As I embarked upon my wedding planning adventure last summer, my stepmom shared with me something that she had seen online that stated “anyone who planned a wedding prior to the age of social media deserves a do-over”. Truth! The ways to document your wedding festivities are endless and can give a couple a true 360º view of their day. One of my favorite ways is the creation of your own unique Instagram wedding hashtag.
While your wedding guests aren’t a replacement for a photographer, they can help you capture moments from your special day that your photographer can’t. Your photographer will have his or her lens focused on you for 99.9% of the time that they are there (which may not even be for the whole day, depending on your photography budget). Some of your guests’ behind the scenes footage will be every bit as entertaining, if not more so, as the main events! Enter your Instagram wedding hashtag! After all, what happens at the wedding, doesn’t HAVE to stay at the wedding. 😉
In order to recruit as many Instagram Paparazzo as possible, you want to make sure that every potential recruit sees the want ad! These are some creative ways to spread the word of your wedding hashtag at your wedding.
Photo booth picture frame with your Instagram Wedding hashtag
Wedding photo booths are always a big hit for guests. We had one at our wedding and there was a line to get in all night! Everyone had a blast swapping out props and striking a pose for their 4 snaps of fame in the booth. Even my mom (who hates having her picture taken) couldn’t be dragged out of there! We gave photo booth picture frames as wedding favors, and as a two-fer we used the frames to advertize our Wedding hashtag. We had the frames at each place setting as a not-so-subliminal dinner message to our guests requesting their participation in capturing our wedding day.
I also recommend asking your DJ or band to make periodic PSA’s reminding guests to use the hashtag throughout the night.
The inserts for the frames were super easy to DIY. I found aqua shimmer card stock from Hobby Lobby in the same shade as our wedding color. I used this same paper to DIY our wedding programs. First I created a word document and inserted a table in the document with 5 columns. I played around with fonts to find a monogram that was similar to the one that was on our wedding invitations, then wrote some FYI’s for our reception. After I found a layout I was happy with, I copied the text on to the 4 other columns of the Word table, and printed out 40 copies on my home printer. I used a scrapbook paper trimmer to cut each page into five 2′ x 6′ pieces to fit in to the frames. Eee-Z!
Another added benefit to a photo booth is you can opt to use your guests’ photo booth pics with a scrapbook as your guest book. The photo booth attendant tapes a copy of every picture taken through the night and directs guests to sign next to their picture as they exit the booth. We did this for our guestbook and had so much fun reading through it after the wedding. I’ll tell ya what, that photo booth really unleashed our guests’ inhibitions! And we shall leave it at that, some things SHOULD stay at the wedding! 😉
DIY INSTAGRAM COCKTAIL STIRRERS
I adore these wedding hashtag cocktail stirrers from the Ruffled Blog! I would absolutely have made these if I had seen them before our wedding. The great thing about these is that even once your guests hit the dance floor or make their way through the venue, these stirrers act as a portable reminder for them to get their selfie or usie on, and tag your wedding hashtag while toting their bevs of choice. The tutorial on the blog will show you how to make these simple stirrers in a few quick steps. It’s also a fun way to integrate a favorite photo of you and your fiancé.
WEDDING HASHTAG TABLE TENTS
These hashtag table tents from Colin Cowie Weddings would be a super easy and cheap DIY way to to display your Instagram wedding hashtag. I love that this card uses a hashtag outside of the norm of the couple’s names and/or wedding date. A favorite song, inside joke of you and your fiancé’s, or even a name hybrid (à la Brangelina) would be fun conversation sparking hashtag ideas.
Your guests will truly enjoy the small details that make your wedding reflective of you and your fiancé, and they will love getting a peek at the pics from the rest of your wedding paparazzi on your Instagram hashtag!
Have a great Tuesday!
Anonymous says
Such a fun and light writing style in addition to the awesomely creative ideas!!!
Lydia Nordhoff says
Thank you so much, that is so kind!