Technology can be your friend

BY SARAH GREENLEAF

We’ve (hopefully) mostly left the endless Zoom events behind us, at least for our personal milestones. But there are still ways your inperson parties can benefit from a digital assist. Check out the following six tips for upping your game on your next big day.

1 Send email invitations! Most RSVPs are done online anyhow, and I don’t know anyone who saves other people’s printed wedding invitations. If you send an invitation via email, guests can get it on their calendar as quickly as possible. This will also help people get to the wedding website faster, which is very important if you have a kid-free wedding (people will need to secure sitters), any sort of themed attire (I need to buy something white?!) or a venue that requires many guests to travel to the event.

2 Be sure to create an event website with all the information your guests might need, and get them a link as quickly as possible. If people are traveling for your event, they’ll need hotel information, of course, but it is also considerate to let them know if they should rent a car, or if Uber or Lyft will do, the dress code and what the weather is generally like in the area at that time of year. Chances are, not everyone is familiar with the area where the event is being held, so it is always nice to recommend places to eat and things to see and do. This is also a good way to infuse some of the hosts’ personalities into otherwise mundane travel information.

3 Create a digital photo album that guests can add to instead of using social media to share photos (especially important to consider when there are minors present!). You can do this in “Photos” if you are an iPhone user and add people to your shared album for the event. You can also use Google Photos to create an album and send a link with your email invitation that people can use to upload photos. Remember, not everyone wants to be on social media, and everyone should be having fun instead of worrying about how they’ll look in your posts.

4 Don’t go wild with the hashtags, if you choose the social media route – unless you’re an influencer, you only need one, and its main utility is to allow you to quickly search Instagram for photos from your event. Make sure the hashtag is unique – you don’t want your guests to have to comb through someone else’s photos that are mixed in with yours. This is especially important if one or both of you have common names – doublecheck before you print the hashtag on everyone’s seating assignment cards!

5 Photo booths are still fun! If you are hosting a wedding anniversary, have some iconic photos of the couple for everyone else to emulate. Prom photos, wedding photos, road trips, ’80s hair, go for it. Bonus points if you have props! Later, you can turn these photo-booth images into books for the couple. For B’nai Mitzvah, you don’t have to go with the traditional speech bubbles and oversized glasses – check out thrift and antique stores for something that relates to the child being celebrated. Did your daughter love tea parties when she was little? Pick up an old tea set at a thrift store. Do you have a sports fanatic? Look for baseball bats, golf clubs, helmets and jerseys or maybe a giant foam hand. Does your kid love theater? Find the wildest vintage outfits you can and let them go wild dressing up for unique photos. Whatever the theme, you can find great props with a little time and creativity.

6 Polaroid cameras and disposable cameras are a great way to get some unique shots. Choose Polaroids if you want your guests to take the photos with them; if you want them all to yourself, go with the disposable cameras. You can get cameras that take photos in color or black and white, and they are worth the hassle of getting the film developed. Most places will send you JPEGs in addition to prints, so you can add them to any shared album you’ve set up.

SARAH GREENLEAF (sgreenleaf@jewishallianceri.org) is the digital marketing specialist for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and writes for Jewish Rhode Island.