Capturing the big day
Guests can use free app to send cellphone photos to create wedding album
There was a time, not so long ago, when savvy brides and grooms put out disposable cameras on the tables at their wedding reception and let their guests snap away.
When the developed photos came back from the lab, the couple had a pictorial chronicle of the unscripted fun from the point of view of their guests.
More recently, couples and guests have skipped the trouble of developing the photos and asked guests to send cellphone photos. Now, there’s a way to skip that step with a free app called WedPics.
WedPics, which works with iPhone and Androids, opens up an album for guests, allowing them to upload their photos easily via the web. It’s like a disposable camera for smartphones, but it also allows you to see everyone else’s photos.
Justin Miller, CEO and cofounder of Deja Mi Inc. and WedPics, had already created Deja Mi, a photo-sharing app for concerts, when he decided to adopt the technology for use at weddings.
At concerts, there are a lot of people, but they don’t know each other. At weddings, there are fewer guests. They might not all know each other, but they are bound together by the event, says Miller, who was an art director at IBM before he opened a startup in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Since WedPics was introduced in August, more than 35,000 wedding guests at 5,000 weddings have downloaded more than 150,000 photos, says Miller.
The average number of guests using the app and the number of photos they file has climbed dramatically since WedPics was first introduced. Currently, about 20 guests use the app per wedding, says Miller, who notes that the number of photos being downloaded per wedding is increasing.
“We’re seeing it climb almost week-to-week,” says Miller. “We’ve seen weddings where upwards of 1,000 photos were uploaded.”
Every wedding has a unique ID, which is the key to getting into the album. Guests create an account though Facebook, or by signing on using their name, email and a password.
In order to contribute to the wedding album, guests enter the wedding ID on the main screen create an account by following the instructions. Once an account is created, the guest can use both the app and the web. Creating an account is a security feature, so its unlikely that a user will sabotage the album.
“At any given time, the couple knows who has access,” says Miller. “It takes out the anonymous aspect.”
Guests can view or upload photos by clicking on “view album,” logging in, clicking on “go to album,” then selecting the “upload” icon at the top of the page.
WedPics is also interactive. Guests comment, make connections with other guests at the wedding and share photos on existing social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Guests who want to download the entire photo album onto a computer can do so with a single click.
It also offers tools so the bridal pair can get their friends and relatives primed to use the app, says Miller. They can invite guests via email or Facebook, or order cards to be included in their invitations or placed on tables at the reception.
Some couples have created multiple albums with separate albums for a range of events, from “before they met” photos to engagement parties, wedding showers and the honeymoon.