weddingA screen that updates as guests upload from their phones. Here is what to budget, which hardware to use, and the small choices that decide whether the slideshow draws the room in or sits ignored in a corner.
A live wedding photo slideshow is a TV or projector at the reception that shows guest-uploaded photos soon after upload. You need three things: a screen, a laptop or streaming device to drive the display, and a wedding photo app like Pix Wedding that collects guest uploads through one QR code and shows them on a live slideshow at the venue (Standard $59 or Pro $89, one-time).
Total setup time: reserve a setup window before guests arrive. Total cost: use the screen and AV quote plus the Standard plan.
Here is the order the setup needs to happen.
Visit the venue with the lights set to "reception level" and walk to the spot you plan to put the screen. If you can read the printed dinner menu without squinting, a TV will work. If the room is dim and there is a clean, pale wall at the right throw distance for the projector, go projector. Decide early, since rental stock can run short in peak wedding season.
Ask the local AV supplier for a screen rental quote with delivery and pickup. Add the cable or streaming device you do not already own, and reserve a setup window before guests arrive.
Create the album, download the QR code (paid plans include 48 poster designs as PNG or PDF) and print table cards. The live slideshow runs from the same album, so guests scan one code to upload and their photos feed the screen.
It is the easiest step to skip. Show up at the venue with the laptop. Connect to the venue WiFi at the exact spot the screen will sit. Open the slideshow URL. Watch a sample photo upload from your phone. If anything stutters, you have 24 hours to fix it (mobile hotspot, extender, ethernet drop) instead of 24 minutes before the ceremony.
Mount the TV or place the projector. Run the HDMI cable. Plug in the laptop or streaming stick. Connect the venue WiFi. Open the slideshow URL in Chrome, press F11 for full-screen. Upload one test photo from your phone and confirm it shows up. Tape the cables down. Done.
Whether that is your wedding planner, your maid of honor, or your most type-A friend. Their job: one QR card per table, plus one near the bar. Do not skip the bar card. The bar is one of the places guests pause long enough to scan during cocktail hour.
Decide who switches the screen to a still image during the speeches and the first dance, either with the TV input or a second browser tab showing your portrait. Walk them through it during setup. They will not remember if you mention it in passing, so have them do it once.
If the setup was done right, the slideshow runs itself. Photos appear, stay on screen for a few seconds, and make room for the next one. You do not touch the laptop. You enjoy your wedding.
Bar selfies
Cocktail hour
Pix Wedding includes the live slideshow on Standard ($59) and Pro ($89), paid once. The same QR code your guests scan to upload feeds the screen at the reception. One purchase, no extra software.
Aunt Janet
Scan to join the album
No app, no account
UPLOADING
THE ALBUM
June 21, 2026
647 photos · 95 guests
SCAN TO TRY
pix.wedding/
your-wedding
Start with 20 guest uploads free, no card. Live slideshow is included on Standard at $59 and Pro at $89, paid once.
For collecting every original
Most couples pick this
One-time payment, no subscription
For big guest lists
One payment. Yours to keep. No subscription. No renewals. No surprise charges.
Secure checkout. Polar, Apple Pay, Google Pay.
Money-back guarantee: if your guests never upload a single photo, you get 100% back. See how it works
Use this if/then framework to match the display to the room and the kind of reception you are planning.
Best for: Reception halls with overhead lighting, restaurant venues, daytime weddings. Cost: ask the rental house or compare current retail models. Setup time: usually quick once the stand and cable are ready. Image quality: sharp on a suitable modern display. Downside: screen size is limited by the room and budget.
Best for: ballrooms, tented receptions after sundown, venues with high ceilings, modern minimalist spaces with one good blank wall. Cost: ask the rental house or compare current retail models. Setup time: allow time to align and focus it. Image size: a large image feels dramatic. Downside: ambient light can wash out the image.
Best for: luxury weddings, ballrooms with wow-factor budgets, weddings where the slideshow is part of the centerpiece décor. Cost: request a quote for the wall, delivery, rigging, and technician. Setup time: plan for a specialist installation. Image quality: designed for visibility across a large room. Downside: the price.
