Can my guests share pictures of the wedding on Social Media? There’s no denying the fact that we are all tech savvy when it comes to taking pictures at events. At concerts we record a clip or two as the band performs our favorite song and upload it to Youtube. If we’re at dinner we’ll snap photos and upload them onto Instagram. We take selfies with famous people and tweet it out for Retweets and Favorites. What happens when we take pictures at weddings though?
Last year I went to five weddings. FIVE. I was one of the many people seated at the very end of a row to get a great picture of the bride as she walked down the aisle. And while I was very excited to get that shot, at no point in time did I think I’ll post this on FB now, before she reaches the altar. BUT I know people who have taken that picture and posted it. As a bride-to-be, I think its the couple’s job to let their guests know before the ceremony starts what is allowed and what is NOT allowed.
I asked my mom what her thoughts were about wedding guests putting pictures up on their Facebook page and she told me my face looked fine but that I should comb my hair. In my mom’s defense though, she’s not on social media so I probably sounded like I was asking her a question in another language.
In January I purchased my dress at David’s Bridal so I get promotional emails from them all the time. This week I got an email about social media etiquette at weddings. Its like they overheard Daniel and I discussing our potential # for the wedding. OR it could be the recent tying of the knot of #Kimye who married in Italy. It’s probably the latter.
David’s Bridal uncovered a variety of social media trends in its “What’s On Brides’ Minds” survey of newly engaged and married women.
In my Steve Harvey voice … SURVEY SAYS:
#UnpluggedWedding
- 44% of women also think it’s important to have social media rules in place on the big day with 14% wanting their guests to post NOTHING at all while at the wedding.
Don’t Unveil the Gown
- A majority (62%) of the brides surveyed by David’s Bridal believe that bridesmaids should not post any pictures of the bride in her gown before the ceremony.
- More than half (58%) of the brides who participated in the annual David’s Bridal “What’s On Brides’ Minds” survey believe that the bride and groom should be the first to post a photo from the wedding
Viral Video Stars
- 32% are saying “I don’t” to any video content on YouTube, which means no chance of a viral video!
#BestWeddingEver
- 26% want you to use their specially-created hashtag should you post anything about the wedding. I will probably be one of those brides that Instagrams the entire day. If Daniel doesn’t knock the phone out of my hands LOL
Sharing is Caring
- Only 22% think the bride and groom should be the only ones to post photos from the wedding. Daniel and I are actually looking forward to seeing all our guest’s hashtagged photos and videos!
Live on Skype, it’s… your wedding???
- To broadcast or not to broadcast… it might be an easy answer for couples who meet on The Bachelor, but even Kim and Kanye struggled with this one. But what about your friends and family who can’t make it to your destination wedding? When it comes to Skype-ing or live streaming their nuptials, 36% of the brides surveyed thought it would be a nice touch and a way to include everyone, even if they can’t be there in person.
Status Update: “Married”
- And of course, as soon as you are married you have to think about changing your name on your driver’s license, passport, and credit cards… but what about Facebook or Instagram? A majority (56%) of brides will update their profile with their new name within a day of the wedding, and 10% will actually do it as the wedding is happening! I’m still undecided on becoming Arelis Cintron-Dias or Arelis Dias?
Daniel and I won’t be televising our journey down the altar but we love the idea of having a hashtag for our guests to use! Check out this pin I have on one of my wedding boards!
What are some other social media etiquette rules that I missed? Did you share photos of a friend’s wedding on Facebook? Did you tell your guests that they couldn’t post pictures on Instagram? Let us know in the comments below or tweet me @djrelat7!
Until then,
Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. I am not being paid to share this survey with you. I did get this email in my inbox and since I have been thinking about it with Daniel maybe you are too 🙂
For more information on David’s Bridal and the brand’s wedding resources, visit www.davidsbridal.com.
About David’s Bridal:
With more than 60 years of experience dressing women of all ages for life’s special occasions, David’s Bridal understands the importance of providing brides-to-be with a vast selection of exquisitely crafted bridal gowns and bridal party dresses. Known for outstanding value, fashionable designs and the ease of one-stop shopping, nearly 60% of all brides in the US choose to shop at one of more than 300 David’s Bridal stores located across the US, Canada, UK and Puerto Rico. Working with a knowledgeable bridal consultant, a customer can enjoy trying on a wide selection of gowns and dresses in her size with the added convenience that most styles are available to take home the same day. To learn more about David’s Bridal, visit www.davidsbridal.com and connect on social media through Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.
