WEDDINGS IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD
How have weddings been affected by Social Media? I mean, has Social Media changed the way we arrange our weddings? The way we plan, coordinate, and create the perfect day. And is it still the perfect day for the couple or a version of perfect that fits the Social expectations of online life?
Let’s explore this…
So much of our lives are now online for the world, or at least our online friends, to see that it raises the question of how much do we do for ourselves and how much is done for the perception of others. We would all like to think that the perfect image we put out into the world of Social Media reflects our reality, and for a lot of people it does but for many others it is just that, a perception, a version of themselves that has been created purely for the online world. Filters to change just about anything and everything you could ever imagine.
This new world has an added pressure that I didn’t have to experience in my young, carefree years. What you saw was what you got, and we were all content with that. Now, we MUST be perfect, but perfect by whose standards? The online troll? The discerning public? The family and friends who see you day in and day out? What is perfect??
Perfection is an illusion. Perfection is different to everyone. What is that old saying? Ah yes, something like ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. So, we are all perfect, in our own way, aren’t we?
Yes, we are. We have the ability to decide who we want to be and what we want to present to the world. An honest representation is often the scariest, to be vulnerable, to be human. But we must! We must be true to ourselves and not allow Social Media to shape who we are and especially what we look like.
If you want to wear a beautiful black wedding dress, you should! If you want to wear a green and yellow suit, you should! Who is to say this is wrong? If this was your choice, would Social Media sway you from your choices?
We utilise online apps like Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook to find all sorts of ideas for our weddings, weddings that have potentially been staged by either a venue, DJ or other provider for advertising etc., that are not practical or obtainable by your average couple. So, what do we do? We copy what we’ve seen online. We recreate what we have seen online. It all keeps coming back to ‘online’ life and that’s ok. It’s ok to draw inspiration from what you have seen, it’s ok to look online for ideas, after all this isn’t much different to looking in magazines for the same inspiration as we did before Social Media.
But my main question is still; does Social Media change the way you plan your wedding? Do you choose your venue, dress, suit etc., because it’s what you love, to impress others, or because it’s what will look best when you create your photo album in Facebook?
In a world so reliant on the WWW., it’s difficult to know but as wedding photographers we love to see the reality, the natural effortless you, enjoying the day you have so diligently planned with your partner, family, and friends. To be able to capture moments in time that will never be forgotten is a blessing that we treasure. However, if you do have something, anything you are not happy with, just let us know and we’ll do everything we can to make you comfortable without using heavy filters or preset editing programs.
As Dorset Wedding Photographers we love to see our brides and grooms shine with happiness on their wedding day and we strive to make sure that everything from the smallest details to the expected group and couple shots are captured in a natural but social media friendly style.
In conclusion, once again, I don’t know the answer to my question, but I sure do hope that people follow their hearts and not just the social expectations we are all now subject to.
My mantra is ‘live and let live’, we are all different so let’s embrace it! Be yourself. Be crazy, be weird, be normal! Be whoever you want to be. Just remember to shine.
Love
Dani xx
