One of my best friends from high school just recently got engaged and I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of her bridesmaids! Today I ran across an article on Mashable’s site called, “HOW TO: Tastefully Use Social Media at Your Wedding.”
The first thing I thought was, “How in the world can using social media at a wedding be tasteful?”
Texting Bride courtesy of Google Images
I think on my big day, or at least I hope, I will be able to put down my phone and put away my computer and enjoy my friends and family. However, this article had some great advice on how using social media can engage your friends and family and help you capture some really great moments on your big day.
Many of the experts suggest opening a virtual area online for your guests to meet before the reception to cut back on any possibility of awkwardness. Mashable interviewed Azure Nelson of OneWed and he suggested using a social network such as OneWed’s Wedding Pre-Party. This site allows your guests to see who else is invited and interact and post comments to the wall. You can also upload photos from pre-wedding parties and post-wedding parties.
The Groom’s Wedding Blog from TheManRegistry.com spoke to other experts on this same topic. They also spoke to OneWeb on Twitter and they said that opening a site like this could help prevent upsetting those who weren’t invited.
Oh Yes I Do suggests that using Twitter and Facebook to bookmark milestones, like finding your dress, cake or bridesmaid dresses, is a great way to let others know where you’re at in the process.
One suggestion I really loved on the Mashable article was dumping the traditional disposable cameras and creating a Flickr account instead. This will allow guests to upload photos immediately to the account. They suggest streaming it live to a projector so everyone can see what other guests are doing during the reception.
The other suggestion I loved from the article was streaming parts of the day live to a close relative that can’t make it (be as inconspicuous as possible with the camera). Recording the reception and allowing them to video message you a toast is a great way for relatives out of the state (or country in some cases) to still be a part of your big day.
No Social Media courtesy of Google Images
No matter what sort of social media fun you get into at your wedding always remember. KEEP IT OFFLINE DURING THE CEREMONY. Ask guests to stay off of phones during the ceremony. This is a very private special moment that should not be tweeted, updated, liked, bookmarked, tagged, etc. Some may disagree with me like this couple:
Call me old fashioned but I would be way more concerned about actually tying the knot than tweeting to my “friends” online about tying the knot.
What do you think of incorporating social media into your big day? Do you only tweet before the ceremony, after the ceremony, on the honeymoon? What sort of updates would you make as your big day approaches?
Ice Cream Social (Media) 