Planning for a wedding?
More people are finding the Internet a resourceful place to start preparing for the big day.

NUPTIAL PLANNING MADE EASY WITH GOOGLE

THE popularity of the Internet and its numerous applications in all things related to weddings cannot be disputed.

With the quality of information and ease of navigation today, Net users can create an ad hoc community and share information through blogs, social networks, videos or documents.

"Twenty years ago, no one heard of the Internet. Ten years ago, you could connect to the Web, but it was a novelty. These days, if your computer's not connected to the Internet, you look at it and say, 'It's broken'," says Derek Callow, marketing manager of Google Southeast Asia.

"Families are very busy and often on the go. The Web makes it easier to keep track of all the moving people and pieces. Planning and sharing activities surrounding weddings are no exception."

Getting started

Callow believes that the Internet will play a critical role in wedding preparations and the sharing of wedding memories. He has provided some suggestions to help couples organise their wedding preparations online.

"Start by using Google Search to search for ideas that you can save in Google Notebook so that you can clip and collect information as you surf the Net.

"Create a blog via Blogger to tell your family and friends the different stages of planning so that everyone becomes a part of the wedding. Tell the world your culture. You don't have to write like a professional, just be yourself," he recommends.

Brides-to-be can also create a Google Calendar with different colours or calendar click-on/off to show activities planned around the wedding such as visits to the Mak Andam, event planner, wedding gown hunting, family get-togethers and engagement parties.

"Also, look for the 'Add to Google Calendar' link in Gmail - Gmail recognises when a friend has sent you an e-mail about an event and automatically offers to add it to your calendar," Callow says.

"Encourage mum and Mak Long to put their ideas for your wedding reception into Google Docs. This is where you create your guest list and share the ideas with the rest of the family. You even can opt to choose them 'as collaborators' or 'as viewers'.

"Create documents, spreadsheet and presentations and invite the bridesmaids to participate in helping you out. You can see when they are editing the document and get their input in real time. Multiple people can view a document at once and see changes in real time."

To keep tab on the wedding budget, the bride or bridegroom can create a spreadsheet in Google Docs.

"Couples can also get the Google Calendar (calendar.google.com) agenda sent to their cell phones each morning, and reminders of events throughout the day. Should they need to inform anyone about event changes, there's Google Talk for free instant messaging service," Callow suggests.

"Couples can also create a map using Google Maps to indicate where the wedding reception is to be held.

"They can even upload photo taken before, during, and after the wedding in Picasa and can then share their photos online with others along with a thank-you e-mail."

Online audience

The wedding-day videos can be uploaded to YouTube and the link sent to all who attended the wedding.

But it must be noted that not only the bride and groom are able to leverage on the Net for their big day these days.

"To generate sales leads and find new customers, Google AdWords can help businesses reach out to people who are searching for wedding-related services and products at www.google.com.my.

"With AdWords' cost-per-click pricing, it's easy to control costs and businesses only pay when people click on the ad. In the case of weddings in Malaysia, products and services ads can appear alongside Google searches such as hantaran, Chinese wedding cards and wedding photographers," Callow says

INTERNET-INSPIRED WEDDING

For Internet marketers Harrace Lau and Fione Tan, nothing comes more naturally than sharing their wedding moments with friends and family on the Net.

Tan, who hails from Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong-based Lau created a wedding Web site (http://www.9wedding.com) and a wedding blog (http://www.eonenet.com/wedding_blog/) in January last year, several months before their wedding receptions in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur in March and June that year respectively.

"The reason we created the sites was because both of us are in the Internet industry, so we wish to create an Internet-themed wedding, which is probably the first of its kind in Malaysia. So, this will be the most memorable wedding that we and our guests can experience," Lau says.

Wedding countdown

From the beginning of the wedding planning, the couple utilised the Internet to send out virtual custom-made e-cards to their guests. The invited guests were given a password to confirm their attendance. There was even an online form for other interested participants to apply for an invitation to the event.

"Since we have friends from many parts of the world, from the Middle East to France and Canada, we had to get the updated information to all guests on time and allow them to correspond to us as well.

"For guests who were unable to join our wedding in two cities, they would be able to view the photos, news coverage and online videos from our Web site and blog," Lau says.

Prior to the wedding day, the information on the wedding was placed on the Web site and blog such as the wedding agenda and the story of how the bride and groom met.

Showtime

On their wedding day, Lau and Tan's theme for the wedding was also Internet-inspired.

"We set up laptops with broadband Internet connection placed in different parts of the venue. For example, we set up two Internet tables in Mandarin Oriental KLCC and allowed wedding guests to immediately post comments to our wedding blog. Instead of signing an attendance book, guests were requested to convey their wishes at our video kiosks which were then recorded and immediately posted in Google Video and YouTube," the couple share.

"As we had our wedding officiated by a lawyer in Hong Kong, we also provided a video of this memorable ceremony. Even wedding guests who recorded the wedding ceremony uploaded their videos to online sites like YouTube (which can be found by searching for our names Fione and Harrace). The entire event was based on the Internet theme, including the table names which were set according to popular Web site names."

After the wedding day, Lau and Tan added in more photos and news about the event, including video messages from other wedding guests.

Both were surprised that they not only reached out to their wedding guests and friends, but also couples from different parts of the world who used their blog tips for their wedding planning.

"Nearly all the wedding guests in both our wedding receptions were amazed at the technology-related activities they could do during the wedding; some even mentioned it looked more like a show than a typical wedding dinner," Tan points out.