Social Media At Your Wedding
Plugged or Unplugged?
When it comes to the role of social media at your wedding. The first thing you will need to decide is how much you would like to have social media play a part in your day.
Do you want a total media blackout until you and your new spouse have posted some thing first, simply nothing to be shared on the wedding day or are you happy for guests to share as much as they like?
Everyone will have different feelings about this and maybe your lie somewhere in the grey middle of it all. Whatever rules you agree on will set the outline for how you will proceed from then on and could even shape some decisions you make about the wedding day.
Get Organised
Whatever you decide on for social media at your wedding, try and decide as early in the planning process as possible and share it with your attendees.
Setting expectation early is always a good idea so a small note in the save the dates or wedding invitations can act as a good first checkpoint to bring your guests into the loop of your plans.
On the day, have Groomsmen or Ushers tell people about the social media policy as the are showing folks to their seats. It’s also fairly common to have the officiant to provide a message at the very start of the ceremony.
You may want to set up a #hastag for guests to tag on social media so you can browse all the uploads later and you can even setup a website to hoover up all the posts with that tag attached. Just be sure to pick a unique hashtag. Something like #SophieandJohn2022 should be simple enough to remember and use.
Check your social media privacy settings too. If guests will be tagging you, do you want your profiles to be private or public as their followers will be given a direct connection to you. This can be especially prudent if you are going on honeymoon straight away as the world will know you’re not home.
Sync up with your Photographer
Keep your photographer and Videographer in the loop with your choices. If you’ve chosen unplugged or even just no phones at the ceremony, we will be absolutely delighted. the hardest thing for us to deal with is guests stepping between us and you down the aisle at key moments.
We can also setup a fast delivery of ‘x’ number of images a day or two after the wedding so you can present a curated view of the wedding if you have a “we post first” rule in place. Bearing in mind that the number of images and speed of delivery my incur an additional charge depending on the photographer and what you are asking for.
As an additional but equally important note, check withyour other suppliers too. Many will often post to social media as they setup or to show the finished product – some of which will be built into the contracts you have agreed with them. Another reason to decide on your wedding social media policy early so you can chat about it before signing anything that might go against your plans. Just keep in mind that social media for supplier is a vital tool, but they’ll also usually be happy to avoid ‘spoilers’ if you request it.
What You Can't Control
Some guests will forget, some will just plain ignore your rules. Social media is huge today so there will always be someone looking to get some extra ‘likes’ despite your wishes.
Try not to let it get under your skin. You could have someone monitoring what is posted and taking action on your behalf, but that’s a line only you can draw.
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