Creating A Wedding Slideshow: Premiere Pro Tips And Tricks

Wedding slideshows are a great way to showcase the couple's story and provide entertainment for guests. Creating a wedding slideshow with Premiere involves selecting a suitable template, adding photos and videos, customising text, colours, and animations, and finalising the slideshow for projection or sharing on social media. Premiere offers a range of templates with different styles, such as romantic, elegant, and cinematic themes, allowing users to create a unique and memorable slideshow. Users can also incorporate music, choose from various effects, and benefit from time-saving features that simplify the slideshow creation process.

Using templates

Where to Find Premiere Pro Wedding Slideshow Templates

One source of Premiere Pro wedding slideshow templates is Envato Elements, which offers an extensive library of over 2,900 templates. You can download as many as you want with a monthly or yearly subscription. There are also free templates available from Envato's Mixkit, which can be used for weddings, holidays, and corporate-themed slideshows.

Customising Your Template

Once you've chosen and downloaded your template, you can start customising it to your liking. This typically involves replacing placeholder images and footage with your own content, and updating logos, colours, music, sound effects, and motion graphics. You can also add text to provide context, cite material, or include inspirational quotes.

Top Wedding Slideshow Templates for Premiere Pro

• Wedding Slideshow by _miko_: This template features bokeh and shimmering particles, making it a wonderful way to display memories from the wedding day.
• Wedding Slideshow by MotionEasy: With a soft and clean look, this template allows you to easily drag and drop your content into a well-organised layout.
• Wedding Slideshow by Quarz: This template is compatible with Premiere Pro CC 2017 and above, and includes light leaks and other effects. No plugins are required.
• Sakura Wedding | Cinematic Slideshow: A template based on pink cherry blossom, perfect for a springtime wedding.
• Romantic Wedding Intro Slideshow: This template features framed and floating images with smooth, slow animation and flare transitions.
• Wedding Parallax Slideshow: A template with parallax-style movement and gently floating particles, suitable for creating regal wedding video effects.

Choosing music

Music is a crucial part of a wedding slideshow. It helps to amplify the story and emotion of the images and can make your slideshow more engaging. Here are some tips for choosing the music for your wedding slideshow:

Know Your Couple

If you are creating a wedding slideshow for a friend or relative, try to match their music preferences. If you are creating the slideshow for yourself, consider your audience and their expectations. You want to pick a soundtrack that will accommodate everyone, so if you're a death metal fan, it's probably best to leave that off the playlist!

Use Multiple Tracks

Even if your slideshow is short, don't limit yourself to just one track. Using two or more songs will help with the pacing and give your slideshow an interesting shift in mood.

Consider the Lyrics

Just because a song sounds romantic, doesn't mean the lyrics are suitable. Make sure you read into the lyrics and understand the ideas behind them before adding a song to your slideshow.

Avoid Recent Hits

It can be tempting to choose a current song that's an irresistible earworm, but these songs are often just a fad and may soon be forgotten or fall out of favour. Stick with melodies and artists that have stood the test of time.

Go Instrumental

If you can't find any songs that fit the bill, consider using classical music or instrumental pieces. This way, you can still have a beautiful soundtrack without the distraction of lyrics.

Choose Meaningful Songs

Try to choose music that is significant to the couple. Do they have a favourite song that they always dance to? Or a song that played on their first date? These songs will add a personal and unique touch to the slideshow.

Keep the Tone in Mind

If your slideshow is bright, fun, and humorous, choose happy, upbeat music. If it's more romantic and slow-paced, go for slower, more sentimental songs. You can also keep the energy up by using just a portion of each song, such as the chorus.

Suggested Songs

• "Let's Dance" by David Bowie
• "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes
• "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher
• "Love On Top" by Beyonce
• "Somebody Like You" by Keith Urban
• "Love Your Love The Most" by Eric Church
• "I Run To You" by Lady Antebellum
• "Good Time" by Alan Jackson
• "Big Big Plans" by Chris Lane
• "Let's Get Married" by Jagged Edge
• "Saving All My Love For You" by Whitney Houston
• "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones
• "Your Song" by Elton John
• "Love of My Life" by Queen
• "Canon In D" by Johann Pachelbel
• "Ode to Joy" by Ludwig Van Beethoven
• "Forever" by Ben Harper
• "Lucky" by Jason Mraz
• "I'd Rather Be With You" by Joshua Radin
• "Better Together" by Jack Johnson
• "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder
• "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper

