Thoughts on slideshow at reception?

TCbride1

Does anyone do this anymore? I saw it a lot a few years ago, but I haven't seen it at any weddings I've been to lately. I'd rather not create one, but my FI and FIL want one. Sometimes they seem too long or unnecessary.

Thoughts?

eas1223

I haven't seen one in a while either. We are not going to have one because I think they are kind of cheesy. But I guess if your FI and FIL really want it, maybe it's something you can compromise on. 

SSaltzman87

We're not having one, I too find them cheesy and kind of AW-y. Also, there's no place at my venue where we could have it anyway lol.

wittyschaffy

I think they're fine as background entertainment during cocktail hour or even during dinner.  As a "Ta-Dah!" event, then I'm not so much a fan.  Most of the time, unless your room is a perfect ballroom setup with a high screen and good sound, only half the people can see it anyway.

MrsBassPlaya

I agree with whittyschatty.  As a main event, no.  I've considered doing one and just having an iPad or digital frame set up somewhere for people to look at during cocktail hour and the reception, but nothing as a main evening.  Plus, we have no projector and screen.

tpender13

The last time I saw one at a wedding, the couple just set up a small flat-screen TV and DVD player near the bar, and had the slideshow playing on a loop during the reception. This was nice because you could stand there and look at pics for awhile if you wanted to, but it wasn't a spotlight kind of thing. Plus, they didn't have to bother with setting it to music.

musicalsunlight

We had one like tpender described. My mom really wanted to do it, so I let her take the reigns on that. We had a little projecter set up on the side of the reception and it was sort of out of the way so people could look if they wanted, but it certainly wasn't a main event that everyone had to sit and watch at once. I had several people come up and say they enjoyed looking through it.

mbatzlaff

We are doing one. I think we will just play it during dinner. Our venue has a large screen that is permanently set up on the wall behind the head table.

Lang125

I have been to 2 weddings this year that did them.   The first one had technical issues so the music and sound wouldn't play and it was way to long.   The other one was also kind of long and people would rather just dance or visit amongs themselves.  But both weddings made it an event where everyone had to sit and watch for 20-30 minutes.

We are not doing one, it just takes away from the reception and I think if you wanted to do one a rehearsal dinner is more appropriate since those are the people who you are closest to anyway.  I agree with PP that it is a little bit cheesy.

jennipea382

I agree with PPs that it's best done as a "background" kind of thing so people can watch it if they want, or ignore it and eat their dinner. I like seeing photos but what I don't like is when they stop everything and set it to music and stuff. I also don't like when they're too long, because I get bored easily, haha.

bburkel

We are doing one, but I haven't decided if it will be it's own thing, or in the background.  We are meeting with our venue in Nov, I can look at the setup then and decide.
Because we have a ton of family (250+) invited, I think they'll enjoy seeing the old pics of everyone growing up. And, since my dad passed away 7 years ago, it'll be a nice reminder of having him around.

hlstrean

We're doing one. It's going to play in the corner of the room as the cake gets passed. Ours is 12 mins and isn't going to be a main, everyone stop and stare event. I'm sure some people will watch, other will just enjoy their cake and ignore it! The one thing I love about slideshows is it gives me a chance to include a lot of our guests. We went through and chose pictures of us with our cousins, Aunts/Uncles, grandparents, friends, etc. I think everyone gets a kick out of it when they see themselves in the slideshow.

shine882007

We are planning on doing one over dinner.  I don't agree with the insanely long ones, ours will be 8 minutes tops because of the music we chose to play.  

Kbelle12

Someone gave me the idea of having the digital photo frames going at the bar.... that way its not a whole show, just look if you are waiting for your drink..

Kathryn Wagner

I love them at weddings and I am doing it as well. I really like the idea of doing it.