An Unplugged Wedding
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| The image is at: http://www.cordelephotography.com/ |
This weekend, our officiant at Magnolia Hill politely asked all the guests to turn off their cell phones....first thing.....including their cameras....it was wonderful. It seems
that everyone who attends a wedding these days has a cell phone in their hand,
pocket or purse. Decide before your wedding day if you would like to address
the issue of everyone taking his or her own pictures of your wedding day. For
some, it is quite all right to do so, and for others it is a thorn in their
side. After all, a bride usually pays hard earned money for a professional
photographer to capture all the special moments, without cousin Ethyl standing
up with her cell phone in the middle of a tearful “I do”.
For me, the best solution is to totally let
the professionals handle the ceremony and guests soak up all the emotional vows,
as they are encouraged to put down their phones. They can then laugh, clap, and
dab a tear as they become emotionally involved in the most important part of
the day. This can be accomplished several ways. You might have your officiate
speak to the fact at the beginning of the ceremony that the couple respectfully
requests that all cell phones and cameras be turned off. (The paid professional
photographer will love that for they
won’t have to dodge interference.) When the officiate makes the announcement,
people seem to take serious note.
You might
also put a note in the program as you encourage guests to “unplug, turn off, and tune in to the moment”
of your wedding ceremony. Although many churches do not have camera policies,
more and more couples are drifting toward an unplugged wedding and ask guests
to turn off their devices. A professional photographer once told me, “One thing there is
absolutely nothing I can do to combat is a flash from a
guest photographer’s camera.” A program note might include something to
the fact,
“The
bride and groom have asked that you share in their wedding ceremony fully and
not through the lens of a camera or cell phone.”
At
the reception perhaps is a different story….a chalkboard sign with “Share your photos on Intagram
with #masonandnicole” will let
guests know you are encouraging the sharing of photos. Graciousness and
hospitality are what the south is all about, so add a bit of tech etiquette, as
there are mannerly ways of letting guests know your thoughts on an Unplugged
Wedding.
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| Here the Father Daughter dance has an intruder....the moment will never be captured again. Photographer Corey Ann, an international award-winning photographer based in Northeast Ohio, shares why you might want to ask your guests to put aside their cameras for the night. |
There is a time for
everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
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