Selecting photos and videos

• Choose high-quality, high-resolution images that will look clear and visible from a distance.
• Include milestones in your relationship, such as your first date, anniversaries, and the proposal.
• While most photos will be of the couple, it's nice to include pictures with close friends and family as well.
• Consider the audience and withhold any inappropriate photos or videos that may be deemed unsuitable by guests.
• Include video clips, but keep them short to maintain the momentum of the slideshow.
• If you're creating a trailer-style slideshow, you may want to include footage of the wedding ceremony, bridal bouquet, ceiling decorations, wedding rings, or the couple holding hands.
• Add variety to your slideshow by including images and videos from different sources, such as your computer, phone, or social media accounts.
• Ensure you have permission to use the photos and videos, especially if they were taken by a professional photographer.
• Choose images and videos that align with the theme of your slideshow, whether it's romantic, fun, or elegant.
• Opt for images that showcase the energy and exuberance of the couple, such as professional photos in various settings.
• Consider using a mix of photos and videos that showcase your memories as individuals and as a couple, like in the slideshow by Jonathan and JoEllen.

Adding text and captions

• Choose a Template: Start by selecting a wedding slideshow template that suits your style and theme. Templates are available from various sources, such as Envato Elements, Mixkit, and Smilebox. These templates often include built-in text and caption options that you can customise.
• Text Customisation: Once you've chosen a template, open it in Premiere and start customising the text. You can change the font, size, colour, and animation of the text to match your wedding's aesthetic.
• Adding Captions: Captions can be added to individual photos or video clips to provide context or share anecdotes. Consider including captions that introduce the people in the photos, highlight important milestones, or share funny or heartfelt stories.
• Text Animation: To make your text and captions more dynamic, experiment with animation options. Premiere offers various animation effects, such as fade-ins, slide-ins, or even more complex animations to draw attention to your text.
• Timing and Duration: Ensure that your text and captions are synchronised with the appropriate photos or video clips. Adjust the duration of each text element to match the timing of your slideshow. You don't want your guests to miss any important messages!
• Preview and Adjust: Before finalising your slideshow, be sure to preview it from start to finish. Check for any typos, ensure the text is legible, and make sure the timing of the captions matches the flow of your slideshow.
• Final Touches: Once you're happy with the preview, finalise your slideshow by rendering or exporting it. Save it in a format that can be easily shared and projected at your wedding venue.

Remember, when adding text and captions, it's essential to strike a balance between providing enough information and keeping the design clean and uncluttered. Choose a font that is easy to read, and don't overload your slides with too much text. By following these steps and customising your template, you'll be able to create a wedding slideshow with text and captions that celebrate your love story and engage your guests.

Finalising and sharing

Finalising Your Slideshow

When finalising your wedding slideshow, it's important to review and perfect all the elements. Check that your photos and videos are in the correct order and that any transitions, animations, and text overlays are timed accurately. Make sure to preview your slideshow in full-screen mode to ensure everything looks as expected.

Music and Audio

Adding music to your slideshow can enhance the emotion and engage your audience. Choose a song or songs that are meaningful to you and your partner, or select from royalty-free music libraries offered by slideshow makers like Adobe Express and Smilebox. You can also include voiceovers, sound effects, or recorded messages from friends and family to make your slideshow more dynamic.

Saving and Sharing Options

Once you're happy with your slideshow, it's time to save and share it. Most slideshow makers will offer various options, including downloading to your computer, sharing via email, or posting on social media. If you plan to display your slideshow at your wedding, save it on a computer or device that will be available on the day.

Displaying at Your Wedding

There are a few ways to display your slideshow during your wedding celebrations. You can set aside a specific time during the rehearsal dinner or reception for guests to watch it together. Alternatively, you can play it in the background during these events or during the cocktail hour, allowing guests to view it at their leisure. If you have a DJ or tech-savvy member of the wedding party, they can be in charge of ensuring the smooth playback of your slideshow.

Sharing with Guests

Consider sharing your wedding slideshow with your guests before or after the wedding, especially if it wasn't displayed during the celebrations. You can email it to them, post it on social media, or share it via online platforms like YouTube or Vimeo. This way, your guests can relive the memories and enjoy the slideshow at their leisure.

Templates and Effects

To make your slideshow truly unique, consider using templates and effects offered by your chosen slideshow maker. For example, Adobe Express and Smilebox offer various animation effects, while Envato Elements provides elegant and romantic templates like the Sakura Wedding Cinematic Slideshow and the Wedding Parallax Slideshow. These effects and templates can enhance the visual appeal and emotion of your slideshow, making it a memorable part of your wedding celebrations.

Frequently asked questions