Wedding Planning 2.0: The Best Digital Advice for Your Big Day
From creating a clever Instagram hashtag to coordinating discounted Uber rides for your guests, the Internet offers a world wide web of modern tools to help couples plan, coordinate, and design an unforgettable celebration with just the click of a keypad. But with an endless array of apps and social media channels to choose from, what are the best tools to use? We chatted with local wedding pros to get their top tips, tricks, and expert advice for putting online resources to good use.
PLANNING TOOLS
WEDDING WEBSITES
Creating your own website is a modern-wedding must. It’s an easy way to share important information about your big day, including directions, schedules, and lodging and registry details. Mara Marian of Fuse Weddings & Events recommends online company Riley & Grey as a great free option with templates that allow you to create your own site.
ONLINE SEATING CHARTS
“Gone are the days of Post-its and paper seating charts,” says Chris Lavoie of Silver Summit Event Design. His go-to tool for digital seating charts? AislePlanner.com, which not only helps you navigate where to seat your cousin and college roommate, but also offers budget planning tools and to-do list features. “You can click and drag guests to different tables, and it makes the entire seating process a breeze,” he says.
REGISTRY SITES
Creating an online registry is a no-brainer. We love Zola.com, which offers items from 450-plus popular brands and companies. Or consider creating an online travel fund for your honeymoon at Honeyfund.com or Wanderable.com, suggests Lavoie.
SOCIAL MEDIA
There’s no better website for wedding dreaming and planning than Pinterest. From researching décor trends to finding the perfect big-day ensemble, Pinterest offers a plethora of ideas and inspiration. But a word of caution: “Don’t lose yourself in social media,” advises Michelle Cousins of Michelle Leo Events. “Couples can get so caught up in what they see on Pinterest, they lose sight of how to personalize their wedding and make it their own.”
Creating a personalized wedding hashtag on Instagram is one of the first things many couples do when it comes to incorporating social media into their celebration. First things first: “Search your desired hashtag to make sure it’s not already in use and bogged down with irrelevant photos,” says Marian. Not only is a wedding hashtag a fun way for guests and couples to share and view photos of the festivities, but you can also later print the images and create photo books using sites like ArtifactUprising.com or Chatbooks.com.
SNAPCHAT
Aside from capturing videos of the cake cutting, first dance, and bouquet toss, you can commemorate the big day by creating a custom geofilter on Snapchat. To create your own filter, just submit a design for approval to Snapchat and set a time frame and location (visit geofilters.snapchat.com/submission-guidelines for more info). Pricing for geofilters starts at $5 and goes up from there, depending on your time frame and the area of coverage. Looking for a unique filter design? Check out Etsy.com and search for customizable templates.
