Wedding Wednesdays: Tech Savvy versus Traditional

Weddings date back to ancient times where it was more of a commodity to marry than it was for love. In fact, it's one of our culture's oldest traditions. But that doesn't mean weddings can't benefit from a little modern technology! Fast forward your wedding to the 21st century and incorporate some of these tech tools that are not only useful, but that might also make your day more fun and stress-free!

Video Invitations

Videos sent via email and social media are nothing new, but now there's a way to send videos alongside physical, paper invitations via Engaging Invites. Seriously, check these interactive messages out! Each 5- by 8-inch invitation includes traditional printed copy designed by the bride and groom on the left side plus a seven-inch LCD video display and built-in speaker on the right. How amazing is that? When the invitation is opened, the custom video, lasting from 30 seconds to three minutes, automatically plays. Engaging Invites start at $38 each for 500 or more. Assistance with design and video production is available for an additional fee. Incredible!

Live-Streaming

Live-streaming can be a great option for family and friends who can’t attend a wedding—particularly a destination one—due to physical or financial limitations. For a casual, DIY live-stream approach, options include Skype for as many as 10 viewers or Facebook Live. Not a bad way to do it, especially if you're a budget conscious bride. But for a more professional look, companies such as My Streaming Wedding provide an experienced videographer with equipment, a dedicated portable Internet uplink, no viewer limits, and the option for a live chat so viewers can leave comments for the bride and groom. Either way, your family and friends back at home will greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness to include them!

Burner Connections

The Burner mobile app allows users to create a temporary phone numbers. While the initial buzz around disposable numbers may have you thinking of scandalous uses (especially if you watched the PLL series finale last night like we did), Burner has created Burner Connections to make its app handy for all sorts of everyday applications. Couples can use their Burner number to collect RSVPs by asking guests to text the number with either “accept” or “decline,” and the responses automatically will be added to a Google spreadsheet. For photo collection, guests can text their pics to a Burner number and the Dropbox Burner Connection will collect them in one folder. The Burner number also can gather audio greetings from guests to collect in a private SoundCloud playlist. Finally, the Evernote Burner Connection can serve as an information hotline similar to a chatbot: Burner will reply to guests’ text questions using information loaded into Evernote. This takes a lot off your plate. Less time texting and more time enjoying your wedding day!

N.F.C. Wristbands

Wristbands embedded with near field communication (N.F.C.) tags have become common at festivals, conferences, and other large events, and they can be used in similar ways at weddings. Definitely an interesting way to add a tech element! Guests would receive the wristband ahead of time or upon arrival and are asked to link it to their email or social media accounts (similar to the new Disney magic bands). Then the band can be used for things like access control and to manage consumption at an open bar, with hosts preloading each band with a set number of drinks and guests taping their bands at the bar each time they order. How amazing is that? N.F.C. wristbands are also useful for photo sharing. Photo booths and roaming photographers can be equipped with N.F.C. readers so guests can simply swipe to have images sent directly to their linked email or social media accounts. We would love to see a bride we know try this out!

Don't get stuck being just traditional—consider adding a tech element and devour the details of your big day!