By: Technology has brought us a long way in the wedding industry, and social media is as much a part of a wedding as the flowers or wedding DJ! Here are some good ideas inspired by The Knot’s recent post on “The New Rules of Wedding Etiquette”.
The Knot: The New Rules of Wedding Etiquette by Simone Hill
Some of the ideas in the post are pretty much straight forward, so we’re going to take a few that are good ideas and should be on your list for not only your special day, but the days leading up to your wedding.
This picture of Sean and Carolyn’s wedding was taken by one of their best friends and posted to Facebook. It’s a great picture and brought back memories of that moment for a lot of people in the picture who made comments on the photo.
Designate a “Tweeter of Honor”
Yes, it’s your wedding day, use it to have everyone lavish attention on you. Don’t worry about your Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Assign someone who is computer savvy (not your Uncle Bill who just started a Twitter account and his icon is an egg) to take care of all of this on your wedding day. Have them tweet updates of what is going on throughout the day, post pictures to Instagram and Facebook, maybe a Snapchat of your kiss or first dance. Doing all of this will give you an electronic memory book to look back on.
Create a Special Hashtag
The Knot tells you to spread the word about your hashtag, and you should most definitely use one. However, make sure to put a note in your invitations or save the dates, put it on your web site, e-mail your friends; put it on the bottom of your programs, on the placecards, next to the photobook or in the bathroom. Keep it simple too. We’ve seen some get so long, you’re using way too many characters such as #KellyAndDavesSpecialDayOnTheMountainTop. That’s too long. Keep it simple like #KandDWed or #KellyDaveWedding. Your hashtag will be memorable.
The Knot even includes some advice for those who are going to a wedding.
We snuck this picture of the bride and groom as they were exiting their ceremony. Ashley (the bride) has known DJ Jarrod for many years and snapped this picture of the two of them. Ashley said, “Hi Hardman” as she walked by knowing that it was going to be sent to a friend who couldn’t be there.
Share Pics of the Happy Couple
I can’t tell you how many great pictures we’ve seen of the bride and groom from a personal perspective. Now that’s not saying to go crazy and get in the way of the photographer, far from it. Please ALLOW THE PHOTOGRAPHER TO TAKE PICTURES, it’s what they’re hired to do and they have a lot more training than you do, with a lot more expensive equipment. It’s still ok to take a picture or two of the happy couple, along with some pictures of you with them. Post those to your social media accounts and spread the news.
Put the Phone Away
You’re not six and need to watch a cartoon to get you through the next hour of sitting there. Get up, meet some of the guests who are there and enjoy the setting. Chances are, you’ll see some really cool things and experience some new people. Also, the photographer is working the room and the happy couple don’t want to see someone tapping away on a text or social media message in their special photos.
Use the Hashtag
They created it, please use it so they can see some of the personal messages and pictures from the day, while it was happening. And most apps will also save the hashtag once you’ve typed it in once. We use #WeddingDayDreams as one of our hashtags, and now only have to type a couple of letters for it to autopopulate.
Like always, we have a few tips too
Guests at John & Mark’s wedding were entertained all throughout because they were all there to celebrate a great couple, while at the same time, sharing in a common interest. Hockey. The uniforms created excellent ice breakers (no pun intended).
Create A Guest Itinerary
What is a guest itinerary? Well, it’s a simple itinerary to share with your guests when those special moments are scheduled to take place. You don’t need to get so detailed that you’re telling the guests where and when the make-up session is, no don’t do that unless you want some unexpected guests. Just a simple piece of paper, or post on your own wedding blog that tells people when cocktail hour starts, when dinner is served, how long the bar will be open, the first dances and special dances. You can also add information such as “Our DJ is happy to take your requests” or “Buses to the hotel will leave every 15 minutes starting at 10 p.m.”
Take A Social Media Honeymoon
Your guests have taken a lot of pictures, and sent a lot of messages. Set aside some time in the 2-4 days after your wedding to take a look at them, like them, comment, retweet, love, etc. If you’re going to have a long layover on your honeymoon and are looking for something to do, this is a good time to do it. Creating a hashtag that your guests use will make it easier for you to find all the special messages all at once. You can also take time one or two months after your wedding to make a romantic night of it, open a bottle of wine, and go through all the pictures. When you comment or like those pictures, they come back to the forefront and may inspire your guests to post more.
Encourage Someone To Blog
Photographers and planners especially really like to display their work. DJs do too (we post recaps of a lot of our weddings here on our blog). If you want someone to capture your day in writing, encourage others to write a blog about it. You’ll get a great recap of some of the details you may have forgotten about, but now remember. Some photographers may even be able to get your wedding published in a wedding blog. If that’s your goal, make sure to tell your vendors of your ideas so they can work together to make sure all the details are covered.
