It’s something ‘nearly-weds’ are urged to do all the time: savour your wedding day.
Savour it because it will be over quicker than the time it takes a champagne bubble to pop. And it’s true, the day will fly by in something of a blur (especially after a glass or two of that champagne), and there will be lots of special little moments the bride and groom miss simply by being in demand elsewhere
But by utilising everything modern technology has to offer, newly-weds can capture those moments to keep alongside the traditional show stoppers like walking down the aisle, the vows, cutting the cake, the speeches and the first dance. What’s more, prior to the big day, technology can make getting organised a lot less stressful.
Before the Wedding Day
In the lead up to the wedding, turn to the power of apps. There are a large selection out there dedicated to wedding planning, and most of them do pretty much the same kind of things, like organise schedules and To Do lists, suggest vendors for venues, catering, flowers and so on, keep track of RSVPs and offer tips and tricks on how best to approach any given scenario.
Most of them are free, including WeddingHappy, LadyMarry and Wedding Planner by The Knot, so do a bit of research and see which best suits you. Another great feature with most of them is they allow you to synch with other users, so those involved in planning can all meet in this same virtual space to organise respective tasks.
Another useful app is Table Plan, and it comes with a particularly useful tool that lets you set different restrictions, leaving the app to organise accordingly. So if Uncle Gerry doesn’t get on with Aunt Jane who can’t stand cousin Mary who absolutely must sit with Grandpa David, the app will figure out a seating plan to avoid any family meltdowns.
Likewise, there are lots of wedding dress apps, some of which utilise augmented reality allowing virtual try-ons. With something like the Wedding Dress Studio app by Wedding Reality Inc. you even get to design your own dress.
Other things to think about before the wedding day? A basic website is a standard feature these days, and with good reason. It’s a repository for all the information people need about times, venue, dress code and so on, while acting as a noticeboard for updates.
This is also the time to think about hashtags for the wedding (over half of weddings now have them – try to keep them short, simple and memorable) and also your social media policy generally. It might be that you only want the official photographer or videographer shooting during the ceremony, but would like as many guests as possible contributing photos and videos at the reception. It’s entirely down to what you as a couple want.
On the Wedding Day
Technology offers lots of new ways to capture your wedding day in its entirety. How about a hidden camera in the bride’s bouquet to capture her view as she walks down the aisle? Or button hole cameras in the officiator of the ceremony to capture the vows up close? Check out GoPro action cameras for options.
You can also organise to have cameras dotted about at strategic locations for both the ceremony and reception to record the excitement and anticipation of the guests as they arrive and enjoy the day. If you’re using an official photographer or videographer, be sure to liaise with them as to the best approach, as they’re the person who will incorporate all the additional footage into a final wedding video edit.
For a touch of sweeping grandeur, some people are now using drones, which can take stunning aerial shots of the event – especially impactful if you’re having an outdoor wedding – and which can even take on the role of hi-tech ring-bearers. Just be sure to check on permits and restrictions for drone use.
Photo booths have become quite common at weddings, often with a variety of fun props, and the latest variation on this is the GIF booth, where the camera takes quick bursts of photos and strings them together in a stop-motion style to be printed out as flip books or uploaded onto social media sites. It also means the happy couple don’t have to worry about the guests as they enjoy the tech!
Live streaming
It’s inevitable that not everyone will be able to attend the wedding, perhaps because they live too far away or due to ill health. These days you can solve that problem by live-streaming the event. You’ll need to have a chat with your videographer about this best way to do this, as they will know the best mics, cameras and internet connections to make sure you don’t get any lags or pixelated footage, and it may involve an assistant to provide coverage.
It’s also possible, via linking a video conferencing call, to have those watching remotely interact with proceedings, providing their own responses to the wedding, all of which can be posted along with the live feed.
For a science-fiction alternative, thinking about a QB robot that allows those not in attendance to control a robot remotely as an avatar, so they can be part of the dinner conversation or even make their way around the dance floor!
Finally, a trend that’s becoming more common is for the wedding couple to wear discrete wearable tech that monitors their movements and heart rate, so they can see how the groom’s heart skips a beat as his bride walks the aisle, or chart the steps in that first dance.
So you see, even if the day does go by in the blink of a teary eye, technology means that newly weds will have a huge virtual album of photos and videos, GIFs and congratulatory messages to absorb and enjoy over the months and years to follow.