Weddings and Technology: Are They Connected Yet?

With a firm footprint in just about every aspect of our lives, technology has kept a noticeably low profile in the multi-billion dollar wedding industry. Think back to the last wedding you attended. Aside from the DJ equipment and maybe a photo booth, were there any real differences from a wedding held thirty years ago?

But while tech giants are keeping their distance (fear of bridezilla, perhaps?), smaller, creative companies are innovating an industry where tradition still holds true. Planning my own wedding for later this year, I have found a refreshing number of companies offering real solutions for real brides who have real jobs and real lives, beyond their wedding day. But these were mostly in the form of organizational tools and seating chart apps and as our big day quickly approaches, one question remains: How can we modernize our wedding day to reflect us as a couple, while also keeping the traditions we both value?

There is no question that our dog, Bugsy will act as ring bearer during the ceremony. What will it be like for him to walk down the aisle? How will our guests react? And how can I, the bride, see it all from behind the scenes as I await my turn? The answer was right there in its own carrying case… GoPro.

This was our a-ha moment and after that, the ideas kept coming. If we move the GoPro into the bouquet, we will get a really fun perspective during the bouquet toss. And that obsession I have with checking the heart rate monitor on my fitbit whenever something exciting happens? Well, what if I wear mine (discreetly, of course) and chart the results afterward? Come to think of it, maybe we should both wear one and compare the moments we say I Do. I could even frame a printout…

As modern technology tends to do, it also helped us solve a problem. The one major decision we disagreed on was whether to hire a videographer. Personally, I can’t think of a better way to ruin a wedding but my fiancé felt it was important for his grandmother, who won’t be able to make the trip. So we asked her neighbor if she’d mind setting Nana up on Skype that day. We’ll prop up an iPad during the ceremony and grandma will be part of the celebration, not just watch the playback.

These few small additions using equipment we already own is a way of putting our own stamp on tradition with fresh ideas that make the day all the more personal. Will tech tycoons soon realize that couples are looking for more than the usual cookie cutter wedding? (And willing to pay for it.) And when they do, how much of the wedding culture landscape as we know it will become unrecognizable?  Will drone technology filming a bird’s eye view come standard in photography packages? Will brides begin designing their own 3D printed dresses? And exactly what does one need to do to become a marriage officiant and would a robot be eligible?