Creating A Wedding Slideshow: Adding Music To Your Memories

Wedding slideshows are a great way to showcase your love story and entertain your guests. They can be played during the rehearsal dinner or reception, or even as a background display. To create a wedding slideshow, you'll need to choose the right software, select your photos and videos, add music, and determine the length and timing of the presentation. You can use tools like Smilebox, Animotica, Animoto, Adobe Spark, Keynote, PowerPoint, or Canva, which offer templates, drag-and-drop interfaces, and customization options. Pick photos and videos that showcase your relationship milestones, childhood memories, and fun moments with friends and family. Add music that reflects your taste and the tone of the slideshow, whether it's upbeat or romantic. Keep the slideshow around 5-10 minutes long to maintain your guests' interest. Finally, determine when and how you want to display the slideshow, ensuring you have the necessary equipment, such as a laptop, projector, and screen. With these tips, you'll be able to create a memorable wedding slideshow that captivates your audience.

Choosing a template

When choosing a template for your wedding slideshow, you'll want to select one that reflects your wedding style. There are many free online tools with a range of templates to choose from, such as Smilebox, Animotica, Animoto, Adobe Spark, Slidely, Movavi, and Canva. These tools offer a variety of customisation options, including music, colours, text, and animation, so that your slideshow expresses your feelings.

Smilebox, for example, offers professionally-designed templates with an easy drag-and-drop interface, allowing you to caption your photos, add music, and share your creation via social media. Similarly, Animotica has a drag-and-drop interface with the ability to add photo backgrounds, text overlays, and stickers. If you're looking for a simple and elegant option, Animoto provides beautiful wedding templates with simple drag-and-drop tools.

Canva takes it a step further with a wide range of layouts to suit your relationship story, including elegant, romantic, minimal, floral, and even quirky designs. Their user-friendly editing tools make creating a unique slideshow a breeze, regardless of your design level. You can browse their gallery of templates, select the one that suits your style, and customise it with your photos, videos, and text.

If you're looking for a large selection of templates, Animaker offers 500+ wedding slideshow templates that are entirely customisable. You can also upload your own photos, songs, and videos to personalise your slideshow. With Animaker, you can also pick music tracks from their collection of royalty-free music or upload your own.

Remember, the template you choose should reflect your personal style and help tell the story of your relationship. Take your time to explore the different options and select the one that best represents you and your partner.

Selecting photos

Variety is Key:

Choose a mix of photos from different stages of your life together. Include pictures from your childhood, single life, and milestones in your relationship, such as your first date, anniversaries, and the proposal. Don't forget to add some candid snaps and photos from trips or vacations. A variety of photos will make your slideshow more engaging and enjoyable for your guests.

Involve Friends and Family:

While the slideshow is primarily about the couple, it's a nice touch to include photos with your friends and family. They will appreciate seeing themselves in the slideshow and feeling included in your special day. Ask them to share any photos they have of you, and don't be afraid to reach out to extended family members or old friends for pictures.

Quality and Resolution:

Ensure the photos you select are of good quality and high resolution. This is especially important if you plan to display your slideshow on a large screen, as low-resolution images may appear blurry or pixelated. Clear, crisp images will make your slideshow more visually appealing and ensure that guests can see the details, even from a distance.

Tell Your Story:

Curate your photos to tell the story of your relationship. Select images that showcase your journey as a couple, from the early days of dating to your engagement and beyond. If possible, try to find pictures that capture key moments, such as your first kiss, the moment you got engaged, or any other significant events in your relationship.

Consider a Theme:

Although not necessary, you might want to consider a theme for your slideshow. This could be as simple as choosing a specific colour palette or creating a chronological narrative. You could also match your slideshow to your wedding theme, such as a rustic, vintage, or beach theme. A theme can help tie your photos together and make the selection process easier.

Be Mindful of Guest Sensitivities:

Remember that your wedding guests will view these photos, so avoid including any images that might be considered inappropriate or offensive. Use your best judgment, and if in doubt, err on the side of caution. It's also a good idea to get a second opinion from a trusted friend or family member to ensure your photo selection is suitable for all audiences.

