Monday, April 14, 2014

Supercharged Weddings

Your wedding is one of the most important occasions of your life, and as important as it is to live in the moment--every moment of your wedding weekend--, it's equally important to capture those moments so that you can relive (and re-love) them later. This is why we hire a professional photographer (or 2) and shell out big bucks for quality photos that will last. This is why guests bring along cameras and smart phones, and why you may even bring along your own camera to be passed around so that you can review all of the weekend's excitement as soon as possible. After all, it can be hard to wait for your professional pics for a few weeks or longer, and some of your favorite shots may be taken spontaneously by family members and close friends.  If you would rather leave (most of) the capturing to the pros, consider an Unplugged Wedding, but if you're okay with guests taking their own pictures for any/all parts of the day, you might want to take advantage of their skills- and shots- with a Supercharged Wedding!   
A 'Supercharged Wedding' isn't really much different than any other occasion in our lives today, but it may take some preparation on the bride & groom's part for easy collection of everyone's photos (also known as 'Crowdsourcing') post-wedding. Basically in a Supercharged Wedding, the happy couple is allowing and even encouraging the use of technology throughout their wedding weekend. They may have their own #Hashtag on Instagram and Twitter (which can be connected to facebook), a community facebook album (you can invite collaborators now), a place to upload pictures on their wedding website, a special Wedding Photos app such as WedPics or WeddingSnap, an account on Flickr, PhotoCircle or another photo sharing site, or even a tech station at the wedding venue where guests can hook up and load their pics to a computer before leaving the wedding. You can even create a live stream of video footage so that a loved one who cannot attend can still see the nuptials as they're taking place (Check out idostream.com). Supercharged weddings are fairly easy and gaining popularity- mainly because they are likely to happen anyway- you might as well have guests share those pictures with you and each other :) 

Like the idea? Here are a few tips and guidelines:

1. Consider what you want shared, and how you prefer for your guests to share it. Read this post  from APracticalWedding.com, especially the 'How Do You Want Your Wedding Shared?' section. It's okay for you to be a little bit picky. This is your wedding, and these are your private moments, no matter who captures them. 

2. You can link your accounts in advance with the site Ifttt.com (If this, then that) so that any pictures coming in from Instagram or Twitter will automatically be added to an your facebook album and you'll have everything in one place. See this article for more details. 

3. Communicate your wishes with your wedding party, parents and guests. 
- Want an Unplugged Ceremony and a Supercharged Cocktail Hour/Reception? Let them know on a board or with a note in your programs. 
- Want guests to share pictures on facebook, instagram or twitter? Share the # and any pertinent info on little signs, cocktail/drink napkins, in your programs, on a #banner and via word of mouth (ask wedding party for help to get this started). 
Love the poem on the right: 
Do you facebook? Insta? Or do you Tweet? If you'd use our hashtag, that'd be sweet! 

- Want guests to wait to tag you in the pictures until after wedding weekend? They may not think to ask your permission unless you include a request somewhere. A program is a nice place to include that.  

4. Whether you're allowing guests to take photos or not, and doing a first look or not, let wedding party members know that you'd prefer if they could wait to post any photos of prep time (especially of the bride and groom) until later in the day/weekend. This can prevent any hurt feelings or drama if a snap-happy junior bridesmaid posts a photo of you in your dress to her facebook wall...eek! Hey, it happens! 

5. If you're having a tech station, consider asking somebody to man it at the end of the night to ensure that (intoxicated or tech-unsavvy) guests stop and upload pics with ease before leaving. 
6. If you are creating a hashtag, try to get it as early as possible in your engagement. This ensures that it's yours and allows you to load pictures from your engagement, bridal shower, even (appropriate) bachelor and bachelorette parties if you'd like, before the wedding even begins! Be sure that you have the hashtag before ordering/creating/printing anything that mentions it. 

7. Check out 18 Digital Do's and Don'ts for Weddings before having or going to a wedding. Found on Mashable and so, so true!

8. Know that even if a wedding you're attending is tech-friendly, you should still use your proper etiquette and good manners. Don't leave your phone or camera in the middle of your place setting when a course of food is about to come out or when you go to dance (cake may arrive while you're up, and it's safer in a purse/pocket anyway), don't jump up and take pictures in the middle of the aisle during the ceremony, and don't bring your iPad.  

Whatever you decide, make it right for you and know that there will probably be something posted that you don't like no matter what. Gracefully ask your friend to remove it, or untag yourself in it, and move on :) Think about how many pictures of you there are from this one day in your life. There are bound to be a few imperfect ones, and that's okay. You just don't have to put those in your wedding album :) 


By the way...

Want to check out some great wedding tunes? Check out this post, which is updated often!

Putting together bathroom baskets? Click here for great tips and inspiration! 

Are you (or your wedding party members) in a wedding party and not quite sure what to do next? Check out this post to get prepped and rock it! 

Have you thought about what you'll do with your dress after the big dayThis post has some great ideas!

Check out the most popular posts along the sidebar (scroll up!), including Weddings Across the Board- a series devoted to the cultural & traditional awesomeness that goes into wedding celebrations around the world- with coordinating Pinterest boards.

Don't forget to check out, follow & share the Wediquette Pinterest page!  

Do you have a request for a wedding or party-related post? Leave a comment! 



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