Wedding photo apps- slideshow?

wandajune6

I was chatting with a guy at work who used to be a wedding photographer and mentioned the flood of wedding photo sharing apps- Wedding Snap, Appily Wed, Capsule, etc. I was thinking that it was a nice alternative to disposable cameras on the table. He suggested that we find a system that has a slideshow feature and have the slideshow playing on a wall at the wedding. His theory is that people will take lots of pictures so they can see each other on the wall throughout the course of the wedding. I love the idea of having tons of photos at the end as well as having an online gallery where people can share their photos.

If we did this, I'd need to tell everyone about the app in advance - not a problem. But I can't help wondering if it's fun or tacky? It was fun when we've done that at company parties but it's a very different thing at the wedding. I also worry that since we'll have a bunch of teens, it will get out of hand- they're good kids but they're still young teens...

What do you think? Cute? Tacky?

thesummersky

There was actually a couple on 'Four Weddings' that did something similar to this for their 'guestbook.' People would come to the table, take a photo of themselves using some app (sorry I can't remember the name), and then it would post online right away and show up in an animated collage as people walked in.

I think it's a cute and clever idea, however it might frustrate people that are't technologically inclined, and might exclude folks past a certain age that weren't raised with this stuff. I thought about having something like that myself but I envisioned my Grandma using it, and was like, 'nope, not gonna work!' And of course there is always the risk of people taking inappropriate photos. If you do that, maybe you could bridesmaids to take turn swinging by the setup to ensure everything's appropriate?

There's definitely potential though, you could get some awesome photos!

Jen4948

Another issue with this is that people could line up along side the table, and that could turn into a long, slow-moving line for people taking and uploading photos and not eating, dancing, or doing anything else.  I think for most people, standing in line isn't their idea of how to celebrate a wedding.

wandajune6

That's good feedback @thesummersky and @Jen4948.

My theory was that everyone pulls out their phones too much anyway so I thought we might as well take advantage. I know my parents (late 60's) and all of their friends are very tech-savvy so it would only be the older generation (80's and 90's) who might be less involved. At the same time, I love the idea of getting more candid/laid back photos of that older group.

I'm not sure why there would be a line though. They can do the uploads via their phones, though admittedly it could take a long time.

Jen4948

Even if everyone's doing it from their phones, the time involved in taking and uploading photos is time they're not spending socializing.  They can upload the photos later.

wandajune6

Fair point. I can appreciate that!

JoanE2012

wandajune6 said:

I was chatting with a guy at work who used to be a wedding photographer and mentioned the flood of wedding photo sharing apps- Wedding Snap, Appily Wed, Capsule, etc. I was thinking that it was a nice alternative to disposable cameras on the table. He suggested that we find a system that has a slideshow feature and have the slideshow playing on a wall at the wedding. His theory is that people will take lots of pictures so they can see each other on the wall throughout the course of the wedding. I love the idea of having tons of photos at the end as well as having an online gallery where people can share their photos.

If we did this, I'd need to tell everyone about the app in advance - not a problem. But I can't help wondering if it's fun or tacky? It was fun when we've done that at company parties but it's a very different thing at the wedding. I also worry that since we'll have a bunch of teens, it will get out of hand- they're good kids but they're still young teens...

What do you think? Cute? Tacky?

I would skip it.  With a few drinks and a party atmosphere (or some teenagers just being teenagers!), you might end up with some inappropriate or plain old' stupid photos being shown.  

wabanzi

I made photo sharing cards for people to take if they want one (they will be by the photo booth). It is just a card with information on where to upload photos of the event to share with us (and others) afterwards.  I hope some people upload their pics so FI and I will have a copy and get to see the guest perspective.  

The only slideshow we will have will be right outside of the photo booth, showing the pics from the booth (updated as the evening goes along) on a small 22' screen. When people know the photos will be public, they are less like to show their bum (or whatever) in a drunken stupor. But, you never know...

thesummersky

I really love wabanzi's idea! I'd disagree though that taking photos means taking away from socialization. I think people will pull out their phones to take photos no matter what, so why not get those photos? The post-wedding photo share wouldn't allow you to show the photos AT the wedding, but it does sound way more practical.

wandajune6

Those are great ideas!

