Wedding Tech Trends Straight from the Future
Using some of the most popular trends in technology is just plain practical. Need a way to collect all your wedding photos from Instagram? Create a custom wedding hashtag. Want to keep guests’ phones juiced up so they’re taking photos and video all night long? Transform one of your cocktail hour tables into a cute cellphone charging station. Those are tech mainstays of wedding planning at this point. But we’re here to tell you that cutting-edge 3-D printers, wearable technology (hello, Apple Watch) and robots (yes, you read that right) are the next big trends to hit the wedding scene. Here’s how.
Wearable Technology that Tracks Your Every Move
What if you could look back on your wedding day and actually be able to see your exact heart rate at the moment you walked down the aisle? You can. From a $17,000, 18k gold Apple Watch to a simple $150 FitBit bracelet, it’s just a matter of which color to choose. Wear them the entire day and you can see the exact moment that it clicked for you—you’re getting married!—or see your stats later and say, “That spike there was our first-look pictures—you were so beautiful!” And even though this isn’t a thing quite yet (it really should be), imagine taking your ups and downs to an artist who, via your fitness tracker, could create a complete heartbeat timeline of your day in a signature painting that could live above your couch in your new home. Technology is actually amazing.
A GoPro Bridal Bouquet to Capture Hidden Moments
The walk down the aisle is one of the more special and memorable moments of the wedding day, and trust us, it goes by quickly. Capture it all on camera from your vantage point by asking your florist to save a spot in your bridal bouquet for a small camera. (Any mini camera similar to a GoPro will work to record your entrance.) This way you’ll get to see everything from the look on your guests’ faces to the parental handoff (if that’s what you’re doing) to your vows in an up-close and personal way.
Out There But Awesome: Hide a camera someplace at the reception (like a flower installation or the disco ball over the dance floor) to catch guests at their most candid, hilarious moments. Tip: Hire a videographer to set it up for you so you get all the footage incorporated into one final wedding video edit that you can watch for years to come.
Robots That Live-Stream Your Wedding
Some couples are using robots to capture their entire wedding live so that friends and family from afar can also take part in the day. It might sound a little silly at first, but here’s why the idea adds up: Instead of having to appoint a person to man a live-stream camera all night, you’d have a lively robot with an iPad do the job. Plus, imagine all the fun photos that’ll come out of it!
Out There But Awesome: Robots have made appearances at weddings for a few other tasks as well, from officiating the wedding to manning the bar. (Yes, you read that right.)
3-D Printed Wedding Cake Decorations
The 3-D printing trend is catching on in the culinary world. Have your cake baker create a simple wedding cake and add amazing 3-D printed shapes to the top and sides for a truly modern look. Or create an incredible 3-D printed cake topper like this one. Another idea we love: a 3-D printed candy bar! Companies like The Sugar Lab can produce intricate and amazingly shaped candy for your bar at the reception.
Out There But Awesome: Have a 3-D printing company set up shop at the reception to create “mini-me” wedding favors your guests will never forget. In a matter of seconds, 3-D printing tools, like the ones from Shapeways, allow you to capture your guests’ measurements and print out tiny action figure versions of them. Line up your wedding party’s figurines later for a truly unique photo op!
Selfie Sticks and Charging Stations to Keep the Party Going
We’d be remiss if we didn’t put some tried-and-true tech trends in this roundup. Cellphone charging stations are a must-have if you’re expecting lots of hashtagging at your wedding. It’s super-easy to pull off: Just gather a bunch of different types of cords (for iPhones and Androids) in a cute way and prop them up on a cocktail table at your reception.
Out There But Awesome: Instead of making everyone compete for the use of one or two selfie sticks, buy a bunch and hand them out to every table. It’s an activity for your guests and a fun way to document the wedding.
