Today choosing your wedding hashtag is just as important as choosing your spouse! Just kidding, but sometimes it does feel like there is a lot of pressure to come up with something clever. Don’t worry - I gotchu!
First of all, what's the point? The actual function of a hashtag is to group digital content together, making it easy to find all of your items in one place, and making it easier for others to find or add to that content. For example, if you type in the hashtag #dogs on any social media site, you'll see content about dogs. But not just dogs, anything related to dogs like dog jokes, dog food, dog sweaters. Anything a consumer could need. Big companies and brands also use hashtags to track specific campaigns and draw attention to their brands. Think about the Explore/Trending page on Twitter, it tells you what people are talking about. Brands use hashtags to track how people are feeling about their brands, to run contests and more.
You probably aren't going to run analytics on your wedding hashtag, but that doesn't mean they aren't fun to use around your big day. Wedding hashtags are great to print on swag items and gifts as a fun memory, and it is also a good way to keep track of all of your guests posts for the events surrounding your big day.
If you really just want your hashtag to be just you guys for tracking content, you could make the hashtag #rftghusb (aka random letters) and it would basically guarantee that only your content would be attached to it - but that is almost impossible to remember, and not fun at all.
So... how do you make a cute, fun hashtag that is fun and memorable for your big day?
Step One: Start a Document or Note on your phone to keep track of your ideas
I use Google docs with my clients so it’s easy to access from your computer or phone, and it's easy to highlight your favorites easily. Seeing them all in a list, even the ones that are not so great, could spark something creative! No bad ideas in brainstorming, right?
Step Two: Google your Last Name + Wedding Hashtags
Don't overthink it. People have been making hashtags for years now. With more common names, the Jones’ and Smiths’ of the world, many hashtags already exist and a simple Google search is all it takes. No need to reinvent the wheel! Unfortunately, for the Shrader's and Paciorek's of the world, it may take a few extra minutes.
Step Three: Type your name into a wedding hashtag generators.
Work smarter, not harder. You don’t need one that costs money - it’s not that serious. My favorite free ones are:
It will ask for you and your partners first and last name and maybe theme or something. Super easy.
Step Four: Make a list of rhyming words.
Make a tab on your document and make a list of every word that rhymes with you and your spouse's first and last names. You can skip any words with negative connotations. Just because the brides name rhymes with vulva doesn't mean it should be in your wedding hashtag. (Yes that's a Seinfeld reference).
To get all of the rhyming words I use RhymeZone.com. For example, if the brides last name is Crouse, you have spouse, mouse, house, etc. Don't forget compound words, too. Trust the process, I promise this will make sense.
Step Five: Look up Idioms with all of the rhyming words you just found
So if your last name is Fyfe. I see “life” on my list of rhyming words. Look up “idioms with the word life” on Google. I also use idioms.thefreedictionary.com. If you look up "life" you'll get:
Happy wife, happy life
new lease on life
the spice of life
Now replace the rhyming word with your last name.
Boom, hashtag.
Step Six: Find words that start with the same letter
If idioms aren't happening... a lot of them are negative... move on to alliteration (words that start with the same letter). For example, #WineWednesday, #FoodieFriday.
Search “words that begin with T" on Google, or I like to use Scrabble.merriam.com. I like this one because it breaks it down by word lengths. Typically you want to stick in between 3 and 7 letters. Hashtags aren't meant to be too long. If you last name was Tyler, you might go with:
They aren’t all winners but keep writing them all down. Maybe your wedding hashtag isn't #TapasAndTylers, but maybe your rehearsal dinner is tapas themed, maybe you want something printed on the napkins at cocktail hour - no rules!
You can also take the words that start with the same letter, and type those into the idiom search as well. Jeremy starts J, so does Joy. #JumpingforJoy becomes #JumpingforJeremy.
Step Seven: Make a list of all of your favorite activities, inside jokes, shows, celebrities you share a name with, and phrases you and your partner say all the time
Think about phrases you use and your favorite activities. The shows you watch and books you read. Repeat the process with those words using idioms and alliteration. Keep writing things down and you'll find something, I promise!
I went through this process with my friends Jon Paciorek and Amber Crouse. This is the list we came up with:
Grab your bridal party, a bottle of wine, and a few laptops and you will have your hashtag in no time. Make it a fun event with romcoms, and wedding planning and snacks. You'd be surprised how many you can think of once the ball gets rolling. Good luck & have fun! And at the end of the day, remember the hashtag really doesn't matter. Doesn't mean you love each other any less.
