When you learn it in The New York Occasions yesterday, then the key is certainly out — and it’s been broadcast to all of New York, America and fairly frankly, the world. Sure, buddies: I received married. To Hamilton Nguyen, who a lot of you already know because the official Drone Woman photographer and the man who handles my enterprise contracts whereas I’m out testing the newest drones. And the way in which we capped off the evening? Sure, I had a drone present at my marriage ceremony.
Our shared love of drone exhibits
The primary drone present I ever witnessed in individual was with Hamilton in 2023 at an Oakland A’s baseball recreation. Sky Parts placed on a Star Wars-themed spectacle , and I actually stopped mid-hot canine chew when these TIE fighters fashioned within the sky.
This wasn’t simply tech, it was artwork.
We turned obsessed. Over the following 12 months, we traveled to see drone exhibits in all places. We even went to Disneyland Paris particularly to catch their present (which, if you happen to bear in mind from my protection, took us two nights as a result of rain cancelled the primary try—traditional drone present issues).
Right here’s what I didn’t know on the time: Hamilton had proposed to me the day earlier than we flew to Paris. In order that Disneyland drone present? Our private, secret engagement celebration.
Quick ahead to mid-2025, after I was chatting with my pricey pal Desi Ekstein (you realize her as On The Go Video). She was fairly adamant I wanted a drone present at my marriage ceremony, so right here we’re.
Be part of me on my marriage ceremony day (properly, at the very least in a 5-minute, on-line model of it), on this unbelievable video created by my great pal, Juan Langarica, who runs Langarica Studios.
How Drone Woman received that drone present at her marriage ceremony
Early on, Hamilton and I assumed a drone present can be enjoyable, nevertheless it felt impossibly blue sky. Each present we’d seen was a large spectacle. Ours was going to be a comparatively small, DIY-heavy marriage ceremony. It appeared like an excessive amount of.
However when it got here time to plan our sendoff, everybody stored suggesting sparklers.
You understand the shot: bride and groom working by way of a tunnel of handheld fireplace sticks whereas visitors wave them round, in all probability singeing somebody’s hair and undoubtedly wanting precisely like each different marriage ceremony ever.
Worse? The fireplace threat. We have been getting married in fire-prone Southern California. With children on the marriage ceremony. Handing everybody literal flames felt… questionable.
After months obsessing over personalised particulars — luau meals honoring my household’s Hawaiian roots, recordings of my great-grandpa’s music (he was a Hawaiian musician), che (this addictive Vietnamese dessert Hamilton’s household launched me to), postcards about our travels as centerpieces, throwing a Labubu as an alternative of a bouquet as a result of I skipped recent flowers for environmental causes—a generic sparkler sendoff felt so not me.
“There’s no method you — The Drone Woman — can get married and not using a drone present,” Desi advised me. She was completely proper.
“That appears… impractical”
Initially, it nonetheless felt absurdly impractical. We’d already booked our venue at Coto Valley Nation Membership in Orange County with out fascinated by airspace classifications or drone launch websites. The timeline was tight. The logistics appeared overwhelming.
However the extra I thought of it, the extra it made sense. I’d spent over a decade watching this expertise mature. I’d traveled the world to see one of the best drone exhibits, together with one at Disneyland Paris simply days after Hamilton proposed to me at Neuschwanstein Fort in Bavaria. (Keep in mind that fortress. It comes again.)
That’s when I discovered Electrical Sky Drone Reveals, a brother-sister-led, Los Angeles drone firm (Ali and Tannaz Amini) with marriage ceremony expertise that used UVify drones. We hit it off, and I employed them to make me a drone present!
Selecting a marriage venue for a drone present
Right here’s what no person tells you about marriage ceremony drone exhibits: venue logistics are important.
You want:
- Flat, open area for takeoff and touchdown
- Correct airspace classification (we lucked out with Class G—unrestricted)
- Buffer zones between drones and folks, buildings, roads
- Insurance coverage (in all probability a number of insurance policies)
- HOA approval if you happen to’re in a non-public neighborhood (we have been)
- Presumably highway closure permits
Our venue didn’t have appropriate launch area.
However you realize what was two tons over? Pickleball courts.
If you realize something about pickleball tradition, Saturday afternoon is sacred. Prime time. We needed to observe down the court docket proprietor, negotiate a rental, and basically evict a complete neighborhood of weekend gamers.
Someplace in Orange County, there are pickleball fans who missed their Saturday recreation as a result of I wanted to launch 200 drones. We blew previous our venue price range to cowl the pickleball rental.
Value each penny.
Animating our love story
The inventive course of was the enjoyable half. I had about half a dozen planning calls with Ali and Tannaz, the place we mapped out animations that advised our story. Right here’s what we ended up with:
The sentimental:
- Neuschwanstein Fort (not only a fortress — the fortress the place Hamilton proposed)
- A person proposing to a girl
- Two interlocking rings
- Two glasses of French 75 (our signature cocktail) clinking
- Our initials and marriage ceremony date
The playful:
- A espresso cup subsequent to a bagel (we met on Espresso Meets Bagel, sure we’re that couple)
- A Golden Gate Bridge (we stay in San Francisco)
- A digicam
- A seaside
- A UVify drone (it’s meta to place a drone fabricated from drones within the sky, proper?)
