Wedding Hashtags…what really do they do? Are they worth it? Let me de-bunk why wedding hashtags are a fun extra to your big day!
In this blog …
1/ Why you should get a hashtag for your wedding day!
2/ What you need to do to make sure your hashtag works properly
3/ How to make sure you get the most out of your hashtag
4/ A simple trick to get the best memories from your guests onto your hashtag!
Let’s get started!
WHY DO I NEED A WEDDING HASHTAG FOR MY WEDDING?
Good question, as you well know social media is a big part of our lives now days. If you want to know how you can use social media as a tool to help you get more wicked memories whilst also adding even more fun for your guests to get involved…Read on!
But heres why should you get a hashtag, in short it is pretty much a digital guest book in a way you have an organized space where you’ve got multiple perspectives of your big day, from funny dinner time moments, drunken selfies and goofy messages. There are so many candid moments that happen. It is an absolute must to have all those moments documented. Your guests have all played a part in your love story, so why wouldn’t you want to see what they got up too on your big day!
Often Couples come up with their hashtag right after their engagement and they document the process from planning their wedding, milestones, and their actual wedding.
Before we get into how you can get the best moments from your hashtag, there’s a few things you must do before hand to ensure this works. Don’t skip past these.
First, your hashtag NEEDS to be unique otherwise you might join up with another couple’s love story which leads to a big cluster f%$! of mixed-up memories – we don’t want that! So, get creative, have fun with it, invite family/friends in to help come up with something original. Struggling to come up with anything, here’s a free hashtag generator – https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/wedding-hashtag/
You’ve got some hashtag options, now double check that no one is using it already, simply search your hashtag on your chosen social media platform. If your wedding day is still a awhile away – you can always be cheeky and create a post with the hashtag to claim it.
NOW, you’ve got a hashtag, what’s next?
You get the best result from your hashtag when you get as many of your guests involved, otherwise it’ll be empty and boring – we don’t want that! So let your guests know that you have a wedding hashtag, and you want them to use it! You can add your hashtag onto your invites, you can send an email out explaining how and why you have a hashtag…even link them to this blog post. When you manage to get everyone on board, you are in for a winner! Encourage the younger guests to capture the older guests as well just so you get a diverse range of memories of everyone attending!
Please remind guests that you have a professional photographer and/or videographer for a reason so they should be mindful and respect of them. Remember the goal of the guests is to capture moments of them and other guests – it isn’t to capture you two, leave it to the professionals! So, keep your aunties and uncles away from the aisle, or even better have as an unplugged ceremony
SOMETHING TO REMEMBER
it is so easy to overlook your guests amongst your wedding day, they all play apart in where you guys are now. Your wedding day will happen so fast, there’s a reason why you hear about the wedding day blur, don’t be one of those couple who regret not doing it because it seemed too hard. These are memories that you want to remember, your guests are a part of your love story!
So now you’re packed and ready to release your hashtag to all your guests, but you want to have the best wedding hashtag, you want to level it up! You want to scroll through your hashtag without breaking a smile, you want to re-live it all – the tears, the giggles, the LOT!
Here’s How!
As a wedding photographer and videographer, I know that sometimes you need to give a little bit of guidance to pull out the best of the best. That’s why this simple idea will completely transform your wedding day hashtag plus it adds some fun for everyone – A win win.
We call it the prompt card; it won’t take long to organize but this can be a funny job for the bridal party to put together. Sit down and come up with a handful of prompts for your guests to do during the evening breaks, scatter these on every place setting or table for the guests to get involved with. Throughout the reception encourage your guests to get snapping, use the prompts to help pull the best moments for you to enjoy later.
REMEMBER to make sure they’re saving them on their phones and then sharing them online using the hashtag!
I’ve put together some prompts I’ve seen that have gotten some wicked reactions, don’t be shy to be more specific with your prompts you know your guests – have a laugh with it, you never know what they’ll pull out!
SOME Prompt Ideas
– Take a goofy selfie with your best friend, person next to you?
– Nominate one person on your table to do a funny impersonation of the bride or groom
– What do you love about the bride and/or groom?
– How did you meet the bride and groom?
– What is the most embarrassing/funniest story of the bride/groom?
– Whoever is the drunkest, must share their own romantic advice for the newly weds
– Who can do the worm? Let’s see it!
– Get a selfie with the grandparents, bride and groom, the parents
– Show us your best dance move
You can spice these up by adding commonly known games such as rock, paper scissors, or you can try if your name starts with “M”, if you’re the oldest/youngest etc. These are simple ways to get guests to have some fun whilst capturing some great moments to enjoy later.
Blog written by Moments&Waves Wedding photography and videography // Bay of Islands, New Zealand
