On today’s ‘Wedding Wednesday’ I will go through what an unplugged ceremony is and why, from a wedding photographer’s point of view, you should definitely consider it for your own wedding. Before I go into it though, I want to stress that having your guests taking their own photos is not a problem, and I want to approach this subject from both sides. After all, they are quite rightly super excited to see you get married! At the end of the day I am a professional and I know how to work in less than ideal circumstances. I am simply suggesting the idea of an unplugged ceremony more for the bride and groom’s sake, not my own.

What Does An Unplugged Ceremony Mean?

An unplugged ceremony or wedding is when guests are asked to put down or turn off their phones, iPads and cameras during either the ceremony or for the entirety of the wedding. There are many reasons for this, the main one is to avoid loads of your guests being on their phones and end up with your professional photos looking like this, but also to stop your guests posting about your wedding on social media.

Why You Should Consider It

For The Ceremony

As a photographer, one of the number one things that could impact my work is unfortunately your guests. It is a hurdle I am more than used to and I can find ways around it of course, but if you have a load of guests on their phones trying to take their own photos in front of me, in moving to avoid them it could sacrifice one of my better angles. Sometimes though it can be impossible to avoid guests on their phones due to the layout of the venue etc, and you don’t want to be looking back at your beautiful photos and have your eyes immediately drawn to someone in the foreground on their phone. It is not unheard of for guests to stand in the aisle whilst the bride walks down or jumping up to take a photo during the first kiss. We’re all human at the end of the day; no guest gets in the way of the photographer on purpose, it’s just because they are so excited to see you get married and they aren’t thinking about the photographer standing behind them. But if you remove the temptation before they even arrive, it can make your guests think twice and certainly make the photographer’s life easier. We want to be focusing on the best angles, not trying to manoeuvre between your guests.

For Family Photos

Another way it can impact your wedding is during the posed family photos. I can’t tell you how many photos I’ve had to bin or edit because I’ve set up a family photo, only for all of them to be looking off to the right at a family member using the opportunity to take a photo on their phone. Some of those photos would have been album-worthy. Again, it’s something I’m used to and can work around, but it does hinder the process a little. The family photos are an important part of the day, but I want to complete it as efficiently as possible so you can get back to your guests at cocktail hour quicker and have a good time. You will be doing the family photos for a lot longer if there are a lot more people involved. So while it’s not a problem, it’s still something to consider.

For Your Privacy

Something else to consider is privacy. Your guests being on their phones may not bother you in the least, however you may not want anyone posting photos of your day on social media for whatever reason. Maybe you are having a very intimate wedding and don’t want to publicise that (especially to people that couldn’t be invited). Maybe you just want to be the first to announce your marriage on social media, or you just generally what your privacy respected. A lot of couple’s don’t want any day guests posting on social media simply because they don’t want to ruin it for the evening guests. Either way, if you fall into this category then you need to make this clear to your guests.

It’s All About What YOU Want

People may argue that there is too much pressure on the photos being perfect, and that capturing your guests taking their own photos is just a part of the whole day that you are documenting, and therefore they should be left to it. This is certainly true, especially with documentary-style photography becoming a big hit with couples in recent years. At the end of the day it is completely up to you as a couple for you to decide what style of photos you want. If your guests taking their own photos doesn’t bother you then thats great. If you’re happy, I’m happy. At the end of the day, my job is to capture the day as you want it, and so far I’ve never missed any of those key shots, regardless of what your guests are doing. But if the idea of your photos being full of guests on their phones stresses you out, then an unplugged ceremony may be the way to go.

As a wedding photographer, I will always meet with you before the wedding to go through all the details to make sure I capture the day exactly as you want it. So this is something I discuss with all my couples in that meeting. If it doesn’t bother them then that’s great. But I have had couples who hadn’t ever considered it, suddenly realise they don’t want loads of phones in their ceremony photos, in which case I will further discuss the options with them.

Be Conscious Of Your Guests Needs

Having an unplugged wedding can be great in many ways, more than anything it helps your guests truly be in the moment, without viewing it through a lens. However there can be drawbacks to this depending on the type of guests you have. For example, if you aren’t inviting children to your wedding for whatever reason, then a lot of your guests will likely be hiring babysitters and will need access to their phones all day just in case. In this regard, you really can’t expect guests to completely turn their phones off all day, but you can politely ask them to refrain from taking photos just during the ceremony if an unplugged approach is what you want. All your guests will naturally be very excited about your wedding as well, so they might be very disappointed if you tell them they can’t take photos. A way round this is for either your photographer, officiant or bridal party to announce that there will be a photo opportunity later, for example after the signing of the register at the end of the ceremony. Or after you’ve taken the posed family photos, allow guests to take their own photos quickly afterwards. There are lots of ways you can approach this, and you need to find a way that works for you as a couple.

How To Tell Your Guests

Be Tactful and Polite

It’s important not to be too firm about these things, or your guests will interpret it the wrong way. Phrase it in a way that makes it seem beneficial for your guests, not just yourselves. For example you could say something along the lines of “We invite you to be truly present at the celebration of our marriage, and kindly ask that you refrain from taking photos until the opportunities given.” This not only encourages the guests to truly experience your wedding, but also suggests that there will be opportunities for them to take photos at some point, so it doesn’t completely take away their chance to take photos of you. If this way feels a little too formal for you though, you could make a short poem about it instead or inject some humour into it.

Use Your Invites

If you really want an unplugged ceremony, you can prepare your guests ahead of time by printing a note about it on the information card with your invites. Alternatively you can post it on your wedding website if you have one. It’s a good way to save any potential disappointment on the day.

Use Signage

You can buy or create your own sign, asking guests to put their phones and iPads away, which can be placed where the guests will see it as they enter the ceremony space. There are plenty of different signs you can purchase online, some serious, some more humorous. (On a side note: when buying for your wedding, try to support small, local businesses where you can!) These are just a few great examples I’ve found, if you like them, click on the image to follow the link.

Nominate Someone

You can ask some of your bridal party to encourage your guests to stow their phones as they arrive, or alternatively ask the officiant to make an announcement before the ceremony begins. Letting someone with authority impart the news will take some of the stress off of you.

Hopefully this has given you an unbiased overview on the positives and negatives of having an unplugged ceremony and will allow you to make a decision that’s right for you. Personally I prefer unplugged weddings both as a vendor and as a guest, but the choice must be up to you, the couple, and no one else. After all, it’s your day. Happy planning!

Unplugged Ceremonies