The weddings of today still have quite a few things in common with weddings of the past. Brides and grooms still pummel each other with wedding cake. Brides still wear white. Best men are still making fools of themselves with awkward, ill-advised speeches. And bridesmaids still have to wear dresses that they will never wear again.
However, when it comes to the technology surrounding weddings, things have changed dramatically, and today's couples have a big leg up with all the options available to them. Below are just a few innovations that couples can take advantage of to help them manage and prepare for their wedding.
Photo web sites Photo sharing sites (including Flickr, Photobucket and Shutterfly) all allow you to store and share digital photos, and you can use these sites to create galleries for every wedding-related event, including your ceremony, reception and your honeymoon. However, you can also invite your friends to share their photos of these events as well as any photos of you and your paramour before you were engaged.
Social networking With Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, you can easily communicate with many guests at one time, and Facebook has many wedding-themed applications you can load into your account to promote your wedding.
Bridal blogs Bridal blogs are excellent venues for browsing for great ideas when it comes to attire, floral arrangements, photography poses, wedding venues and other great tips and insights. Blogs like Wedding Bee and Style Me Pretty are great places to start in finding ideas, and these blogs will also direct you to other blogs where you can browse.
And, if you want to create your own wedding blog, there are many free blogging sites (like Wordpress, Blogger, Live Journal and Typepad) that are easy to use and free.
Digital cameras A digital camera - whether it's a stand-alone camera or the one on your cell phone - is a great tool for engaged couples, especially when you are building your gift registry or browsing for wedding-related decor. For example, when you are working on your gift registry, you can take pictures of cool stuff on you mobile phone or digital camera and upload these pictures to an online photo gallery. Or if you are trying to get some ideas for floral displays for your ceremony, you can snap pics of displays or arrangements that you see when you are shopping and save them on your computer for later reference.
Wedding email addresses Everyone has a personal email address and a work-related or school-related email address, but it's a great idea to create a special email address for your wedding, and for two reasons. First, you can more easily keep wedding-related email separate from your work or school email. Second, if you sign up at wedding sites for free offers and discounts, you will probably start receiving many, many emails, and although you may want this information prior to your wedding, you probably won't want it afterward, and with a wedding-specific email you can easily cancel the account and no longer receive such offers.
Mobile phone apps The first wave of mobile phone applications have arrived, many of which involve basic tasks such as countdowns to your wedding date and managing your guest lists. Although much of this functionality is available on various Web sites, it is convenient to be able to take it with you, so it's best to seek out those applications that integrate with other online wedding software suites and applications that enable you to more easily enter in information (a computer keyboard still beats the heck out of a handheld keyboard any day of the week).
Wedding Websites Wedding websites are very common these days, and engaged couples are using them in two main ways. First, they are a great way to communicate with guests by offering information such as driving directions, addresses to venues and where you are registered. Also, wedding websites let you share your story with your guests and friends. Plus, if you provide contact information or a form on your site, you can use it as a handy way for your guests to communicate with you.
Wedding software Wedding software once came in a box and sat on your computer. Now its much more dynamic and is often Web-based so you don't have to download or maintain anything, and there's lots of free wedding software available that is fantastic. The best online wedding software enables you to manage your budgets, guest lists, budget, task calendar, RSVPs, gifts and much more. When reviewing wedding software, make sure you find a solution that meets all your wedding planning needs and fits how you plan.
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