Useful ways to incorporate social media in wedding planning

Since its inception decades ago, social media has changed the world. As the popularity of social media exploded in the early part of the 21st century, various platforms emerged and ultimately affected movements pertaining to everything from politics to social justice to charitable efforts.

Social media also has emerged as a great tool for couples on the cusp of getting married. The following are some useful ways that couples can employ social media into their wedding planning.

• Create your own hashtag. A couple-specific hashtag can be a great and simple way to share information on Twitter, which remains one of the most popular social media platforms across the globe. Your own hashtag can alert friends and family who are on Twitter whenever you post new information and photos.

• Share a photo album online. Photographers serve as something akin to unofficial documentarians on couples’ wedding days. Many photographers are there from the moment the bride begins to get ready until the last person leaves the dance floor at the end of the night. Many couples love leafing through their wedding albums for the rest of their lives together, but guests also may enjoy reliving the night. The photo sharing social media platform Instagram is a great way for couples and their guests to relive the special moment a couple ties the knot and all the ensuing fun at the reception. Create a wedding-specific Instagram page and post all the photos you want to share.

• Include guests who could not attend the festivities. No matter how hard couples may try to pick a date that’s convenient for all of their guests, some invitees will inevitably decline the invitation. That’s especially true while the world continues to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. Elderly guests or loved ones with underlying medical conditions that make them more vulnerable to getting seriously ill from COVID-19 may be forced to reluctantly decline their invitations. But couples can utilize social media platforms like Facebook Live to include loved ones who couldn’t make it in real time.

• Encourage others to pitch in with the planning. Planning a wedding should be fun, and what better way to add to the fun factor than encouraging loved ones to share their ideas via a social media platform like Pinterest? Couples can create a Pinterest board and ask interested friends and family members to share ideas on everything from attire to decor to floral arrangements. This can be an especially effective way to involve bridesmaids and groomsmen if social distancing guidelines and travel restrictions related to the pandemic are still in place when planning your wedding.

Social media has changed the world, and it also has changed how couples plan their weddings.