L&L Remarks
It seems like you can’t open your Facebook feed or any other social media platform without coming across photos of a blushing bride. It’s common nowadays for wedding guests to take their own photos with a smart phone, however there is a growing backlash against that.
Some brides and grooms, just like the lovely couple today, are asking their guests to “please unplug”. They want the coast clear for their photographer. Many couples pay thousands of dollars for their photographer and it can be a tough job when there is a sea of moving iphones in the way.
Photographers try to dodge guests who stand up during the ceremony, and risk bumping or even tripping into guests. Needless to say that guests can unintentionally ruin the perfect wedding shot.
Picture the frame worthy photo of the bride and groom looking truly, madly, deeply into one another’s eyes. Then picture the same photo with a guest’s arm and iPhone blocking the view of the bride’s $3000 dress and bouquet. Ouch! Let’s hope your photographer has some Photoshop skills!
Another reason brides and grooms are deciding on an unplugged wedding is to be present in the moment. If guests are fumbling with their camera phones to take a perfect photo for themselves, how can they be present in the moment?
I actually remember a friend’s weddings where I was sitting near the back. I turned on my camera to take some photos and I totally forgot the start-up jingle song it plays. Lets just say the women sitting in front of me was not too impressed. I took a few moments to compose myself from the embarrassment.
How do you tell your guests that a wedding is an unplugged affair? A few ideas:
- Install a nicely framed sign on the ceremony program table. The couple below asked people to be present in the moment and to please turn off cameras and cell phones. Alternatively, use a fun rhyme that I found online, “There is a guy here taking photos, we asked him to come, so please rest your cameras, our ceremony only needs one!” Just keep in mind that people don’t read signs and are excited to take photos. The sign request may not work.
- Make a short announcement before the ceremony begins. Ask everyone to please turn their cell phones and cameras off. Keep in mind that wedding guests spend a lot of money on gifts, transportation, accommodation and sometimes people like to celebrate in their own way by taking photos.
- Let your guests take photos, but ask that they do not share on social media until the bride and groom have gotten their own photos back. I love this idea. A few years ago I was a bridesmaid in one of my best friend’s wedding and I remember her specifically asking “please do not put any photos on Facebook until we get the chance to see photos!” Last month at my own wedding, I did not ask the same request of my guests. Sure enough, the first Facebook photo that went up was from my best girl friend. It makes me laugh – at least it was a good photo!
Remember: the photographer can’t be everywhere at once. Often it is your wedding guests who are able to capture the magical moments. Choose whether to unplug or not with care!
An absolutely stunning wedding venue: a restored Queen Anne Victorian house museum from 1895 located in Phoenix, Arizona. It reminds me of the grandeur of my own wedding venue location.
That is a subtle and polite method to ask people to stay off their phones. It looked like it ended up being a fun event. Love the candle for loved ones who have passed and pouring the sand into the frame.