The Appy Couple wedding app for iPhones, iPads and Androids.Gone are the days of sending multiple e-mails to your bridal party, calling family members with updates on wedding events, or sending mass texts to guests with directions to venues. Appy Couple, a new wedding app, can replace the traditional wedding planning methods, like building your own Web site, with an app for the tech-savvy, fast-moving and multitasking bride. You can stay in touch with your guests and organize events from your iPhones, iPads and Androids.
Unlike other wedding apps that focus on the planning aspects of a wedding, like iWedding Deluxe, Wedding Gawker and WeddingScan, Appy Couple focuses on creating an interactive experience where the bride and bridegroom can communicate with their bridal party and other guests. If you’re juggling multiple events, like an engagement party, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and a rehearsal dinner, this app may be worth downloading.
Couples can begin their journey to hassle-free wedding coordination on AppyCouple.com, where they can create a custom wedding app that matches the tone and motif of their wedding. There they can include the story of how they met, engagement photos and special songs. A free coordinating Web site included with each custom app displays the same content as the app, and can be used by guests who don’t have a smartphone, like Granny, for example.
Once the app has been created, the couple can enter their guest list manually or upload it from a spreadsheet, and invite family and friends to access the app for free, using a special code. Each guest will then have access to information, including wedding events, dates, locations, travel accommodations and last-minute changes. There is also a privacy function that allows the bride and bridegroom to select certain guests, like members of the bridal party, to receive private messages.
All content, including messages and photos, uploads in real time so guests and members of the bridal party can stay up-to-date (if they choose). Guests can also upload their photos and post messages and toasts on the couple’s message board. The drawback is that guests can pretty much upload anything they want to. So your cousin’s bachelor party photos could somehow end up on the app. Couples can delete images using the coordinating Web site, but there is no moderation button that gives them the power to select which photos make the cut onto the app. (Appy Couple is currently working on a moderation feature.)
If guests can’t make it on your big day, your wedding Web site will live-stream photos to your customized application.
Sharmeen Mitha-Sehgal, the co-founder and chief executive of Appy Couple, came up with the idea after what she describes as her sister’s disastrous attempt at organizing a 500-person wedding in Mumbai.
“A typical Indian wedding is: several events, over multiple days, equals a logistical nightmare for guests,” Ms. Mitha-Sehgal said.
Appy Couple is still in private beta and has already been used by thousands of couples, both nationally and internationally. For now, it’s free, but invitation-only. Appy Couple expects to begin its pay model this fall. There will be a onetime charge for the app and free unlimited app downloads for wedding guests.
If you’re willing to add another cost to your list of wedding payments, note that Appy designs start at $49, with limited-edition designs going for as much as $200. There are currently 100 designs and 50 more will be added by this fall.