Pulling the plug or going viral? We’d suggest the latter, but for all the right reasons. You’ve spent enough time making your wedding look Instagram-worthy, so don’t miss the chance to shine online
1. Set the scene
If you’re planning on having a photobooth, then seek out one that has social media sharing capabilities. This means your guests can upload the photos instantly to their Facebook/Instagram/Twitter. If you’re taking a more DIY approach to your nupitals, consider a ‘selfie station’. Set up a table with props and jazz up a plain wall with a backdrop. It’s easy to splash the cash on bespoke scenery, but it’s not hard to find nice backdrops that cost under a tenner, like this iridescent door curtain.
2. Pick a wedding hashtag
Bad news: as this becomes more popular, most of the common combinations are already snapped up, especially if you have a name that was all the rage during the era you were born (shout out to all the other eighties-born Sarah Louises!). If you don’t want to share your hashtag with another wedding then you have to get creative. Pop culture references and puns with your surnames – one of our faves: #ForeverMrsandMrsYoung – make it easy for your guests. If you’re stuck, check out WeddingHashtagWall’s hashtag generator.
3. Share it with your guests
Some couples have their hashtag sorted in time to include it on their invites, but if you’re still wrestling with table plans and finding a harpist that can play Avicii at this point, have it displayed somewhere prominent in your venue (the bar always draws a good crowd). Make sure your guests can’t miss it by showing it off on pretty signs, scrawled on wine bottles in metallic markers, heck, even drawn on bathroom mirrors in lipstick. Just be sure to dispatch a bridesmaid to wipe the mirrors before bedtime, unless you want to make enemies at the venue.
4. Make sure what’s shared is on your terms
It should go without saying that uploading a grainy, mid-vows picture of a bride during the day is a wedding no-no. Not only does it spoil the surprise for your evening guests, being tagged in a less-than-flattering shot is the last thing you want to see a notification for. One way round this (that doesn’t involve bridezilla hissy fits) is to ask your celebrant to ask for no photos during the ceremony, and ask guests refrain from uploading any pics of you until the next day. We’d suggest asking your band or DJ to put a ban on cameras for the start of the first dance too. We’ve seen enough photos of a couple engrossed in their first dance surrounded by a semi-circle of gormless faces watching it through a phone screen to know having everyone’s attention makes a much better addition to your album.
5. Impress your pals with a custom Snapchat Geofilter
We’re utterly addicted to Snapchat and its flattering filters – who knew we’d all look so good as dogs? If you really want to impress your guests, then a personalised Snapchat filter is the way to do it. It’s something we guarantee they won’t have seen before, and it’s surprisingly easy to set up. Commission designer KBonBonDesigns to create a custom geofilter, then simply upload the design to Snapchat and select the area, date and time you want it to be active. You can expect to pay around $5 for a 20,000 square-foot location for eight hours, and the custom filter costs £16.70.
6. Make sure your selfie game is strong
Ask any proficient self-snapper and they will tell you: lighting is everything. Treat yourself to a LuMee smartphone case and you’ll capture perfectly lit pics even in the wee small hours. The integrated light adds a nice warm glow to your skin, so much so that the Kardashians are all big fans of the case. A big improvement on the Smurf effect your colour-wash reception lighting would have on your selfies if you rely on the flash-less front camera on your iPhone.
7. Download the must-have apps
We’ve all woken up with a phone full of photos after a big night, but it’s rare to share more than a couple on social media. You’ll want a good scroll through all of the photos captured from your wedding, so pester guests to download the Wedpics app.
Simply create a wedding ID, invite your nearest and dearest and they can upload their pics into the app, without clogging up their own Instagram or Twitter feeds. Its interface is similar to Instagram and easy to use, so even the most tech-adverse auntie should be able to handle it.
Sharing pics from your honeymoon or some of your wedding presents unpacked and in situ in your home is a nice touch for thanking guests after the big day too.