I know that when you’re organizing a wedding, it can feel like you have a hundred things on your plate at any given time. And while a good wedding planner will be able to take much of that stress off your shoulders, there are still many ways that technology can help make the whole experience easier and more fun too. After all, we use tech to improve our lives in so many ways. Why not weddings? Here are five of my favorite hi-tech ways to streamline or enhance your wedding planning.
Gather inspiration. Idea Slates from PartySlate are a beautiful, easy way to organize your wedding ideas. You can curate exclusive, gorgeous images that you won’t find on Pinterest, while making digital notes about what you love and tracking short lists of venues and vendors. Plus, they’re easy to share – perfect for collaborating with your planner or florist and the images are always up to date and on trend! (You can sign up for free here.)
Stay on schedule. It’s easy to lose track of appointments in between cake tastings, venue viewings and dress fittings. Google Calendar is a great way to help you organize your time! Yes, it may be a little old school, but it still has lots of great features like the ability to add appointments to your calendar directly from email. Even better, you can use shared calendars to co-ordinate with your fiancé, mother and bridesmaids/groomsmen, and send them reminders. It also easily syncs with your smart phone, so you can update your calendar on the go!
Set up an online registry. Traditionally, wedding registries only allowed you to register with a single store. But now a new wave of universal online registries like Zola has emerged. They let you choose from multiple retailers, as well as gift cards and honeymoon funds. Not only does this give you and your guests more choices, it helps you stay organized. Everybody wins!
Live stream your wedding. It’s heartbreaking when someone you love can’t attend your wedding due to distance or circumstance. However, live streaming technology allows them to be part of the festivities through the magic of the internet. There are many professional live streaming services, but you can also keep it simple and just live stream the ceremony or speeches on Facebook or Instagram. Your absent guests will be delighted! Just don’t try to take this on personally, assign a pro to manage and forget about the rest.
Plan your honeymoon. Honeymoon planning can easily get lost in all the wedding craziness. So it’s a good idea to invest in an app like TripIt, which will help you keep all your flights, hotel reservations, and other travel details in one place. You can also create itineraries and share trip information with friends and family (we moms and dads still worry about our kids even after they’re married!).
Are you geeking out over these as much as I am?
xoxo,
Mindy
