Designing A Wedding Snapchat Geofilter: A Step-By-Step Guide

Creating a Snapchat geofilter for your wedding is a fun, modern way to personalise your big day and add a unique, intimate touch to your social media presence. Snapchat geofilters are custom Snapchat filter designs that you can create, buy and make available for guests to use at your wedding and related events. They are a great way to involve your guests and make your wedding experience even more personal. In this guide, we will take you through the steps to create your own wedding Snapchat geofilter.

Creating a Geofilter on Snapchat

Geofilters are creative overlays that help capture or add to where you are or what you’re doing in a Snap. There are three types of Geofilters: Community, Business, and Personal. Community Geofilters are for a city, neighbourhood, school, or landmark, while Business Geofilters are for a store, brand, restaurant, or major event. Personal Geofilters are for birthdays, weddings, parties, and holidays.

To create a Geofilter for your wedding, follow these steps:

• Open the Snapchat app on your mobile device and tap on your profile in the upper-left corner of the camera screen (this will be your Bitmoji character if you've created one).
• On your profile page, tap the settings gear icon in the upper-right corner.
• Scroll down and tap "Filters & Lenses".
• Tap "Get Started!".
• Tap "Filter" to create a filter or "Lens" to create a lens. It's important to note that lenses are the Augmented Reality-enabled animations that change your face or make things look like they're happening around you.
• Choose a category from the list of occasions. For a wedding, you can select "Weddings", "Celebrations", "Bachelor(ette)", or "Start from Scratch" if you want to create your own design.
• Customise your filter with text, images, stickers, borders, and more. You can also add your Bitmoji and Friendmoji.
• When you're happy with your design, tap the checkmark in the bottom-right corner and set the timeframe for when you want the filter to be active.
• Set the location where you want the filter to be available by drawing a Geofence. The price will increase as you select a larger area.
• Confirm the details and purchase your filter.
• Wait for Snapchat to approve the filter and confirm the payment. This usually takes about a business day.

It's recommended that you submit your geofilter at least 24 hours in advance to allow for any last-minute edits. You can also create and purchase filters through the Snapchat website, which offers more customisation options than the app. Simply go to the Snapchat website, select "Filters & Lenses" from the navigation bar, and follow the prompts to create your filter.

Designing a filter on a mobile device

• Open the Snapchat app on your mobile device and tap on your profile icon in the upper-left corner of the camera screen.
• On your profile page, tap the settings gear icon in the upper-right corner.
• Scroll down and tap on "Filters & Lenses".
• Tap "Get Started!" and then select "Filter". You can also create a custom lens by clicking "Lens".
• Choose the type of event you want to customize. You can either create a custom design from scratch or select one of Snapchat's available templates. Choose from categories like "Weddings", "Bachelor/ette", and "Celebration".
• Customize your filter with text, images, stickers, borders, and more. Make it personal and fun!
• When you're happy with your design, tap the checkmark icon and select the timeframe during which you want it to be active.
• Set the location for your filter by drawing a Geofence. The price will increase as you select a larger area.
• Name your wedding Snapchat filter, confirm the details, and submit it for approval.
• Once approved, confirm the payment. Snapchat will notify you within a business day or so.
• Submit your geofilter at least 24 hours before your event to allow for any last-minute edits. You can submit it up to 180 days in advance.

Creating a custom wedding Snapchat filter is a great way to add a unique and personal touch to your wedding celebrations. It's easy to do on your mobile device, and your guests will love using it to capture and share fun and candid moments from your special day.

Commissioning an artist to create a bespoke design

If you want to create a Snapchat geofilter for your wedding but don't have the time or confidence in your artistic skills, you can always commission an artist to create a bespoke design for you. This option will give you a completely unique filter that reflects your personality and style as a couple.

There are many artists offering custom Snapchat geofilter services on Etsy. Some will design a one-of-a-kind geotag just for you, while others will modify an existing template with your details and colour palette. Prices vary depending on the artist and the complexity of the design, but you can expect to pay more for a fully bespoke option.

When commissioning an artist, it's important to communicate your vision clearly. Provide the artist with details such as your wedding colours, theme, and any specific elements you want to include, such as your wedding flowers or a caricature of you and your spouse. You can also ask the artist to incorporate your wedding hashtag or a funny joke that reflects your personality.

Another thing to keep in mind is the timeframe. Discuss with the artist how long it will take to create the design and make sure to allow enough time for revisions and final approval. It's also a good idea to ask the artist to upload the final design to Snapchat and submit all the necessary details, so you don't have to worry about it.

Finally, don't forget to ask the artist for their portfolio or examples of their previous work to ensure their style aligns with your vision. With a little planning and communication, you can have a custom Snapchat geofilter that will wow your guests and add a unique touch to your wedding day.

Purchasing a customisable template

If you're not confident in your design skills or don't have the time to create a Snapchat geofilter from scratch, you can purchase a customisable template online.

Etsy is a great place to start your search, with hundreds of options available for a range of themes, seasons, locations and tastes. You can also work with one of Etsy's sellers to create a completely unique filter. This will increase the cost of your Snapchat filter, as you'll have to pay for the artwork in addition to Snapchat's usual fee. However, there are still plenty of affordable options available.

For example, you can purchase a stylish instant download template with rave reviews from Etsy for $6. This template features a chic rose gold backdrop, and you can customise the text yourself.

If you're looking for something a little more personalised, you can get a custom portrait of you and your spouse-to-be for $59. You can even add special details, like your wedding flowers or your pets, to the design.

For a rustic mountain wedding, you might like the $10 rustic pine Snapchat filter template from Unmeasured Event Jenna on Etsy. Or, for a modern wedding, the same seller offers a watercolour-washed version.

If you're after something with a bit of fun, check out the $12 "Married AF" wedding Snapchat filter from Filterly. This design features neon light-inspired text and a variety of backdrop options, including palm leaves.

Once you've purchased your chosen template, you can customise it with your names, wedding date, stickers and other text. Then, simply submit it to Snapchat for approval and wait for it to be approved and for payment to be confirmed.

Editing and personalising your filter

Now comes the fun part: editing and personalising your filter!

First, you'll need to decide whether you want to create a Snapchat wedding filter or a lens. Filters are flat graphic overlays that "frame" a photo, like fun borders and text. Lenses are Augmented Reality-enabled animations that change your face or make things look like they're really happening around you. Both can be customised in the Snapchat app. For the purposes of this tutorial, we'll focus on creating a filter.

Once you've selected "Filter", you'll see a new screen with a long list of occasions to choose from, such as "Bachelorette", "Celebrations", and "Weddings". You can also select "Start from Scratch", which gives you a blank canvas to upload your own art and designs.

When you've chosen your category (let's go with "Weddings"), find a filter that suits your wedding style. There are a lot to choose from, so it might help to pick one that matches your wedding decor.

Now it's time to edit. Use the Text tool to add your names, your new last name, the date, or even lyrics from your first dance song or your wedding hashtag. There are lots of fonts to choose from; to see them all, just scroll horizontally on the font names above your keyboard when you're in the Text tool. You can also add emojis, Bitmojis, and stickers to your filter. Just tap the notepad icon under the Text tool to browse and add.

Play around with the different editing options until you're happy with how your filter looks. Then, hit the checkmark icon and select the timeframe during which you want it to be active.

Frequently asked questions