Social Media's Influence on Weddings

So we all know how quickly social media changed our culture - through Facebook's amazing connectivity and Twitter's breaking news platform - the list can just go on and on. It's changed the way we interact, engage and share information with one another. But, how has it influenced the wedding industry?

First, there were the wedding websites. Today, they are on every save-the-date and in every bride's bookmarks tab. It's a great way to share the engagement story, give fun details about each person in the wedding party, list the date and ceremony time for the person who forgot to pack their invitation (and of course, info on the registry)!

However, things have grown from there. Brides are posting minor and major updates for all to see - "trial hair today," "found my dress," hashtag this, hashtag that, and of course the infamous countdown until the wedding day. Along with posting updates, brides are asking questions - "what's the best band in town?" or "what florist would you recommend?" This is very important for wedding vendors to recognize (and embrace) as word of mouth has grown exponentially.

One of the best things to do regarding social media is to listen. It's not all about pushing information out. It's about taking advantage of what you have right at your finger tips! It's about listening to and engaging with the vast amount of resources you have in front of you. Take the "what's the best band in town?" post, this can be a huge time saver for brides. It has just reduced the amount of time brides have to spend researching. It's taking the necessity to "Google it" out of the picture. In June of 2010, Facebook saw 5x more pageviews than Google did. Impressive.

And since we are on the research topic, how about the amount of blogs that have a presence on Facebook? My top two favorites to follow are Green Wedding Shoes and Style Me Pretty. Again, the need to research is just not as high. As I am perusing through my news feed, I am constantly getting trendy tips and ideas from such pages. Another great place to get ideas and inspiration are from the photos shared through social media outlets. For example, I was able to use pictures posted on Facebook from a friends outdoor wedding in Colorado to get some inspiration for my sister's ranch wedding in Texas!

Another common way that I am seeing Facebook being used as a time saving tool is to collect addresses. There are more than 500 million Facebook users and over 50% of them log into Facebook on any given day; therefore, you have a pretty good chance that that includes your friends and that they'll respond to your message, sending their address pronto!

Now I do have to have be honest and say there is one thing that I am not a fan of in regards to this movement. And that's collecting RSVPs online! Now, it saves money by eliminating the need to print response cards and purchase postage and is extremely convenient for all parties involved; however, I am just too traditional! My vote will always be to mail it in!

So now I'm ready to listen. Tell me how you have seen social media play an influence in the wedding industry!