Should You Get Dressed Up? Zoom Wedding Etiquette That’s Still Unclear

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WeddingWire reports that 43 percent of couples who carried out wedding ceremonies during the pandemic offered a virtual streaming option for guests who couldn’t be there in person. While some couples were wise to this tool before a pandemic made it necessary, the rise in virtual streaming of weddings was massive after COVID-19 changed our way of life. Like many changes that the pandemic caused, wedding ceremonies on Zoom brought about the question: So, how does this work exactly? As if understanding IRL wedding etiquette wasn’t difficult enough (like what does black tie versus garden party attire mean? And is it rude to take pictures during the ceremony?), now we have to learn how to conduct ourselves at a Zoom wedding.

Watching a wedding on Zoom is such a strange experience because, on the one hand, you are witnessing the most important day in somebody’s life. On the other hand, you’re watching it from your couch, which doesn’t feel very momentous. You might even be watching it from your bathroom (though you probably shouldn’t be). It’s very easy to quit some of the formalities to which we are accustomed to for IRL weddings when a screen and hundreds of miles separate us from the betrothed couples, but how comfortable is too comfortable? Here are some things that are unclear about Zoom wedding etiquette.

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Should your setting be formal?

You obviously can’t place yourself in the middle of a beautiful chapel or botanical garden to watch a Zoom wedding, but how lax can you be about your environment? I didn’t think I’d care when I got married on Zoom, but I was a bit disappointed to see some guests hovered over bowls of cereal between piles of mail watching my wedding. It’s not like my wedding was morning cartoons. It’s worth noting that weddings have become less formal over time, with more couples opting to get married outdoors and in venues like barns and farms over the years. Barn weddings became even more popular during the pandemic. But you still don’t want your guests watching from their toilets. The best move is to pick a nice, neutral background when watching someone’s wedding. And word to betrothed couples: if you want to set a certain tone, you can always send confirmed guests the same pretty virtual background to download before the big day. It will make for some cool screenshots of the event.