Earlier today, I was called by BBC Radio Berkshire as their Wedding Expert from Henley. The question from Sarah Walker, what was my opinion as a Wedding Planner, on a comment on an invitation she had received to a wedding in April where it stated ‘Please do not post any of the wedding photographs on the day on any social media’.
At first I thought maybe the bride was a celebrity but she isn’t, she just doesn’t want to see her wedding images plastered over social media sites as, it is her ‘special’ day and not for the whole world of face book to view.
I can quite understand where she is coming from as, I am not a huge fan of photographs being plastered on Face Book. It is not because one is vain and doesn’t want bad shots of your wedding day but it is a private moment and do you really want business associates and prospective clients looking at them, I know that I wouldn’t. However, I am not sure what her friends will think of this request on the invitation and, may unfortunately see her as being a slight Bridezilla but, there is no rule in the etiquette books about putting such a statement on an invitation. Though, one must remember that any photographs taken by guests at any event, are in fact theirs and therefore they have the right to use them as they please so unless you have a ‘no photograph’ rule in place it will be hard to enforce.
Saying that, I understand that there is a facility on Face book where you can disable tags where your name is attached to a photograph so this is always an option.
One suggestion, to avoid this happening if as a couple you are concerned which is becoming extremely popular, would be to set up a photo-sharing account for all your wedding guests to share their photographs, which in turn will enable you to manage the images viewed by the public.
Sarah’s friend is by no means the first person to put out this request, as I found out on a wedding chat forum, after doing some research through Google. This concerned bride justified her request with ‘I just want to share this special day with special people and not everyone’s face book friends’ and she had a good point.
My piece of advice as a Wedding Planner to all my couples when they have concerns like this is that ‘Don’t let it ruin your day and get too hung up about it, remember it’s your day and those friends invited have come to see you and share with you this amazing moment.’
To hear the interview with Sarah Ducker and Sarah Walker on the BBC Radio Berkshire Breakfast Show on Thursday 16th February you can click on
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00nqvx4/Andrew_Peach_16_02_2012
Then, you need to go to 9.37am where the interview starts till 9.44am.
Event Management Consultant and Fundraiser 