Adding music

If you're planning to show your slideshow at your rehearsal dinner, it can be fun to pair the images with a soundtrack and have both play throughout the night. If you're using iPhoto, simply click on "Music" at the bottom of the slideshow window, choose the source (e.g. your iTunes library), and add the tracks you want. You can drag and drop the songs into the desired sequence at the bottom of the "Music" pop-up window. If you're using another tool, look for a similar "Add music" option. Upload enough songs to last a bit longer than the length of your event.

If your slideshow will be shown during your wedding reception, you might want to leave it music-free to allow your DJ or band to create the ambiance. Be sure to talk to your music pro in advance so they're aware that you'll be playing a slideshow and can prepare accordingly.

Try to choose music that is significant to you as a couple. Do you have a favourite song that you always dance to? Or perhaps a song that played on your first date? These are great choices as they're special and unique to you. You can also choose from some of the most popular wedding slideshow songs or fun wedding songs in general, which will work well with the images typically found in wedding slideshows.

Keep the tone of your slideshow in mind when choosing your music. A bright and fun slideshow with a lot of humour and pictures with friends pairs well with happy, upbeat music. If you're focusing mostly on the romance between you and your partner, then slower and more romantic songs might be a better fit. You can keep the energy of the slideshow up by using just a portion of each song, such as the chorus. This also lets you include more songs.

Saving and exporting

Using iPhoto on a Mac:

• Once you have created your slideshow in iPhoto, click "File>New slideshow" and give it a name.
• Go back to "Photos" and drag all your chosen pictures to the new slideshow.
• Choose a template under "Themes" and arrange the images in your preferred order.
• To add music, click on "Music" at the bottom of the slideshow window, choose the source (such as your iTunes library), and add the tracks.
• Drag and drop the tracks into the desired sequence at the bottom of the "Music" popup window.
• When you are happy with your slideshow, click "Export" at the bottom of the slideshow window.
• Choose a format based on the tool you will be using to broadcast your slideshow (e.g. an iPad, computer, or other device).
• Save the exported file to iTunes, from where you will be able to drag and drop it to the broadcast tool of your choice.

Using a free online tool:

• With a free online slideshow-building tool, you may have the option to download your slideshow directly to your computer or send it to yourself via email.
• Ensure that the format of the slideshow is compatible with the device you will use to broadcast it at your event.
• You may also have the option of burning your slideshow to a DVD and playing it through your laptop.

Using Animaker:

Once you are done creating your slideshow, you can download the final output directly to your computer or share it on social media with a single click.

Using Smilebox:

• After a final inspection of your wedding slideshow, use the finalization function to produce a professional-quality copy.
• Now you can save your slideshow on a computer and project it at your wedding.
• You can also give people a sneak peek by posting your wedding slideshow on social media or emailing it.

Remember to plan ahead and test your slideshow setup before the big day. You may need additional equipment such as a laptop, tablet, projector, screen, cables, and external speakers. Don't forget your power cord to ensure your device stays charged throughout the event!

Displaying your slideshow

Displaying your wedding slideshow is the final step in sharing your love story with your guests. There are a few things to consider when it comes to the presentation of your slideshow.

First, you'll need to decide whether you want to display your slideshow at an organised time, where all your guests will watch it simultaneously, or have it playing in the background during the cocktail hour or reception. If you opt for the former, it's recommended to keep the slideshow around five minutes or less to maintain your guests' interest. If playing in the background, a longer presentation is fine.

Next, you'll need to determine the equipment you'll need. If you want to display your slideshow on a large screen, you may need a projector. Otherwise, a big-screen television should suffice. You'll also need a laptop or tablet with the slideshow file, the correct cables to connect to the projector or screen, and external speakers if your slideshow includes music.

It's a good idea to test the equipment in advance to ensure everything works smoothly. You can put your DJ or a tech-savvy member of the wedding party in charge of the slideshow on the day so that you don't have to worry about any technical issues.

Finally, consider when and where you want to display your slideshow. Many couples choose to set aside time during the rehearsal dinner or reception for guests to watch the slideshow together. Alternatively, you can play it in the background during the cocktail hour or reception, allowing guests to watch at their leisure.

Remember to share your slideshow with your guests after the wedding as well. You can upload it to your wedding website or social media platforms, or even email it directly to your guests.

Frequently asked questions