What to get quoted for three common configurations. Screen and AV prices vary a lot by city and supplier, so the only fixed number here is the Pix plan.
| Cost item | Budget setup (TV) | Standard (projector) | Premium (LED wall) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen rental | Get a quote | Get a quote | Get a quote |
| Stand or mount | Get a quote | Get a quote | Included |
| Driver (laptop or Fire Stick) | Get a quote | Get a quote | Included |
| HDMI + extension cables | Get a quote | Get a quote | Included |
| Pix Wedding Standard | $59 (one-time) | $59 (one-time) | $59 (one-time) |
| AV tech (optional) | $0 (DIY) | Get a quote | Get a quote |
| Total | Your quotes + $59 | Your quotes + $59 | Your quotes + $59 |
Swipe to compare
For comparison, a photo booth adds a separate rental and attendant cost. A live slideshow uses the screen path you already arranged and invites more guests to contribute.
Illustrative TV setup: rent a large screen locally, connect a streaming stick or laptop, and add the Standard plan at $59 one-time. Confirm the screen rental, delivery and cable costs with your venue or AV supplier.
Place the TV where guests naturally look, put QR cards on each table and near the bar, and open the Pix Wedding slideshow URL in a full-screen browser before cocktail hour.
The first upload gives guests a reason to look up at the screen. As more photos rotate, the display creates a simple participation loop: guests see the album, then add their own photo.
Give the DJ or venue lead a short walkthrough of how to switch the screen to a still image, and rehearse it once before speeches and the first dance.
If venue Wi-Fi drops, a phone hotspot can keep the display online, but guest uploads may slow while the network recovers. Ask the venue about its backup connection before the reception.
Keep a backup plan for the display and continue the slideshow while the venue connection is stable. The screen can also become a useful prompt for reception photos and reactions.
For a tent or outdoor reception that ends after dark, a projector can use a large white wall. Confirm throw distance, brightness and delivery costs with the venue or AV supplier.
Illustrative projector setup: run the slideshow URL in a full-screen browser on a laptop, connect it through the venue's adapter, and place QR cards where guests can see them. Add Pix Wedding Standard at $59 one-time to the projector quote.
Start the slideshow before guests arrive and seed it with a few of your own engagement photos so the display has something on it when the first guests look over.
Switching to a still image is easiest when the DJ has rehearsed it during setup. A timed rehearsal keeps new uploads off the wall during the first dance.
Outdoor guests may upload over cellular while the venue connection is busy. Ask the venue about signal and keep a hotspot plan ready for the display.
Projectors have one weak spot a TV does not: anyone who walks through the beam casts a shadow on the wall. Keep the throw path clear of service routes, with a rope or a table as a barrier. Keep the scannable QR on printed table cards too, since a code shown in a projected image can be hard for phones to read.
Three short prompts that, when read at the right moment, improve participation.
"Hey everyone, real quick: the screen by the bar is live with photos you are taking right now. Scan the QR on your table to add yours, and watch the screen, you might see yourself."
"Beautiful. Quick reminder: every photo you took during that dance just landed on the screen. If you got a great angle, scan the QR on your table to add it. The couple gets every one of them in the album."
"Last call for photos on the screen. Anything you grabbed tonight, upload it now and it makes the album. The QR is on your table or on the bar."
An example timeline for a reception that starts at 5 PM. Shift the times to match your own schedule.
Pre-cocktail, show a static welcome slide
Couple's names, date, and a "scan to add your photos" prompt. Guests arrive and learn the screen exists.
Cocktail hour, live feed on
Guests have time with their phones now, and every new photo on the screen pulls more people over to look.
Speeches and toasts, still image of the couple's portrait
Nobody competes with the speaker. Screen becomes part of the décor, not a distraction.
First dance, still image of your engagement photo
First dance is sacred. Do not let it compete with a chaotic feed.
Dance floor opens, live feed back on
Dancing brings a burst of new photos, and the screen near the dance floor keeps the energy up.
Late night, live feed keeps running
The late crowd sees the whole night scroll past, which is a good moment for the DJ's last-call reminder.
Last call, static thank you slide
"Thanks for being part of our wedding. Keep adding photos with the QR on your table card." On Standard the upload window stays open for 6 months, so guests can add photos from home in the days after.
How far a projector needs to be from the wall to produce a sharp image at a given size. The right distance depends on the model and the image size, so check the manufacturer specification.
Brightness rating for projectors. Check the projector manufacturer brightness guidance for the room.
