Each Wednesday, we tackle wedding etiquette. At times, it’s a reader question or one from a colleague, friend or family member and other times we’ll cover a popular issue. (Note: Questions may be edited for clarity and brevity.)
Question: I got engaged recently and we are beginning the planning process. After telling close family and friends about our engagement, we each posted a cute pic to social media announcing it to everyone else. I like to share decorating, cooking and crafting stuff on my social media and was thinking about posting some of the planning process, but I don’t want to overshare, especially with so many people suffering due to the pandemic. How much of the wedding planning process is it OK to share on social media?
Answer: Congratulations on your engagement! It’s heartwarming to see so many couples continuing to plan their futures in such uncertain times. That said, as you mentioned, a lot of people are experiencing loss and pain as we learn to live amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, watching your planning process might be a welcome diversion, for others, it can potentially drive home how much they have lost over the past 18 months. Even if there weren’t a pandemic however, it’s probably best to curb wedding process posts, especially those that might signal extravagant spending. There’s also the unintentional hurt those posts could inflict upon people not invited to the wedding. If sharing the process with friends and family is important to you or will help fuel your creativity, consider starting a private account for this purpose and inviting wedding guests to join in the fun. By relegating wedding planning posts on a dedicated account, guests going through a tough time can always opt out, but they will still be able to keep up with you and your day-to-day life via your regular, personal account. Consider that some guests won’t follow the account for a variety of reasons, including not being social media users or fans of that particular platform and avoid posting wedding news. Or if you do, be sure to also spread that news on the official wedding site, via email and traditional mail and through word of mouth. Happy planning!
Do you have a solution to share or a wedding etiquette question? Respond in the comments or email Melanie@MyNewOrleans.com.