24 replies on “Can my guests share pictures of the wedding on Social Media? #THATISTHEQUESTION”
I'd go by whatever rules the Bride set forth before the wedding. If nothing had been discussed – I'd be posting them pics! 😉
Back a million years ago when I got married, there was no social media to speak of so this is all new and exciting to me. I think it is wrong for guests to post photos of the wedding without the couple authorizing it in advance. Part of what makes a wedding special is that it is an invite only occasion. Times have changed!
I had ONE friend ask if she could share pictures which I thought was sweet. The rest of my family and friends knew I'd want pics online so they didn't ask at all! I would definitely ask.
So far, all of my friends haven't had an issue with us sharing pictures during the wedding. The whole phone booth thing is popular now, so we've been getting photo booth pictures then instagramming it. Those are fun!
Its kinda like how do you stop people…but I would actually request that people NOT share my personal photos. As a blogger so much of our life is already ON THE TABLE…my wedding…is MINE. If I wanted those people to see it…I would have invited them. Really.
True Sharelle. Every bride is different though and not all brides are bloggers. Some bloggers also have private social media accounts that only their friends and family have.
Over the last few months many brides have shared with me that they could not invite everyone to attend their wedding due to their budget. I know that will be my case. I think its nice that those that I could not invite can still share a little bit of the day with me 🙂
I've never been told implicitly to not take photos and post them on social media right away either. But I usually wait til after the ceremony to post. Photo booths at weddings are fun. We've been to a few but they didn't have the option of sending them to us, we would get a copy of the printout. Daniel and I will have one at our wedding 🙂
That was sweet for them to ask. I have a feeling my friends and family will post to social media right away also. But we're creating a special hashtag for them to use so we can keep track of them and collect them later 🙂 I love candid photos!
LOL it was not a million years ago! Times have changed, some brides are on social media and some are not. I do understnad what you mean by invite only but sometimes you can't invite everyone you'd like 🙂
I hear you Sandy Gram, If she doesn't say anything, then I'd also assume its OK to post.
Personally I know that some people may not want an unflattering shot to be the first photo seen of their special day. I may take photos of my family, but the ones of the couple and bridal party I’d probably send as an email message rather than post on my pages. I may be in the minority though!
Oh Mama! I never even thought of that. I try to NEVER post on my social media pages, an unflattering shot of anyone and definitely without their permission. Having said that, not everyone does that. I know I’ve asked friends and family to remove photos of me that were not flattering.
I always say never post what you would not want someone to post to you.
I’ll have to remember to add that to thank you cards, an email address where people can send photos to as they take them 🙂
smart idea to do that. and maybe send them to you on FB or put them on a special gallery site page or your own closed list FB page
Guests should be asked to send you photos or share them on a PRIVATE facebook group that you create. I wouldn’t want something that personal out there. The photos should go to you directly and then you can select the ones you would want to share. If you use a gallery app or FB to share them, then the privacy is still maintained.
Stevie that is a great idea. I need to look for some gallery apps to use for my wedding. Daniel and I will have to rethink our whole hashtag idea … I don’t want unflattering photos of us out there 🙁
it’s not a matter of unflattering photos. There won’t be any unflattering photos– you two will be glowing . probably could spot where you are from the space station.. I would be concerned for the privacy factor.
True, that is my hope that we will look fantastic. I never really thought about privacy since all of my social media accounts are set to public. I am mindful of what I post but there may be people who we don’t want to see our images. Especially if we can’t control what people post.
This is something I didn’t even think about. We eloped. Had 7 guests and I wasn’t as active on social media as I am now.
But let me marinate on this.
I can understand in this day & age why a couple would want to keep things “radio silent” on their big day.
On the flip side, I saw a promotion at a hotel to create & manage a wedding hashtag + give you a social media coordinator for the day who’d handle social sharing for the couple!
Joyce I think we saw the same promotion. I think they were charing $3000.00 to handle their social media sharing which I think is bananas! I know that there are many people I will not be able to invite because of our budget so initially it made sense to have the guests that do attend share their images on social media but Mama Harris made a good point about people sharing unflattering pictures. I don’t want that …
PS wishing I had been able to convince Daniel to elope in Vegas and get married by Elvis :/
If you can nail down a social media coordinator and share certain photos (a piece of cake, a picture of a flower.. maybe even a LARGE group shot.. then it would be worth that effort….
The elopement thing- I had the same wish when I was getting married
I’m actually thinking about making or finding someone who makes something that is pretty enough that I could carry my phone or some type of device that is small enough to take great pictures and that can upload them to a social media site. I have to do some research.
good idea. You could see what it would cost to create special social media page. what about an add on page on your blog that is pw protected… ?
That is a great idea @Stevie:disqus; I’ll have to look up how to do that!
Yes, that 3K offer was ridiculous to me. But i’m sure someone added it to their wedding. God bless them and those tweets!