6 Reasons Why You Should Have an Unplugged Ceremony
An unplugged ceremony simply means no phones during the ceremony. They stay in your guest’s pocket, on silent mode, and you don’t take them out to take photos or videos. There are two sides to this: Not having an unplugged ceremony enables your wedding guests to take photos on their phones/tablets and they may share them on social media and with you, and you could have some more content. On the other hand, they really aren’t enjoying this special moment with you. Beyond that, it’s incredibly disruptive to photographers. Let’s dive into that.
When phones are in the air, they block the view. Photographers will often move around the ceremony stage throughout the ceremony to capture different angles and viewpoints. When you have a phone out, it can block the bride, the groom, members of your wedding party, the officiant. All of that can be blocked. When I’m shooting the bride and groom during the ceremony, I sometimes like to shoot from the back so I can incorporate wedding guests into my photo because it adds context. You don’t want to be blocked from the photo.
Guests may stand up and block the photographer with their bodies. Yes this has happened to me. I was in the aisle following the bride as she came up the ceremony stage, and I had family members in the first row from BOTH sides stand up, move right in front of me and started snapping on their phones. I’m not making this up, make it make sense. I missed photos of the bride being handed off; one of the most critical moments of the ceremony.
They look incredibly unflattering in the photo. Okay so let’s say the phones aren’t blocking anyone, they still don’t look flattering in the photo. When I’m capturing a photo of the bride in groom, and I have guests in the background for context, and they are holding up their phones in the photo, it not only looks strange, but draws the viewers eyes away from the bride and groom, you want your guests looking at the bride and groom so the viewers eyes follow that and bring them to the main subject: the bride and groom.
It’s not timeless. You want your photos to be timeless. You want to show your grandchildren your photos and by that time, phones will be outdated. Imagine if your parent’s showed you their wedding photos, and it has guests who are holding up a Minolta Maxxum 7000. Oh what is that? exactly.
Ceremonies are a sacred time where your guests should give you their full attention. I know it’s hard to hold onto traditions in this day and age, even though ceremonies are getting shorter and shorter, they still matter. The exchange of vows, the first kiss, integration of bride and groom into their in-law’s families, it’s all symbolic and represents something. Your guests should witness them and not be focused on trying to get the best angles.
You hired a photographer to capture your special moments so your guests don’t have to. What many people forget when they hire a photographer, and this doesn’t just apply to wedding ceremonies, is that your giving the burden to someone else. That might be a weird way to think of it, but that’s with all aspects of life. Just like you hire a mechanic so you don’t have to do your own car maintenance, you hire a photographer so you nor your guests have to worry about that and they can enjoy the day. Not only that, but you’re getting professional quality photos. I have yet to encounter or witness where a guest’s photo came out better than a professional wedding photographer’s photo. It just doesn’t happen.
Wedding guests are likely to default to taking out photos during a ceremony unless asked not to. I suggest placing at unplugged ceremony signage at the back of your ceremony space so that when guests are taking their seats, they are reminded not to engage with their phones. There are many calligraphy signs and artwork that can be found on etsy for very affordable pricing. If you enjoyed reading this article and would like to stay informed on tips and tricks, give me a follow on instagram! Happy Planning!
