Having Fun With Your Wedding Using Twitter

Twitter is just one of the many forms of social media that you can use to share information about your wedding.

Nowadays, it seems as if our cell phones are permanently attached to our bodies. We definitely don’t leave home without it. Although we do talk to others on the phone, we’ve raised texting to an art form. It’s fast! It’s convenient! It’s easy to do! We spend lots of time on Facebook and constantly comment on friend’s status updates. More recently, with the advance of Twitter, we are able to follow anyone we want and keep appraised of what they’re up to. The fact that you can tie it in and link it to your Facebook account or vice versa is even better.

We use social media in our everyday lives. It only makes sense that we would use Twitter for your wedding as well!

With any form of social media, the trick is to figure how we can make it best work for us. With Twitter, the idea is that updates are short and must be less than 140 characters. It’s a quick way to share information with others. You follow people who are of interest to you. This could be friends, businesses, or even celebrities. You can follow anyone you want, and anyone can follow you.

A great way to get wedding ideas is to follow people in the wedding industry. These people are wonderful resources and full of ideas and inspirations. As a wedding professional, the Twitter community is absolutely invaluable in helping us find ideas to share with our clients. When you choose to follow someone, Twitter will alert you to any of their new postings. This can include when they write a new blog or post décor ideas or incredible photos. Not only can I share the ideas or photos that I have, but can “retweet” other posts that I think may be of interest and are worth sharing. Some of the more popular wedding personalities, bloggers, and magazines you may wish to follow include:

•    Wedding Wire (Twitter name: WeddingWire)
•    Brides Magazine (Twitter name: brides)
•    The Knot Magazine (Twitter name: theknot)
•    Wed Luxe Magazine (Twitter name: wedluxemagazine)
•    Sasha Souza (Twitter name: sparkliatti)
•    Wedding Planners Institute of Canada (Twitter name: WPIC)
•    David Tutera (Twitter name: davidtutera)
•    Bridal Guide Magazine (Twitter name: bridalguidemag)
•    Martha Stewart Weddings (Twitter name: marthaweddings)
•    Colin Cowie (Twitter name: colincowie)
•    Style Me Pretty (Twitter name: stylemepretty)
•    Preston Bailey (Twitter name: prestonrbailey)

The above are some of the bigger names to follow in the wedding industry, but it’s also a good idea to follow vendors in your own area as well. They may be tweeting ideas and information that will directly benefit you. You can search for them on Twitter or you can find Twitter accounts for vendors in your area and see who they are following. You can also use Twitter to search for a particular vendor. For example, you could tweet, “Anyone in #yyc know a great wedding photographer?” (#yyc is the hashtag for Calgary). Often, if we get the message, we’ll make suggestions, or better yet, a vendor may contact you directly.

While the other ideas are more useful in terms of finding wedding vendors, Twitter can also be used in a fun capacity for your wedding. The idea is to create a “hashtag” for your own wedding and tweet about it. A hashtag is like a search term. You include it right after a number sign (#), such as #n&awed or #dave&chelsea. The idea is whenever you tweet something about your wedding, you include the hashtag. It allows you and others to find Tweets specific to your wedding when they search the hashtag. Perhaps you include it on your wedding website and encourage guests to use it as well.

They could tweet that they’re going to be attending your wedding or that they’re on their way to the wedding shower. Maybe you tweet when you find the perfect dress or choose your reception venue. The really fun part can be at your actual wedding, when your guests can tweet back and forth about how much they love the ceremony and reception. For Example, “It’s official! Jessica is now Mrs. Jessica Robinson!!!” #d&jwed  or “Luv the reception décor!” #d&jwed, plus attaching a photo. Either include information in your wedding program or get your emcee to share at the reception. Later you can search the hashtag and print off the entire conversation, adding it to your wedding album as a record of the Twitter conversation on your special day.

We embrace social media in all the other areas of our life. It only seems right to make it part of a wedding celebration as well. With a little creativity, we can make it work to our advantage. Better yet, we can create something fun, interactive, and totally unique that guests can enjoy and participate in!
You can follow me on Twitter at CathyMacRae or follow us on Facebook at Creative Weddings and Occasions. Feel free to direct message us (D + space + our name) to ask questions on how to use Twitter for your own wedding or any other Twitter questions you have.

We look forward to having you join our Twitter family!

--------------------------------------------

Cathy MacRae is a certified wedding and event planner, and owner of Creative Weddings and Occasions and Del Sol Destination Weddings. Located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, she plans wedding for couples in and around the Calgary and Banff area, who want a wedding that is a unique and personal reflection of them. She is also a destination wedding specialist, working with couples who desire to wed in various picturesque dream locations throughout the world. For more information about planning your own wedding or for advice from Cathy, please contact her at info@creativeweddingsandoccasions.com.