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published on July 5, 2016 - 8:57 PM
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Brides and grooms spend months, if not years, preparing for their big day. They plan every detail from the venue’s décor to the list of love songs to be played at the reception. One thing couples shouldn’t have to fret about during their long-anticipated ceremony is their social media presence.

This is where HashtagiDo steps in. HashtagiDo provides digital services to showcase each detail of a client’s wedding day via social media. This way friends and family unable to attend the ceremony don’t miss a beat and are able to follow the highlights of the ceremony and reception through live stream video posts and photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In the meantime, the happy couple doesn’t have to be concerned with keeping those social media accounts active — a professional is there to share those posts for them.

Owner Christine Rose Brown launched her digital business just two short months ago and already it’s taken off. Four couples have already benefitted from hiring Brown to cover their weddings via social media and two more are getting ready to walk down the aisle with Brown close by, acting as what Brown describes as “their personal TMZ.” Brown said she was also honored to be part of the Big Fat Fresno Wedding Expo held at Chukchansi Park in May, where several Central Valley couples were united in marriage by the newly ordained Grizzlies mascot Parker.

Brown said she didn’t anticipate the whirlwind of activity as a first-time business owner, but HashtagiDo is something she is passionate about because she knows her own wedding, held nearly two years ago, wouldn’t have been the same without some social media assistance.

“I’m always on social media and wanted that presence for my own wedding, but I also wanted to spend my time enjoying the moment, working on the last minute details and enjoying the day with my family and friends so I had one of my cousin’s friends come to the wedding as a guest and tweet posts for me and I had someone else live stream the ceremony,” Brown said. “Over 75 people watched my wedding on the live stream.”

While browsing her news feed full of memories after the ceremony, Brown found herself wishing each couple could enjoy a digital account of their wedding day the way she and her husband were able too.

However, it wasn’t until two months ago, when Brown’s co-worker enlisted her social media help with his wedding, that she decided to startup HashtagiDo.

Brown said HashtagiDo is perfect for the social media obsessed, but it is also a great tool for those desiring just a touch of live coverage to share with their relatives and friends not physically able to attend the ceremony.

“The biggest opportunity with this is allowing people to stay connected who can’t be at the wedding, either because they live too far away or maybe the bride and groom just couldn’t invite everyone they wanted to come … because they are having a small ceremony or keeping costs low,” Brown said. “This allows everyone to be involved and witness the occasion even when they can’t be there.”

Celeste Torres recently used HashtagiDo to cover her May 14 wedding. She said the overall experience was amazing, but the most important aspect was that HashtagiDo was able to give her distant friends and relatives a window to view her ceremony.

“It was special for us because we have family from across the nation, in Texas and Washington, who were unable to be there and it was important for all our family and friends to see us and share that special day with us even if we couldn’t be there.”

With few business models to follow, Brown said she tailors her services to meet the needs of each individual couple.

“When I started this business, I did some research and found only one company in New York that provides a similar social media and live streaming service like this,” Brown said. “There is no cookie-cutter formula for what I’m doing so I personalize it to each couple and go over the ceremony schedule with them to find out what they want to show online and what they want keep more intimate and private.”

Each wedding and each couple, Brown said, is different. Some mainly just want the live stream feature for their family and friends to watch the ceremony online and they don’t want as many posts on their social media accounts, while others want to “break the Internet.”

Whatever a couple desires as far as social media, Brown said the most important thing is taking over those feeds so brides and grooms can relax and enjoy the big day.

 “A bride hands me her phone and I do everything that is needed, like changing her name and relationship status, in live time so she doesn’t have to worry about doing that,” Brown said. “ Everyone is busy on their big day. Even without my phone in hand, I still didn’t have enough time in the moment and that is why it’s so important to disconnect and let someone else take the reigns.”


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