albums out? maybe on the guest book table?
jessi — makes sense.
I ran across the following website when looking for slideshow ideas.
http://www.retrospectvideoalbums.com/
The website has suggestions as to which songs to use! They’re a little pricey but have good ideas to get your creative juices flowing!
Hi Guys,
My fiance and I make slideshows for a side business, but if you need any help or having questions feel free to email me at aweinick at gmail dot com Our major tip - keep it to under 7 minutes. Also leaving the pictures up for about 3 seconds really helps give a professional look - otherwise the pictures are up and gone before you can blink. Also some of the programs allow you to add movement (zoom in, scan from left to right) this also helps add interest. Good Luck!
photostory was super easy and downloadable for free at microsoft.com
I have used ProShow Gold to make slideshows. You could burn the slideshow to a DVD and hook up those small portable DVD players to a projector and play it, if you don’t want to bring a laptop. I made a slideshow for a friend.
Windows Movie Maker is also super easy to use, just drag and drop the pictures into the ’storyboard’ area, add transitions, and whatever music you want.
My FI did ours using the Mac program and we will show it during dinner. We have 3 sections: 1) me growing up while playing “My Girl” by the Temptations, 2) FI growing up while playing “You’re never fully dressed without a smile” by Harry Connick Jr., and 3) us together while playing “The Best is Yet to Come” by Sinatra.
I helped put together a slideshow for a friend’s wedding. We were using a laptop that had Windows installed.
They put all the pictures in a folder, in the order they wanted them to appear. You can choose the option View As Slideshow when looking at the folder options. They had a screen set up off to the side of the dance floor and it looped the entire reception. No time was taken away from anything else because it was big enough to glance at from where you sat or you could stand closer and watch it for awhile. It will automatically keep looping through the pictures all night.
Feel free to email me at aweinick at gmail dot com for some examples.
We also use proshowgold.
For PC users, Microsoft provides free software.
Windows Movie Maker is on every PC that runs Windows XP and has Service Pack 2 installed.
Microsoft Photostory can be downloaded for free off Microsoft’s website.
Photostory is extremely simple. You first need the photos and music on your PC. Then, in Photostory you select your photos, your music and then transition effects. Then, you are done. It’s that simple.
Windows Movie Maker gives you more capabilities and will involve more time. You put your pictures in and your music then you can add various effects, captions, transitions, etc. You have much more control than in Photostory. But, it is still a pretty simple program to use. It will just take more time and effort to make your slideshow.
Awwww…… I wrote a post about this earlier.
http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/03/06/diy-slideshow-hell/
Happy planning!
HP’s Muvee Auto Producer does some great looking slideshows to music, with very little work. It takes the photos and sets them to music, with movement and everything, in styles you can purchase off their website. You can go in after and tweak it it is zooming on the wrongpart of a photo, for example, but it’s a lot less work and it looks like a much more expensive product than most people would create with powerpoint, Window Movie Maker, etc. Not pitching- I do slideshows for work on my home computer using it sometimes (activities and things), it saves me a ton of work, and everyone loves them.
[...] noticed some readers seeking advice about creating a slideshow for the reception, so I thought I should share my experience creating [...]
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