Social media has drastically changed the landscape of communication for everyone across the world. The wedding industry is no exception to these changes and, as a result, the way the wedding events are arranged, take place, and announced are different. Wedding traditions and common courtesy should overrule in certain situations, so we have compiled a list of Dos and Don’ts when it comes to wedding etiquette and social media.
Do: Send formal invitations through the postal service.
Weddings are formal events and really should be treated as such. Sending a formal invitation sets the tone to your guests. Evites are okay for the bachelor/bachelorette parties as they are usually informal.
Don’t: Announce on social media right away.
Your parents, close family, and friends should be informed personally before sharing on social media. Those who care for you the most may be offended if you don’t let them know about the exciting news one-on-one.
Do: Use online wedding resources for inspiration.
Pinterest, The Knot, Wedding Wire, and other social sites are fantastic resources for getting ideas and inspiration for your wedding. Take advantage of their availability and use it to the fullest extent.
Don’t: Share your registry on on social media.
Doing so may come across as greedy (and tacky). If friends and family ask to see your registry, send it to them privately. You can also have your registry hosted on your Wedding Website for invited guests to peruse.
Do: Keep your ceremony unplugged.
You hire your wedding photographer and videographer for a reason – to capture beautiful pictures and video. We recommend asking your guests to keep their phones away during the ceremony to avoid having guests’ phones blocking the view of your photographer and/or videographer.
Don’t: Post photos before your ceremony.
This seems obvious, but it isn’t always! Your wedding party is probably just as excited as you are, and there’s always the possibility that someone might post a photo of you before the ceremony – ruining the surprise for your guests.
Do: Set up a custom hashtag for the reception.
Do you already know that your guests post on social media a lot? Take advantage of it! Decide on a custom hashtag so that you can see all of the photos after the party. You can even book InstaPic, which is a product that downloads all of the hashtagged photos and displays them on a monitor for guests to see throughout the night.
Photo by Thomas Stewart Photography
When it comes to social media wedding activity, keep it simple.
Did you find these wedding social media etiquette tips helpful? If so, we would love to hear from you so contact us to let us know!
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