More Couples are Utilizing Technological Touches to Create a Personalized Multimedia Experience.

by Latasha Lazelle Ball and Pepper Ballard

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Gone are the days when newlywed couples’ wedding receptions were limited to dancing and mingling with relatives and friends. Now, the dancing and mingling increasingly happens as part of a multimedia event — from projecting video and photo retrospectives onto jumbo screens to producing light shows. It’s no wonder: As the generation that mastered social networking, text messaging and cyber dating takes their vows, they also take to the Internet — using technology in just about every aspect of their special day, from its planning to its production.

Many wedding planners say weddings are, by and large, still traditional, but brides are using technology more and more to make their wedding more green, and in some cases, more flashy. “Today, brides have an ever-increasing number of resources available to them that didn’t exist a few years ago,” says Jim Miller, owner of After Five Productions in Hagerstown.

 Interweaving Elements

Many are turning to Internet do-it-yourself programs to help them plan their special day and to produce, create and design their own products. Even more environmentally-conscience couples are using E-vites — a free electronic invitation service — to invite guests, or to send “Save the Date” reminders to use in place of R.S.V.P. cards, says Bonnie Schwartz, owner of Bonnie Schwartz & Company, an event planning company in Bethesda, Md. With social networking and photo-sharing websites in abundance, many brides also are leveraging the Internet to share their wedding photos and videos online, she says. 

Still, many couples are finding ways to weave technology with their tastes. For their wedding day and rehearsal dinners, brides often ask if they can set up large projection screens or small televisions so that they can show guests photo montages and bridal party introductions, Jim says. The montages range from personal love stories to retrospectives into the bride and groom’s lives through pictures. Some couples have even used the screens to project trivia games about their relationship history. “These additions make the event more personal and have added the benefit of entertaining guests.”

Phantom Shadow Entertainment of Shippensburg, Pa., offers 6-, 12- and 15-foot video screens on which to display custom montages during the reception, says owner Donovan Yaukey, who encourages couples enamored with the idea of a video montage to hire a professional company to produce it. “Collages are only as good as the professional you choose to design and produce the collage,” he says.

 Most couples choose to project those images in down moments — while they are taking pictures and freshening up before their wedding reception, Jim adds. Also popular are video messages — good luck messages from wedding invitees captured on DVD as a lasting memory — and photo booths. “Just like the old-time photo booths, we have mobile photo booths that allow your guests to take their photo with them,” Donovan says.

High-Tech Touches

When the dancing begins, couples are turning up the volume on the dance floor, from their choice in lighting to music. Some order customized lighting to create moods for their guests, such as LED lighting, which can be altered to create a romantic setting or to set a fun and festive or “lounge” feeling. “Creative lighting and video displays can enhance a wedding day — if you choose the vendor with the right artistic background to make it work,” Donovan says. One such “artist” is Susan B. Katz, owner of Distinctive Events by Susan B. Katz in Washington, D.C. While most of the weddings she plans are very traditional, she employs the latest in LED lighting technology to set the stage for cocktail areas, creating funky, lighted bars. On the stage, “hybrid bands” —bands made up of a couple musicians who play to recorded music — are becoming more popular, Susan adds.

Phantom Shadow’s Donovan notes a shift from the once-popular “wall of light and sound” to more specialized offerings such as his company’s professional three-speaker JBL Sound System with three special effect lights. “Occasionally, we will have a request for our ‘Extravagant DJ and Light Show’ for a reception,” he says, “but it is rare.”

 High-tech features can be costly, but Jim says hosting a high-tech wedding reception doesn’t have to be high-dollar. The bill for a reception with extra technological perks varies depending on the technology used, the products incorporated and the venue’s limitations. “There are less expensive alternatives that can achieve the same effect that the bride and groom are looking for,” Jim says. He suggests frugal couples look into using digital frames or photo display boards that can make the event more personal while entertaining guests for half the cost. “Vendors should assist brides in getting the most for their money and offering alternatives that can save them time and money.”