CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ In the company’s 7^th annual “What’s On Brides’ Minds Survey,” David’s Bridal found that the 2013 bride will plan, chronicle and culminate all of her wedding details with the help of social media, ranging from Pinterest to Facebook to Skype.

David’s Bridal found that these platforms not only streamline the wedding planning process, but also serve various functions for the modern bride. Pinterest allows her to assemble an inspiration board fit for a fashion showroom. Instagram allows her to discover vendors, like those who offer unique catering or perhaps the best marquee hire london has to offer. Skype makes it possible for family and friends who can’t attend the wedding to be part of the festivities, and Instagram and Twitter enable the creation of special hashtags for guests to photo share during the big day.

Thanks to the use of hashtags, many brides-to-be can find the right service for their perfect day. In fact, many wedding-related businesses have been jumping on this hashtag trend in order to reach new clients. The Small Business Blog has user reviews of some of the social media strategy services wedding businesses have used to this end. Though in other areas, social media has shown new ways in which weddings and wedding-related services reach the masses. Companies that are in the wedding business often tend to create organic traction on their social sites and take the help of agencies like Celebian to achieve their desired goal.

That said, though the typical bride’s nuptials might not get televised, like those of Kate Middleton or the next “Bachelor” winner, social media is also allowing the average newlywed pair to broadcast their wedding to the world in what’s becoming a prominent industry trend. Last month, TheKnot.com held the first-ever live-streamed, crowd sourced wedding, and Brides magazine is following suit with an upcoming live-streamed Facebook wedding. Companies like I Do Stream and Marry Me Live even offer webcasting services to couples looking to go “live” on the big day. What might have seemed “over the top” years ago, is now becoming a common practice as brides look to say “I do” in unique ways and on multiple platforms.

“Through our more than 300 stores nationwide, it’s becoming evident that brides are using social media through every step of their wedding process,” said David’s Bridal Chief Marketing Officer,Brian Beitler . “Our bridal consultants have reported women ‘skype-ing’ their relatives in-store as they try on their wedding gowns and hearing brides’ stories of how they plan to live stream their nuptials so guests that can’t attend will still be present. Going digital is the new norm for brides and we’re seeing it firsthand.”

In the brand’s annual “What’s On Brides’ Minds” survey of newly engaged and married women, David’s Bridal cemented these in-store findings even further – weddings have officially become digitalized!

The social network of wedding planning
Brides are pinning, posting and texting their way to the altar!

• The online bride: 59 percent of brides say online resources like Pinterest, Facebook and blogs are the best places to find wedding inspiration.
• Pinterest dibs: With Pinterest celebrating its third anniversary this month, it has quickly become the ultimate tool for brides-to-be. Nearly half of brides (46 percent) wouldn’t use an idea they found on a friend’s Pinterest board!
• Fittings on your phone: Dress shopping isn’t confined to the fitting room anymore! In fact, 68 percent of brides use technology during their fittings, from texting pictures to family to posting videos on a social media site.

RSVP’ing for the Skype wedding…with a plus one
Can’t make the wedding? No problem! Just pull up a laptop and watch from there.

• Virtual wedding guests: Now trending, nearly half (49 percent) of all respondents say they would consider “skype-ing” their wedding.

Social media should come with a handbook
Wedding guests beware! Think twice before hitting send on your mobile!

• Digital rule of thumb: 56 percent of newlywed women think it’s important to have social media rules at the wedding.
• The dress is off limits: 61 percent forbid their bridesmaids from uploading pics of the bride donning her dress before the ceremony
• My wedding, me first: 52 percent say the bride and groom must be the first to post a picture of their wedding to a social media site.

Status update: Sue Smith went from being “engaged” to “married”
So much for waiting for the paperwork to go through! Brides want their “friends” to know they’re hitched – pronto!

• Facebook official: Up 11 percent from 2011, 59 percent of brides will update their Facebook status to “married” or update their new name within a day of walking down the aisle. These brides also tend to use social media apps (like an app to get Facebook followers) before the wedding is planned, to post updates online to a wider audience.

To find out more about David’s Bridal wedding resources, notably the new “My Event” wedding planning app, a social media tool for brides-to-be, visit www.davidsbridal.com.

The David’s Bridal 2013 Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.WakefieldResearch.com) between November 16^th and November 27^th, 2012.

SOURCE David’s Bridal