Your Wedding and Facebook
With the prevalence of social media comes some uncharted etiquette territory. Facebook is a useful but dangerous tool when it comes to the details of your big day – from engagement to honeymoon. Keep the following tips in mind while you navigate your social network in the weeks and months leading up to your nuptials:
Keep Your Shirt On!
(Figuratively, that is) The advancement of wedding details (and the initial engagement) could get any girl all flustered, but that doesn’t mean that you should leap to your computer desk and update the world the second it happens (you’ll probably want to tell your family first when you get engaged, yeah?). Your wedding details are important to you and a small group of close friends and family, and your social reach is probably quite a bit broader online. Complications will arise regarding people who aren’t invited, or worse, people who assume they’re invited, when you update your entire social sphere to the goings on of your wedding (especially for 6+ months). Plus, you want guests to be excited and surprised when they finally see the details of your wedding – don’t go spoiling the fun by posting all of your secrets early! Be Careful with Whom You Chat Again, releasing wedding details to anyone on Facebook might send the wrong impression. Unless you’re planning on inviting everyone on your friends list (unlikely, yeah?), try to keep the wedding talk to a minimum online. If someone does ask about wedding details, it’s important not to give them the wrong impression by gushing and sending them dozens of links to wedding dress designers and neighborhood bakeries. If they aren’t going to be invited to the big event, keep the details short and sweet, and address any miscommunications as soon as you can (privately!).
When Things go Wrong Every bride will eventually encounter a wall post from a second cousin or long-forgotten sorority sister who will ask about their “lost” or “guaranteed” invitation. It may be as innocuous as a “Hey! I better be invited, girl! ;)” or as serious as “I believe my invite may have gotten lost in the mail, please send a
replacement,” but both should be addressed with poise immediately. Don’t comment on their wall posting, but instead shoot them an email or give them a call. Make sure you explain that you weren’t able to invite everyone you wanted to, and set up a date for coffee after the honeymoon. Don’t let lingering comments lead to an unexpected guest at the event, or animosity within a family – yes, it’s rude to ask about an invitation online, but it’s not worth starting a public row over.
Keep Your Shirt On!(Figuratively, that is) The advancement of wedding details (and the initial engagement) could get any girl all flustered, but that doesn’t mean that you should leap to your computer desk and update the world the second it happens (you’ll probably want to tell your family first when you get engaged, yeah?). Your wedding details are important to you and a small group of close friends and family, and your social reach is probably quite a bit broader online. Complications will arise regarding people who aren’t invited, or worse, people who assume they’re invited, when you update your entire social sphere to the goings on of your wedding (especially for 6+ months). Plus, you want guests to be excited and surprised when they finally see the details of your wedding – don’t go spoiling the fun by posting all of your secrets early! Be Careful with Whom You Chat Again, releasing wedding details to anyone on Facebook might send the wrong impression. Unless you’re planning on inviting everyone on your friends list (unlikely, yeah?), try to keep the wedding talk to a minimum online. If someone does ask about wedding details, it’s important not to give them the wrong impression by gushing and sending them dozens of links to wedding dress designers and neighborhood bakeries. If they aren’t going to be invited to the big event, keep the details short and sweet, and address any miscommunications as soon as you can (privately!).
When Things go Wrong Every bride will eventually encounter a wall post from a second cousin or long-forgotten sorority sister who will ask about their “lost” or “guaranteed” invitation. It may be as innocuous as a “Hey! I better be invited, girl! ;)” or as serious as “I believe my invite may have gotten lost in the mail, please send a
replacement,” but both should be addressed with poise immediately. Don’t comment on their wall posting, but instead shoot them an email or give them a call. Make sure you explain that you weren’t able to invite everyone you wanted to, and set up a date for coffee after the honeymoon. Don’t let lingering comments lead to an unexpected guest at the event, or animosity within a family – yes, it’s rude to ask about an invitation online, but it’s not worth starting a public row over.