Trending…Snapchat Geofilters for Your Wedding!

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Did you know that average person spends over 50 minutes browsing their social media channels each day? To me, that number actually sounds pretty conservative. I practically spend about 20 minutes just scrolling through my newsfeed while waiting on hulu commercials to wrap up...

But let me get to the point. If you’re getting married, having a bridal shower, or any type of event in the near future, you’ve got to jump onto the Snapchat Geofilters trend. Avid Snapchat users know geofilters have been around for a while...but now, SnapChat has made it easier than ever to create your own on-demand personalized semi-custom geofilters!

If you’re less familiar with the incredible world of Snapchat, you may be wondering what a geofilter is and why you would even want one?!

Photo: Snapchat

Photo: Snapchat

What in the world is a Geofilter...

Geofilters are fun designs that appear as Snapchat filters when you’re in a certain location for a specific event. For example, if you're visiting downtown Dunedin, FL, there is a Dunedin specific filter. Or on the 4th of July, there are usually several fun themed filters to choose from to enhance the snaps you share with your friends.

Now, to answer why you’d want one...I don’t really have a great explanation, other than why not? Or wait, it’s what the cool kids are doing? Okay, in all seriousness, geofilters are popular because they’re engaging! Just imagine how much fun your guests could have snapping throughout your reception and how much fun you’ll have going through the stories the next day.

Not to mention when you’re getting married in a beautiful waterfront location like Bon Appetit Restaurant or beachside at Sand Key or Honeymoon Island, who wouldn’t want to show off a little bit on Snapchat or social media? Am I right?

Why we decided to write about this topic now…

Once upon a time in the not so distant past, you needed to basically be a graphic designer to create your own geofilters. Luckily, Snapchat recently made it super easy to create your own geofilters from on demand templates you can customize with your date, name and color scheme of your event. And while, they aren’t free, they are a fun, low cost accessory (we’ll talk more about this later) that your guests will enjoy.

How to Create Your Own Wedding Geofilter...

STEP 1: You must have a Snapchat account. Don’t have one yet? Go to your App store and search for Snaphhat. Easy-peasy.

Image of Step 1 and step 2

 

STEP 2: On your desktop, go to Snapchat.com/on-demand and click “Create Now” to get started. (You can also use your mobile device, but the actual design area isn’t super mobile friendly)

STEP 3: Login using your Snapchat Login and Password. If this is your first time using geofilters, Snapchat will have you verify your email address before allowing you to continue on.

step 3 sign in to snapchat

STEP 4: To work off of one of Snapchat’s templates, simply click design.

Or if you’re creative and know your way around Adobe’s creative suite, you can upload your own geofilter. Or you can pay a graphic company to create one for you.

**If you’re creating your own or having one made for you, be sure it follows Snapchat’s design guidelines. All uploaded designs go through an approval process and could get denied if they don’t meet Snapchat’s requirements.

design your own image or create one with snapchat's templates

STEP 5: Choose from one of the wedding templates on the left of the screen (we’ve circled the one we’re using as an example below in yellow). Use the Color Palette to change the colors of the templated text. 

choose your template and change colors

STEP 6: Use the Text tool (T+) to add text, such as your event date. Also, you can use the text tool to change fonts and colors as well. When you’re finished, click next to choose your dates.

side by side changes

STEP 7: Select your dates and the time of your event. You may want to offer extended times to offer your template throughout all the festivities of the day, so friends can snap stories all day long from getting ready to the reception to brunch the next morning.

Next schedule the date for the geofilter

STEP 8: Mark your event location. Select “Draw Fence” to create your selected area. The cost of your geofilter will depend on the size of your selected square feet. To lower the cost, reduce the area you want your geofilter to cover. On average, plan to spend between $5 to $25 per filter.

In this example, we’ve highlighted Bon Appétit Restaurant as well as the neighboring hotel.

snap_chat_8

STEP 9: Once you have your area selected, double check all your information to ensure it’s correct for your event and then pay Snapchat. The filter will be available to those in the geofence location, during the dates and time specified.

snap_chat_9

 

STEP 10: Enjoy your big day. And relive the magic through Snapchat!

If you have any questions about how to set up your own geofilter or about Snapchat in general, let us know in the comment section.