Over the last couple of years there’s definitely been an increasingly digital aspect to weddings. It’s not unusual for a couple to send e-invites instead of the traditional card stock ones, or to create their own hashtag for their big day.
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But one couple have gone a step further and are planning to hold the U.K.’s first official social media wedding, hiring a company to help them plan every last detail. The day will be captured and broadcast by iPhone-carrying photographers every 15 minutes on social media, with the ceremony itself live-streamed over Twitter.
For 34-year-old Zoe Anastasi and 32-year-old Will Diggins, who are getting married on June 16, 2016 at Nottingham’s Greek Orthodox Church, this type of wedding was a no-brainer. “Your wedding day is the biggest day of your life,” said the bride-to-be. “You worry that it’s over in 24 hours, and I think it’s great to enjoy the build-up, to get more people involved in it. It makes it more special. It’s the one day that’s all about you and if you have different people talking about it all over the world, on different formats, it makes it that extra special.”
Anastasi, Diggins and their guests won’t have to wait weeks to view the wedding albums: their photographs will appear on a giant social media screen at the reception where guests using a hashtag (#ZoeandWill2016) can add their snaps to the display. And the very next morning the newlyweds will have a complete social media album of snaps to look through.
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Are social media weddings going to become the norm? It’s unlikely. Despite our reliance on social media for so many aspects of our lives, most people like to maintain an element of surprise when it comes to the big day. Isn’t one of the most exciting moments of the ceremony waiting to watch the bride walk down the aisle? It’s just not going to have the same impact if everyone has seen her try on her bridal gown via webcam six months earlier. And, while the digital guestbook is a cool idea, there’s something special about having an actual guestbook filled with handwritten messages that you can hold in your hands.
But there are definitely elements of the social media wedding we can get on board with. A Pinterest gift list because who needs an excuse to spend more time pinning? Getting guests to submit song requests online. And having the entire day streamed live is perfect for overseas guests or anyone else who couldn’t be there in person.
Like everything bridal, the social media wedding comes at a price — packages are said to begin at £6,500. But if you had the skills and the time to do a lot of that yourself the cost could be significantly less.
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