Twitter, Pinterest, Hashtag and Skype may sound like a firm of dusty solicitors, but for Brides and Grooms in pursuit of a truly personal celebration, they are some of the most interesting ways to hi-tech the big day.
Pinterest takes the footwork out of research with amazing inspiration for moods boards at the end of your mouse, whilst Twitter and Facebook both mean planning updates are universal and instant. A study revealed that 59% of Brides update their Facebook status to ‘married’ within 24 hours of tying the knot!
Back in Grandma’s day, absent relatives sent polite telegrams to be read out by the best man (“Sorry not to be there, have a nice day, Peggy & Bob x”). Today, long distance loved-ones can videoconference themselves into the party – ta-dah, guess who! – As everything from virtual dance partners to surprise speech-makers.
You no longer have to wait for the professional photographs to see the full impact of the dress either, as a sea of smart phones waving above the big hats can have images on Facebook before you have reached the last bar of the recessional. And that’s the digital dilemma.
Just how much can you, as Bride and Groom, control your own celebration? We have some must-read tips on social media.
Social Media Rules
-If you have a wedding website, use it to announce that you would like to be the first to post your own wedding images on a public social media site. Or ask the best man to weave it into his speech.
– Use an app to gather guests’ photographs in one place, like ‘Wedding Party’ or ‘Snapable’.
– You can set albums privately on Facebook so ask your guests to upload their images, then you can pick your favourites and make your own Facebook album.
– Appoint a chief tweeter to send a few 140 character classics as the day unfolds. But don’t overload someone who already has a role and pick someone who can spell!
– Hashtags don’t work if you include punctuation, so make sure there are no ampersands or hyphens in your wedding hastag as these won’t be picked up by everyone else.
– Write a sweet message to each other for your chief tweeter to send after the ceremony, but avoid narrating every move – followers will get bored.
– If you are going to encourage guests to use social media through the day, use it to your advantage. Invite guests to send tweets to a specially-created wedding handle, then read them out as part of the speeches.
– During the ceremony, using phones for anything other than taking photographs is bad etiquette. That’s a message your minister or registrar can share.
– Ban bridesmaids from taking any images of the dress in the morning, and especially no tweeting before the big reveal.
Will you be going digital on your big day? Or have you already been married and did go digital? How did it go and how much did you control?
Jessica at Leez Priory
