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| Source: OffBeat Bride |
It's a scary thought but This Planner's generation is the last generation to have grown up both without and with the internet. (sheesh, I just aged myself). We're the ones who played outside until the streetlights came on, our research was done in a library/through books, the phone and snail mail was our primary source of connecting (that and actually knocking on our friends' doors), Milestones and Weddings were celebrated together and photos were shared afterwards in-person. But things have changed. For the Millennials and the generations to come it's all about online and connecting. Services and professionals are researched online. They get their ideas from places like Pinterest. They get their advice through forums and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. They share celebrations online including platforms like Instagram.
And with this generation's dire need for constant connectivity comes a host of services that are targeted to weddings to supply this 'need'. This Planner has seen it all. Some services are pretty cool and some are...well...just plain ridiculous. The reality though, is that This Planner already has clients who have jumped at the opportunity to incorporate such services into their weddings. And the services often are not a "want" but a "need".
...'Cause you know. Being tagged in a gazillion Facebook photos or hashtagging your wedding isn't enough these days...the wedding has to be everywhere...it has to trend.
#BRILLIANT
One pretty cool company that This Planner came across is Hashtag Events. It's a social media based company founded by Frank Fusaro in Toronto. One service that this company offers are Selfie Print Stations. These stations are customized to the wedding theme and will allow guests to interact at the event and take home a branded keepsake. Think photobooth-concept-meets-the-selfie. Hashtag Events can also create a customized hashtag and their team will bring all social media posts like Instagram and Twitter right from the guests' fingertips to the large screen in real time. That's a unique concept for the social-media-junkie-couple.
Live streaming is one of those upcoming trends that is actually quite useful when it comes to weddings -- especially for those couples who have many out-of-town friends and family who are unable to attend the festivities. Companies like Wedding Live have developed services to bring the wedding to them. Wedding Live creates a customized wedding site upon which family and friends can watch the action. A live camera-man attends the wedding and captures every moment sending the action to the website in real time. Friends and Family can even chat and comment on what they're seeing through the Live Chat feature on the web site.
What makes the above services brilliant ways to tap into the social media mayhem is that they add to the guest experience. They utilize social media to entertain and connect which is one of the reasons that social media is so huge.
What do you prefer for weddings? Constant connectivity or old-school?
