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Photographed by: Christofer Jae
Brides: Can’t get your chosen man off the computer long enough to help pick a china pattern? Are his thumbs too BlackBerry’ed out to stuff invitation envelopes? Wondering how to put his MySpace obsession to more timely use?
Don’t fight it–embrace it, advises one nuptial expert.
Craig Michaels, author of Thirty to Wife: The Tell-All Groom’s Guide to Weddings (Marlowe & Company, 2006) declares, “Men might not know it, but there are many wedding responsibilities ripe for a high-tech makeover. A few mouse clicks by him ‘suggested’ by his future wife–especially if she is computer-literate herself–might actually get her Mr. Right thinking about the countless details involved in exchanging their vows.”
Adds Michaels: “Appeal to his techno-strengths. If he’s a spreadsheet whiz, ask him to optimize the wedding budget. If his iTunes bill is more than his rent, have him work on the reception music playlist.”
For example, says Michaels, brides should incorporate such cyber-related topics as the following into the couple’s conversations–personal or electronic–to transform his wasted computer time into wanted wedding time:
Planning the big day
* Answering wedding questions, from how to fasten a bow tie to avoiding vow and toast tongue-ties (e.g., bestweddingsites.com, weddingpodcastnetwork.com, ehow.com).
* Researching and booking of honeymoon travel (expedia.com, farecast.com, fodors.com, travel.state.gov).
* Tracking every wedding detail, including to-do checklists, guest lists, expenses, and vendor contacts (smartwedding.com, theweddingtracker.com, elmsoftware.com, frogwaresoftware.com).
* Designing wedding invitations, place cards, save-the-date cards and wedding programs (mountaincow.com, checkernet.com, yourinvited.com, thefrontdoor.com, evite.com, hallmark.com).
* Creating online gift registries, including a few groom-friendly items such as mortgage companies that set up accounts for friends and family to contribute to the couple’s home down payment and outdoors-adventure retailers of camping gear and his-and-her bicycles (homedepot.com, rei.com, brides.com, crateandbarrel.com, bedbathandbeyond.com).
Broadcasting wedding news
* Building the happy couple’s own wedding website (myevent.com, ewedding.com, wedquarters.com, ning.com, yuku.com, imeem.com).
* Publishing a blog (online journal) reporting the progress of wedding preparations (blogger.com, wordpress.com, movabletype.com, blurb.com).
* Sharing a podcast (personalized radio show) updating developments directly to guests’ ears (podcaststation.com, widgetpress.com, feedburner.com).
* Hosting a wiki (sharable document) on which everyone can contribute wedding ideas (jotspot.com, wikispaces.com, editme.com).
Sharing the moment
* Installing a webcam (real-time video broadcast) to capture the action for those who can’t attend (apple.com/ichat, ivisit.com, creative.com).
* Designing custom favors, including music CDs, T-shirts, picture frames, and even chocolates (apple.com/itunes, roxio.com, cafepress.com, hersheygifts.com).
* Creating a nuptial photo album (apple.com/iphoto, flickr.com, picasa.com, smilebox.com, snapfish.com).
* Producing a Hollywood-style video epic of the big day (apple.com/finalcutpro, adobe.com/premiere, microsoft.com/moviemaker, sony.com/vegas, ulead.com).
Those are just some of the ways, says wedding guru Craig Michaels, “by which, quite frankly, a bride can practice ‘bait and switch’ to heighten a geek-groom’s attention to wedding details. Once such grooms start to help, they can easily become hooked on the cyber-science potential behind the wedding—and be more like the ‘keeper’ the bride-to-be has always dreamed of marrying.”
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