PULTEVENT
Wedding welcome screen: 6 looks for the TV or projector, from arrival to last dance
Half past three in a hotel ballroom, ninety minutes before guests arrive. The flowers are in, the chair covers are on, the cake is on its stand under a cloth. And on the wall behind the top table, eight meters wide, is the projector's idea of a welcome: a blue rectangle that says NO SIGNAL. The planner looks at it, then at me. "Can we at least get their names on that?"
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A welcome screen is the simplest thing you can put on a wedding projector, and it matters more than it looks. It's the first thing guests see when they walk into the room. It tells them they're in the right place, it photographs beautifully behind the top table, and it stops the venue's blank blue screen from ending up in the background of the first-dance photos.
In PULTEVENT, the welcome screen is the splash screen: your own photo, a slideshow, a video or one of the ready-made backgrounds, with an editable caption on top for the names and the date. It runs from a laptop plugged into the venue's projector or TV. You can add salute, confetti or fanfare effects for the moment the couple walk in. None of this needs anything from the guests' phones, so it works even when the Wi-Fi doesn't.
6 wedding welcome screen looks, and when to use each
1 One photo, names and date
The cleanest option: the couple's best engagement photo filling the screen, their first names and the wedding date in a caption at the bottom.
How to run it. Pick a photo with some empty space (sky, a wall) where the caption can sit without covering a face.
It looks like a printed welcome sign, but eight meters wide and lit.
2 A slow slideshow
Fifteen to twenty photos of the couple, fading from one to the next every few seconds, with the names and date staying fixed on top.
How to run it. Keep the slideshow to recent photos with similar color tones, so the look stays consistent.
Guests who arrive early get something to watch and talk about while they wait.
3 A video background
A short, silent clip on loop behind the caption: the couple walking on a beach, candles, the venue's own garden filmed that morning.
How to run it. Choose footage with gentle movement. Anything fast or shaky makes people look away.
Movement catches the eye in a way a still photo doesn't, especially in a big room.
4 A ready-made background
If the couple haven't sent photos, use one of the built-in backgrounds and just change the caption to their names and date.
How to run it. Keep a couple of neutral backgrounds ready so you can match the wedding's colors on the day.
The planner's emergency option. It's still better than a blue screen.
5 The entrance moment
As the couple walk in, the host clicks once: confetti falls over the welcome screen and a fanfare plays through the speakers. The names stay on screen behind them.
How to run it. Agree the cue with the DJ, so the entrance music and the fanfare don't fight each other.
It gives the photographers a lit, celebratory background at the exact moment they're shooting the entrance.
6 Break screen and countdown
During the sunset photos or while the room is turned around, the welcome screen switches to a break screen with a countdown: the couple are back at 8:15, first dance at 8:30.
How to run it. Put the next event on the break screen, not just the time. People stay nearby if they know what's coming.
It stops half the room wandering off to the car park at exactly the wrong moment.
Names and date over a photo
Type the caption, pick the photo, press play. It's on the wall in a couple of minutes.
Photo, slideshow or video
One favorite photo, a loop of twenty, or a short video running behind the names.
Effects for the entrance
Confetti, salute or fanfare over the welcome screen as the couple walk into the room.
No phones required
The welcome screen plays from the laptop. Guests don't need to do anything but look.
What goes in the caption
Less than you'd think. First names, the date, and maybe the venue. "Sophie and Tom, 14 June 2026" reads from the back of the room; "Welcome to the wedding celebration of Sophie Elizabeth Harris and Thomas James Wright" does not. Keep it to two short lines.
For a mixed-language wedding, the caption can carry two languages: a welcome line in one, the date and names in the other. Choose one line of each, not a paragraph.
Photo choice: what looks good at eight meters
Big screens are unkind to small, dark or low-resolution photos. Use the original file from the photographer, not a screenshot from social media. Landscape photos work best on a projector. A portrait photo still works on the splash screen, with space on each side where you can put the caption.
Avoid photos where the couple are small in the frame. The screen should show their faces, not the mountain they were standing on.
Placing the screen
Most venues have a fixed projector behind the top table or on a side wall. If it's behind the top table, check the photos won't be half hidden by the flowers. If there isn't a projector, a large TV on a stand near the entrance does the same job as a printed sign and can switch to the other screens later in the night. Ask the venue about the HDMI input and bring a long cable either way.
From welcome to games and back
The welcome screen is the resting state. When a game or a video starts, the screen switches to it; when it's over, you click back to the welcome screen. That rhythm (welcome, moment, welcome) keeps the screen tidy all night. At the end, swap the welcome for the end credits or a simple thank-you caption.
"What's on the screen when nothing's happening?"
"Them. It's their wedding."
For planners and venue coordinators
If you look after several weddings a month, keep a template ready: a couple of backgrounds, caption fonts you like, the break screen text. For each new wedding you swap the photo and the names and it's done. The console runs in a laptop browser, so it travels between venues with you.
Trying it out
Set up a welcome screen in the free 3-day demo, no card needed, and look at it on a real TV from across a room. After that, the full version is a one-time license, no subscription; prices are on pultevent.ru/en.
About the author
PULTEVENT was built by Ruslan Barashkin, who has hosted weddings, birthdays and office parties since 2014: over 500 events, best host of Moscow 2024 and of Saint Petersburg 2023 at the TOP 100 Awards. He made it for his own nights first. The rest is at pultevent.ru/en.
How to set up a wedding welcome screen
- 1
Ask the couple for one or two high-resolution photos, or a short silent clip.
- 2
Write a two-line caption: first names and the date.
- 3
Build the welcome screen in the splash screen section and add the entrance effect.
- 4
Set up break screens with the countdown times from the wedding timeline.
- 5
At the venue, connect the laptop to the projector and check the view from the back of the room.
- 6
Start the welcome screen before the doors open and return to it between every moment.
FAQ
What is a wedding welcome screen?
Do we need internet for the welcome screen?
Can we use a video instead of a photo?
Can the welcome screen show two languages?
What happens when the couple walk in?
Can a planner reuse the setup for other weddings?
How much does it cost?
See also
Run brighter events — with PULTEVENT
All audience interactions, a second screen and timing in one app. Guests join by QR — internet is needed for you and for them.
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