We talked about having a photo booth as well but ultimately decided against it. I still love the idea but for sophisticated financial reasons, we're skipping it. I figure that the younger crowd will pull out their smartphones and the older crowd probably wouldn't get up for the booth anyway.

My biggest concern is getting as many pictures as possible. My grandparents are in their 90s and his mom is sick. I want to have as many pictures of them as possible- and pictures where they're actually smiling and having fun rather than looking formal and awkward.

wabanzi

wandajune6 said:

Those are great ideas!

We talked about having a photo booth as well but ultimately decided against it. I still love the idea but for sophisticated financial reasons, we're skipping it. I figure that the younger crowd will pull out their smartphones and the older crowd probably wouldn't get up for the booth anyway.

My biggest concern is getting as many pictures as possible. My grandparents are in their 90s and his mom is sick. I want to have as many pictures of them as possible- and pictures where they're actually smiling and having fun rather than looking formal and awkward.

Several guests will be very good at giving you a copy/sharing their photos with you. Others, well they just never get around to it.  

Just try to make it as easy as possible for them to share.  A private upload site and/or instagram with a sign or cards with the information should help.  We opted for the cards b/c I didn't think guests would want to write down the information from a sign while at the wedding.  You can also put the information on your website.

abbyj700

My sister did a photoapp for her wedding and it was wonderful! Actually - we were recently talking about her wedding with a friend and I pulled my phone out to show her the app and all the pictures were a lovely candid view of what their wedding was. We are planning to use the same app for ours as it was easy and a big hit.

Projecting the app on the wall sounds super fun! While there will be drinking going on - can you trust the adults you invited? We have a crazy crew - but I would still trust them to behave themselves around our families - or I wouldn't be inviting them to our wedding. The teens could be another story...just depends...

wandajune6

I trust the majority of the adults. Of the adults I don't trust, I trust their spouses to stop them from doing anything out of line.

Teens are hard. This is a pretty good group of kids (my FI's son and his cousins) and most will try to keep out of trouble. They'll either ignore it or take endless selfies. Or, more realistically, they'll have lost phone privileges for some reason or another and not be able to play with them anyway!

JCbride2015

I think photo sharing cards for afterwards are a great idea, but I might skip the simultaneous slide show.  We recently went to a really OTT Sweet 16 where they did this just with the professional photos from the photographer, and even the photographer had a few that were just bad shots or were inappropriate.  Without proper screening, you risk having photos of people's feet or the back of their heads, or risqué dance floor activities.

okulew29

I just attended a wedding where they used an app called Wedding Party.  its multi-purpose.  It has a "comment wall" similar to facebook for people to leave their thoughts and well wishes.  People can share pictures during and after.  The bride and groom can also use it as a mobile website of sorts by inputting information the app will display the time and location of the shower/rehersal/ceremony/reception and the smart phone can link the address straight into Google Maps.  The app also allows for anyone who uses it for that wedding to see who else has downloaded the app and is using it.  I really enjoyed it and am looking into it and other possibilities for my upcoming wedding.

wabanzi

JCBride2014 said:

I think photo sharing cards for afterwards are a great idea, but I might skip the simultaneous slide show.  We recently went to a really OTT Sweet 16 where they did this just with the professional photos from the photographer, and even the photographer had a few that were just bad shots or were inappropriate.  Without proper screening, you risk having photos of people's feet or the back of their heads, or risqué dance floor activities.

You made me laugh :-)

MandyMost

I'd definitely skip the real-time slide show. There are a lot of people who would be very embarrassed and uncomfortable having their picture shown on the wall in public, especially if it's a picture that they didn't get to approve first! 

Also, some people are very uncomfortable with their photograph being shared on the internet. It's fine if you have a site for people to upload the pics to after the wedding, but it may just be uncomfortable to have it so "live" like that. 

tharper0830

I think it would be cute, not tacky but I do agree with most people's concerns about inappropriate photos. If you think some guests would do this then I wouldn't do the slideshow. If you worry it's too much trouble for your guests to use the app, but think they will be uploading to facebook/instagram etc then just create a hashtag. Make sure it's easy to remember but VERY unique and put signs on the tables/bar etc. Then after the event you can use Storify to save everything people posted about your wedding.

You can still keep track of everything but there's no extra step for your guests.