Sunday, July 28, 2013

Two lives coming together

The unity candle ceremony is a beautiful addition to any indoor wedding



The unity candle ceremony is done after the bride and groom have said their vows to one another.

There are three candles involved; two tapers and the center candle. The center candle is the unity candle. 

The bride and groom use the tapers to light the unity candle together. The wedding officiant explains the symbolism of the ceremony and it's importance. 



The unity candle ceremony symbolizes two lives coming together to form a new life with one another.


The bride and groom should take the unity candle home and light it every year on their anniversary the same way they did on their wedding day to remember the vows they said to one another.


Many of our wedding packages come with a unity candle. We have a wide selection of unity candles to choose from. The unity candle can also be added to any of our packages.


Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Wedding Webcasts Surge on Ustream, Up 250% as Tech Savvy Couples Share Their Big Day Online

David Thompson, chief marketing officer of San Francisco-based Ustream, Inc., says that weddings are one of the most unique and fastest growing uses for his company’s live video streaming service, which attracts more than 80 million unique monthly viewers to a wide variety of live and recorded video programming. “Not everyone can make it to the ceremony,” he says, “but that doesn’t mean they have to miss out on the big event.”

On Thursday, June 27 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Thompson and Ustream will be hosting a webinar entitled How to Ustream Weddings: Learn How to Build a Business Around Wedding Bells. Joining him will be Jim McGinnis, professional photographer and founder of Chapelle De L’Amour in Las Vegas. McGinnis operates several locations and has experienced first-hand the growing interest from couples looking to stream their big day. Together, they will discuss the growing popularity of live video streaming and its effect on the $50 billion U.S. wedding services industry.

McGinnis expects live wedding webcasts to soon be a routine part of most of his chapel’s weddings. “For many couples, video broadcasts are becoming another ‘must-have just like flowers, cake and still photography,” said McGinnis. “Our multi camera setup is a key selling point for our venues, especially for clients who have family spread across the globe, and want to share the moment in real-time.”

As broadband Internet becomes ubiquitous and people become more familiar with live video streaming services, webcasts are becoming an integral part of an increasing number of weddings. Ustream offers a free service to broadcast weddings and other events with limited functionality and advertising inserted, as well as paid broadcast options starting at $99 with more robust functionality. Video can be captured on a variety of consumer devices, including camcorders, laptop webcams and even smartphones. Adding a professional videographer and crew can cost another $800 to $3,000, however.

While that’s not an insignificant cost, consider that the average American attends two weddings a year, at a cost of nearly $1,000. Attending a wedding at a resort destination is even more costly, averaging about $1,500 per person. Live video streamed wedding broadcasts enable those with schedule conflicts, who aren’t well enough to travel, or who can’t afford the expense, to share the live experience. They also offer families the option of controlling wedding costs by limiting the number of in-person attendees, while encouraging others to participate via video technology.

“We are seeing explosive growth in the number of couples who want to stream their weddings live,” said Mary Ellen Murphy, president of Off The Beaten Path Weddings in Napa. “Platforms like Ustream are low cost, easy to use and create opportunities to include friends and family who might otherwise not be able to attend.”

- See more at: http://www.ustream.tv/press/wedding-webcasts-surge-on-ustream-up-250-as-tech-savvy-couples-share-their-big-day-online/#more-2443
Wedding Webcasts Surge on Ustream, Up 250% as Tech Savvy Couples Share Their Big Day Online