How long guests can keep adding photos after the day. On Pix Wedding it is 6 months on Standard and 1 year on Pro, with storage of 1 and 2 years plus a ZIP you keep forever.
A single image shown instead of the live feed, used during speeches and the first dance. The simplest version is a second browser tab or a TV input switch.
How long each photo stays on screen before the next one appears. Watch a few minutes during your test run so you know how the pace feels in the room.
The laptop, Fire Stick, Chromecast, or Apple TV that runs the slideshow URL and outputs to the screen via HDMI. The simplest setup uses a streaming stick.
Related guides for the rest of the reception photo experience.
For a preview you can try before planning the screen setup, see Try the live slideshow demo.
A TV or projector setup depends on the device you already have. Google documents casting from Chrome to a TV, while Apple documents AirPlay to Apple TV. Review the official instructions before you choose the display path.
Official setup guidance for casting a Chrome tab to a screen.
View Google's guideApple's official instructions for mirroring an iPhone or iPad to Apple TV.
View Apple's guideIf you plan to cast from a laptop to a Chromecast or Google TV, this walkthrough from Tech Time With Timmy shows how to cast a website open in Chrome to the TV. Run through it at home with the slideshow open before the wedding day.
A live slideshow changes how a reception room behaves. Guests drift over to the screen during cocktail hour to look for their own uploads, and seeing other people on it is a nudge to add a photo of their own.
That makes the screen a participation loop: every upload is a reminder for the next guest, and nobody has to hand out instructions twice.
Smaller weddings may feel more intimate because guests already know most of the people in the album. The screen still gives everyone a shared view of candid moments as they arrive.
Outdoor weddings in bright daylight also struggle because TVs wash out and projectors are unusable. If your reception ends at sunset or runs entirely outdoors before dark, the slideshow is a great idea for the after-party indoors but not for the ceremony or daylight cocktail hour.
Hardware is usually the biggest cost. Ask the venue or AV supplier for a written TV or projector quote, including delivery, a stand and any adapter.
Software is the smaller cost. Pix Wedding starts at $49 one-time for Starter (no live slideshow) and $59 one-time for Standard, which includes the live slideshow plus unlimited photos and videos in original quality. So the total depends on the screen path and the venue quote.
Straight answers to the questions people ask most about this topic.
A live wedding photo slideshow is a screen or projector at the reception that displays photos from guests as they upload them from their phones, in near real time. Photos appear soon after they are uploaded. Most setups use a TV mounted in the room or a projector pointed at a wall, with the slideshow URL opened in full-screen browser mode. Pix Wedding handles the upload and display end with its live slideshow on Standard ($59) and Pro ($89), one-time, so the only hardware you add is a screen.
Uploads tend to come in waves rather than a steady stream. Cocktail hour gives guests time with their phones, dinner brings another round, and the first dance is a photo-heavy moment. Put the QR where guests pause and have the DJ mention the screen once, and the slideshow builds through the night.
TV is sharper, more reliable, and works in bright rooms. Projector covers a larger area, looks more dramatic on a wall, but needs a darker room and a longer throw distance. For a normally lit room, a TV is the simpler choice. For a darker room with a suitable wall, a projector can create a larger image.
Switch the screen to a still image for those moments. The simplest way is a second browser tab with your portrait, or changing the TV input, and it helps to brief the DJ or a friend on it during setup. A useful rhythm is the live feed during cocktail hour, dinner, dancing and late night, then a still image during speeches and the first dance.
Pick one person to keep an eye on the screen and give them a simple fallback: switch the display to a still image while you sort it out. Agree on this before the reception so nobody has to improvise in front of the room.
Three places. A QR table card with one sentence ("Scan to add your photos, they appear on the screen"). A line in the program/menu ("Photos guests upload during the night land on the screen by the dance floor"). And one DJ announcement around the time the slideshow gets busy ("Hey, the screen by the bar is live with all the photos you are taking, keep them coming").
Everything you need to make your wedding day stress-free and unforgettable.
Design custom print-ready stickers.
Create unique wedding hashtags.
5 methods ranked by participation rate and ease.
Compare every sharing platform by ease and participation.
The single method with the highest participation rate.
Step-by-step setup for every platform.
Better, cheaper options than disposable cameras.
5 cheaper alternatives to a $1,000+ photo booth rental.
