This one seems simple but there is more to it than meets the eye!
Document the night visually and share these with everyone.
So what does this mean?
Take photos and share them with everyone who came.
So: Two parts:
1: Take photos.
There are some great ways to do this, choose the one that you like best:
A: Pay a pro photographer to do this – pay between $400 and $2000 depending on your budget and how many people will be there. How do you choose a photographer? The best way in my experience is to browse your friends’ who have been married recently’s Facebook albums – if you like their wedding photos, ask them who took them!
B: Get some of your friends who are amateur photographers to help. This can work quite well, but notice that I say friend!S!. Get more than one. This way you will have a range of shots and styles and if someone flakes out you wont be left with no photos at all.
C: Get everyone to take photos and get them emailed or Facebooked. This strategy gets better every year – new smart phones have better cameras than many digital cameras that are just s few years old. To do this, make up some posters that tell people where to email or post the photos and get the DJ or MC to let people know at the start of the party and after the speeches as well. This way works really well for capturing the behind the scenes mischief that often makes the party more memorable than the “big deal” stuff!
2: Share them.
This is the bit that usually gets done less well. Sharing images is a separate task and should be treated with as much care and effort as getting the photos in the first place.
You need to put the photos up somewhere. Good options are:
Facebook: Pop them up in an album on your personal page. Most importantly tag everyone in and then it will appear in their feed so they can tag and comment – this will then make it appear in other people’s feeds so more people will know about the event and the photos.
Flickr: Post your photos in a Flickr album and then you can email everyone and they can go on there and check them out. Works well if you have a lot of friends who aren’t on Facebook!
Email out: If you want you can attach them all in an email and send them out to everyone.
Post out: Don’t dismiss this one – its very personal and quite cost effective. You can get lots of photos printed quite cheaply now at local places like Harvey Norman, Office Works, or your local equivalent digital stationer.
Albums: Once again, don’t dismiss these – they are absolutely amazing in terms of human impact and they get more cost effective and easy to make all the time. I recommend Snapfish. Basically you arrange your snaps into an album online and then helpful computer robots post back as many personalised photo albums as you need. These make an amazing keepsake for your guests!
Then you need to let people know where the photos are. I recommend doing this by SMS, email and social media – when people hear the same message from multiple sources they pay more attention. So send out a text letting people know, then email everyone – include web links if the photos are up in Facebook or Flickr. Finally, let people know by whatever social media most of them use – Facebook, MySpace, Linked In for an Office Event, or maybe Google Plus for the tech heads.
I cant stress enough, use multiple ways of letting people know – you only get one shot at this so use all the different ways so that no one misses out!
So that’s my thoughts on really locking in a great memory for your friends and loved ones. A picture is worth a thousand words!
Now. I promised a third tip on both cost effective and also just plain awesome ways to make your party awesome & memorable. Here they are:
#3 Way to make your party awesome on a budget
Do a pub-crawl. Seriously. So many zero budget awesome parties I’ve be to or been a part of are done this way. There are amazing venues with massive sound systems, great entertainers, happy staff and plenty of space to make for an amazing night on a tight budget. Just be organized – consult with your friends so you are going places they want to go, and call the venues before hand to negotiate some favourable treatment – free entry and cheap or free drinks may be on the cards of you ask nicely. If you need help, get some from us locally, or from similar people who, like us, dont charge for this service, in other regions!
#3 Way To Make Your Party Memorable If You Don’t Have a Strict Budget
Organise a surprise that no one knows about. So many parties come to mind. Have a special surprise for all the guests that will stay in their minds for ever that they just don’t expect. I’ve seen weddings where the Groomsmen have a choreographed dance to surprise the Bride & Groom (these have become legendary!), 21sts where the Dad sings a song for the daughter, work shows where the CEO comes out during the dancing dressed as Elvis and rocks the stage. These are the parties people remember – surprise everyone – they buzz will last a lifetime!
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