The completely unhinged:
- A lady performing a snatch raise
For the non-weightlifters studying this: a snatch is a aggressive Olympic raise the place you explosively pull a barbell from the bottom to overhead in a single movement. It’s technical, it’s troublesome, and most of the people have by no means heard of it.)
Hamilton and I are each aggressive weightlifters. Half our marriage ceremony visitors raise. After I advised the Electrical Sky Drone Reveals staff I wished a weightlifter within the sky, I wasn’t solely assured they knew what I used to be speaking about, so I despatched her competitors footage of me doing the raise. The animation staff, with help from UVify, made it occur. And when that weightlifter appeared within the sky throughout our present, our lifting buddies howled. They cheered. It was stunning chaos.
The voiceover modified all the things
Tannaz pushed onerous for voiceover narration. At first I hesitated. Our DJ was arrange inside, and including outside audio felt sophisticated. Tannaz mentioned she’d deal with it, bringing her personal moveable (but highly effective) speaker.
Hamilton and I recorded narration at house, explaining every animation: why the fortress mattered, what the espresso and bagel represented, why there was a girl doing a snatch within the sky.
As soon as Electrical Sky despatched the animated preview, I synced our audio and music to the visuals. We performed a mixture of my favourite Disney songs plus my great-grandpa’s Hawaiian music underneath it.
The narration gave context and emotional weight. With out it, visitors would possibly’ve thought, “Cool fortress.” With it, they understood: “That’s THE fortress. That’s the place this complete factor began.”
My marriage ceremony drone present: 11 minutes of jaws on the ground
Our present featured 200 drones and ran about 11 minutes. That’s typical for drone exhibits, partly as a result of battery life constraints.
And when the drones launched from these commandeered pickleball courts, our visitors gathered on the grass. The sky lit up. The response was all the things. Individuals have been cheering, filming, laughing, collectively dropping their minds. Even tech business visitors who’d seen drone exhibits professionally have been shocked by how private it was.
And I guarantee you: I used to be maybe extra shocked than anybody.
All of us lingered on the grass afterward, jaws actually on the ground. It was an ideal ending, and it conveniently received everybody exterior so venue workers might clear up.
And sure, you may watch the video model of my drone present beneath:
The Nextdoor submit about my marriage ceremony drone present
Days later, I used to be looking Nextdoor (as one does) and located a submit from neighbors who’d watched from their yards. They beloved it. No complaints about noise or disruption — simply pure delight that they received a free present.
Take that, sparklers.
What I discovered after having a drone present at my marriage ceremony
I’ll have been a drone present skilled previous to this. However now, after having a drone present at my marriage ceremony, I actually really feel like one. Now I do know firsthand what goes into the setup and permitted. Within the coming days (and let’s face it, weeks), count on extra insider particulars about how one can pull off a marriage drone present. However for now, listed here are a few of my prime earnings.
Begin sooner than you assume. We pulled it off in a month. It was irritating. Give your self 2-3+ months.
Select your venue strategically. If you realize you need a drone present, consider airspace, launch websites, and viewing areas earlier than reserving.
Funds for extras. Past the per-drone price ($150-$200 every), we paid for pickleball court docket rental, which was separate from our personal venue rental price. When you’re on the hook for added insurance coverage (equivalent to by neighbors or an HOA, you would possibly owe extra). You may also be on the hook for masking firm journey.
Personalization is all the things. Generic hearts and flowers miss the purpose. The extra particular and bizarre your animations, the higher. Positive, folks will bear in mind a coronary heart within the sky in the event that they’ve by no means seen a drone present earlier than. However everybody will do not forget that weightlifter doing a snatch, it doesn’t matter what.
Voiceover issues. It transforms the present from “cool visuals” to “our story within the sky.”
The way forward for marriage ceremony sendoffs is drones
A number of visitors requested afterward how they might get drone exhibits for his or her weddings. I genuinely assume this pattern is about to blow up.
Right here’s why:
- {Hardware} is reusable (not like fireworks you actually burn)
- Know-how retains bettering
- Prices are dropping as corporations scale
- Venues will optimize for drone exhibits (selling airspace, establishing launch websites, constructing vendor relationships)
We’re in early adopter territory. However 5 years from now? I feel drone present weddings will likely be in all places. And sure, I’ll completely allow you to plan yours. I’m, in any case, The Drone Woman.
In order for you help planning your individual marriage ceremony drone present, please attain out to me at sally@thedronegirl.com or ebook a name with me on Intro.
Need extra? Subscribe utilizing the button on the fitting hand aspect of TheDroneGirl.com. Anticipate extra marriage ceremony drone present content material coming quickly, together with:
- Detailed price breakdowns
- Venue choice information
- How to decide on a drone present firm
- Animation design suggestions
- The total behind-the-scenes logistics
Keep tuned. And thanks for being a part of this wild 13-year journey with me.
— Sally
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