Facebook Releases “Weddings and Celebrations” Feature, Maturing With Executives

Facebook released a new “Weddings and Celebrations” feature that will display special events, starting with engagements and weddings, along with friends’ birthdays on the social network.

The feature, which begins rolling out today, is automated based off the changing of a relationship status to “engaged” or “married.” Appearing above birthdays on the homepage, users can click on the update and congratulate either member of the couple, as well as add one of the members as a friend, without leaving the page.

Yesterday, Facebook redesigned its events page, adding list and calendar views. However, a Facebook spokesperson tells us that “Weddings and Celebrations” will not be added to the list or calendar views. It will only appear on the homepage.

It’s interesting to note that Facebook executives Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Cox and Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, who are all 30 or younger, recently got married. A network born from a Harvard dorm room and raised on pictures of keg stands, the service may be maturing with its founder and leaders.

“Facebook has become a unique way people share and congratulate friends around exciting life events such as engagements and weddings or the arrival of a child,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a press release.

However, the increased awareness of friends’ special occasions may not be good for all users. Perpetually reminding singles of their friends’ engagements and wedding could lead to sad or jealous users. Seeing a friend’s wedding that you aren’t invited to could even lead to falling-outs. Of course, this would happen with check-ins and photos anyway. This is just an added reminder that is sticky on the homepage.

The feature could be a sign of things to come, especially as Zuckerberg and Facebook executives age and start having kids. Could “ Weddings and Celebrations” come to encompass the birth of a child? Facebook currently caps membership at age 13, so you could only write on the parents’ wall, not the newborn. But who knows, maybe that policy will change, too.