TORONTO - Whether it's an effort to save a few pennies or to add a more customized flair to the festivities, consumer technology commonly associated with the office or personal entertainment could come in handy for couples planning their wedding.
With everything from catering menus to reception hall layouts a few mouse clicks away online, PCs and laptops can be more than just a pathway to information: they are among the tech products to help couples create and organize all the essentials for the big day.
At a "wired wedding" event staged Wednesday by Microsoft, guests were guided through creating invitations and place cards, editing and organizing photographs and distributing them on a customized website as well as creating a DVD of the event using the company's suite of software programs and online tools.
They were also asked to sign an electronic guest book. A tablet feature on the computer allowed them to write their names on the screen and that was then converted to text.
Consumers have a broad range of technology at their fingertips, and there is a great deal of power in being able to use all the features together, said Owen Sagness, vice-president of MSN Canada.
Crafting different aspects of the ceremony using everyday technology is an extension of the fact that people like to personalize things, he said.
"They may want their cellphone in pink or they may want to have a black or silver camera ... and this is kind of extending the personalization trend to any kind of an event where they can create their own wedding invitations and make it exactly how they want," he said.
Sagness said another option for individuals is to design a website to distribute their photos after the wedding, helping to share the day with attendees as well as those unable to make it to the ceremony.
For couples seeking to guide the music direction for their wedding reception, a digital music player like the Zune, which made its debut in Canada this month, can also be used to create custom playlists, playing tunes through speakers or from a PC plugged into a sound system.
"What we're showing here is the ability of people to integrate all the different components, and to really kind of plan it out and say, 'You know what? You don't need a DJ if it's a wedding,"' Sagness said.
"You could actually do all the music planning yourself just using the technology that you probably already have."
