My wedding is a month away and right now much of my time is spent on planning, organzing, collaborating and communicating about it. Most of that work is done via social media.
The goal for our wedding is to have an event that is fun, easy, and cheap. Social media has helped us make that happen. Here’s a timeline of my wedding planning efforts that highlights how social media has been a great tool in this process:
- I did my first wedding research on blogs, particularly on Offbeat Bride
- I bought my wedding dress off another bride on Craigslist . It was a very positive experience and I ended up with a fabulous designer dress for very cheap.
- We bought our engagement rings on Etsy
- Instead of sending out “Save the Dates”, I created a Facebook event for the wedding. This gave guests the date and basic details about what was going to happen so they could state their attendance, ask questions, and leave comments.
- I created a basic wedding website where guests could RSVP and find additional information.
- Our wedding is going to be a potluck and potlucks require a lot of pre-planning in order to be a success. I created a wiki page where guests can share what they are bringing to the potluck ahead of time. So far this hasn’t been a complete success–only guests who are familiar with wikis seem to have volunteered this information as of yet.
- My sister is my wedding planner. She’s sharing her process/ideas on her personal blog and keeping track of her ideas on Pinterest.
- We planned our honeymoon with Hipmunk — I wouldn’t say this is a social media site, but it is a highly recommended tool.
- After the wedding is over, the photographs will be posted on Facebook and Flickr (for non-Facebook users).
I researched the uses of social media in wedding planning and there are tons of tools out there. Now I’m wondering what else I should use…
How to plan a DIY wedding using social media http://mashable.com/2009/09/23/diy-wedding/
Social Media Wedding: 4 Tips from the Pros
http://mashable.com/2010/11/05/social-media-wedding-tips
30+ Online Tools for the Perfect Wedding
http://mashable.com/2008/03/11/30-wedding-tools/
Kim Stathers
Another reason to post your wedding pictures on Flickr as well as Facebook is for quality purposes; Flickr won’t compress them quite as much.
These are great tips! I’m in the early stages of planning my wedding and am already loving Offbeat Bride. I’ll have to check out some of your other linked resources. I’ve also started keeping track of inspiration and ideas over on Pinterest (wedding-related and otherwise), too – it’s such a quick and easy image cataloguing tool. Also, instead of including RSVP cards with our rather minimalist invitations, we have a line of text that says to RSVP by email or phone, and then to check our wedding website for more information (directions, hotels in the area, etc.) once the date comes closer.
So yes, social media will definitely play a role in my wedding, as well!
I think “wedding planning through social media” is a trend that will be happening more and more over time. I’m researching venues for my Southern California wedding from Vancouver. When I get information from a vendor, I upload it to a GoogleDocs account, and let my mother and fiance know that there’s been an update. Initially, I was sending emails with attachments, but it started to get complicated, trying to remember what I had sent to whom. My fiance and I even looked at some of the brochures “together” on GoogleDocs while talking to each other on Skype! When you consider that a wedding is one of the most elaborate and expensive events that many people undertake, it makes sense to use the same communication and project planning tools that a business might. GoogleDocs may not be romantic, but it definitely gets the job done.
Ah, weddings 2.0.
You should write an entry in the wiki.