Monday, May 13, 2013

Wedding Etiquette in the Age of Social Media

In today’s age, a guest shares an average of 22 photos per wedding on social media sites (The Today Show - NBC News Network). The truth is no matter if we like it or not, social media has forever changed the way people do weddings, but does everyone know the wedding etiquette in the age of social media? Based on what is discussed in the NBC News video, I recommend the following:

For the Bride and Groom

  • Make up your mind if you prefer to either keep your wedding private or make it a “public” event on the internet.
  • If you want to keep yours a private and exclusive event, make it clear that you do not want anyone to post anything on the internet.
  • If you do not mind making yours a “public” event, you may do yourself a favor by creating a hashtag for your wedding and encourage your guests to post updates using the hashtag. Unless you have told your guests not to share any updates about your wedding, chances are you will find updates and pictures about your wedding everywhere on the internet anyway. So, creating a hashtag will help you better organize the updates, pictures, and videos about your wedding later.
  • Provide your guests clear RSVP instructions (e.g., surface mail, e-mail, online, and etc.).
  • Engage with your guests before and after the wedding by participating in their conversations about your wedding --- you will be occupied with many other and more important things during the wedding.

For Wedding Guests

  • Respect the bride and groom for their privacy preference of their wedding.
  • If they want to keep the wedding a “private” event, do not share anything about the wedding before, during, or after the event.
  • If the bride or groom did not tell you their preference, ask before posting anything about the wedding on the internet.
  • Ask for permission of other guests before posting or tagging pictures of them (we should do that in every occasion really).
  • Take off a picture immediately if one of the persons in the picture asks you to do so.
  • Follow the RSVP instructions (e.g., surface mail, online invitation, e-mail, etc.).
  • Pay full attention to the groom and bride during the wedding and enjoy the experience of being there as a guest, unless you are expected to be the photographer for the wedding.

Have I covered every key point? What else do you want to add to the list? What is the “inappropriate social-media behavior(s)” you have seen in a wedding?


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

References:
The picture was downloaded from arkarthick.com