Monday, March 29, 2010

MAPPING Out Your Wedding

BLUEman: The Male Perspective

If you’re having a destination wedding, one of the first things to do is to check around the area. But with budgets a little tight these days, the alternative to flying out a couple weekends throughout the planning process is to use technology that is readily available.

I’m talking about Google Maps.

Simple set your browser to http://www.googlemaps.com/ and begin your visit to the far off destination in no time.

Some helpful tips about Google mapping:
  1. In the upper left hand corner is the search feature. If you don’t know the exact address of the venue you selected, or if you’re just beginning your search, you can simply enter the city and state (ex: San Francisco, CA) and press Search Maps.
  2. If you want to see the landscape around the area or what the buildings look like, make sure to select the Satellite option in the upper right hand corner of the map image.
  3. Create a Google account. This will allow you to use the “My Map” feature where you can save maps related to your wedding location, and even a separate map for your honeymoon and the sites you may wish to see.
Once you do the basics as described above, you can click on the little red bulb with an “A” related to any of your searches to then search nearby hotels, restaurants, etc. You name it, Google map will find it.

One of the features I like about Google Maps is the street view. Zoom in as far as you can next to a restaurant or hotel you may have found, and now you are on the street looking at what everything looks like around it. This is the best way to get familiar with the area before even getting there.

One of the best things to do, is after you plotted your rehearsal dinner location, surrounding hotels, nearest airport, etc, you can share this with your wedding guests using the Send feature.

So, whether you chose to have that destination wedding or not, Google Maps is a great way to get familiar with the area before even stepping foot on the ground, or to best prepare an out of town guest for their trip to your wedding destination.

See you back here next week for the next edition of the BLUEman.

No comments:

Post a Comment