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Ask Slashdot: Techie Wedding Invitation Ideas?
Qa32 writes "I am getting married in a few months and being a hardcore techie I wanted to come up with some novel way of making my wedding invite that will truly have even my mom say, 'wow, that was cool.' Has anyone out there done anything similar, or have you thought of something similar you'd like to share? I already have a few: have QR codes, have some basic embedded circuit/plate with wire leads that maybe plays a song when you connect a battery, have a way to turn up a display LCD, etc."
Assuming your friends and/or relatives are also into technology, why not keep the card relatively simple, but throw in an easter egg or two? Just as an example, embed a RFID chip and have it setup to react to NFC's embedded in phones. Include a subtle hint on the card, and perhaps make a puzzle out of it.
The corner of a round room
[Oops! Meant to login before posting that comment. Here it is again with a 1 higher score ;-)]
Take a look at these guys:
http://www.bareconductive.com/
They make conductive gloopy black paint that you can use both to paint circuit boards and to cold solder components into them. I met a couple of the people behind the company at a trade show a couple of weeks back and bought a pot (no other connection to company). It's very clever stuff and they have a load of tutorials and examples on the site.
You could also have some things at the reception that are triggered off by sensing the NFC chip - again, entertain the younger generation without worrying the older one.
Or, you know - you could just have an absolutely straight wedding with no techno toys at all. A friend of ours got married recently and had a cartoonist to make sketches during the wedding and the reception. The resulting sketchbook was far more popular (and memorable) than the photos or the video.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
Nerd friend of mine had a QR Code on the back of the invitation. The people who knew what a QR Code was, all got rick rolled. I thought it was hillarious.
trans corpus mortuum
If it's a geek bride, probably not. They tend to have brains and realise that there are more important things than imagining a day of attention seeking. It's bizarre to me to place so much importance on the act of getting married before you even know who you're going to be marrying
If you fall in love with someone and want to commit the rest of your life to them, then by all means daydream about your wedding day - but it's insane to place so much emphasis on the wedding itself when you've not even met someone you want to marry. In fact it makes it more likely you'll get married just so that you can carry out your fantasy wedding.
The day itself is not important, what is important is the lifetime commitment that it signifies. If people put as much effort into keeping their marriages going as they did for the average wedding, then maybe less would end in divorce.
Wow, I'm trolling hard today.. but I can't help it when it comes to this type of groupthink.
which is totally what she said
My wife found these lego candies that are actually stackable like real legos. She loves legos like any geek and realized that they'd be great as little favors to put on the tables. Not only did they have a little geekiness in an otherwise normal wedding, but they kept the guests' kids entertained.
Simply send out mini cds with a video invite and request a video response. Compile all the responses (positive) with the invite and make it all part of the wedding DVD. Could also be done with small thumb drives they are pretty cheap now, but if the mini cd is commercially printed it can be made more appealing.
Have tattooing equipment brought to the wedding and have each guest carve a reminder of the committing required to make a marriage last on the backs of the bride and groom ;D.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
If you're willing to spend money on adding actual electronics a countdown clock would be cool. Preferably counting down to the exact time you're going to kiss the bride. That way you're making sure the ceremony is strictly time limited as well.
Damn you internets. I'm already doing this and the parent's idea right now for my wedding invitations. It fits, I did propose to my fiancee on a circuit board.