I have read multiple blog posts about Unplugged Ceremonies as, I agree, there are many reasons to consider asking your guests to resist taking photos, or even banning the use of mobile devices, during your wedding ceremony. This article’s purpose is to voice a differing opinion, so you can make an informed decision on what works best for your wedding day.
As a wedding vendor, I know what it feels like to be paid a handsome sum of money for services provided on a very important day for your clients—in some cases the most important and expensive day of their lives. And as an organizationally-minded perfectionist, I definitely know what it feels like to have an idea, goal—or in this case, photo—sabotaged. It’s the opposite of great! I sympathize with couples who have had once-in-a-lifetime moments essentially ruined (like the viral video of the groom straining to see his bride across a sea of iPhones) so I understand the goal of unplugged ceremonies is to nip a potential photo catastrophe, like that, in the bud.
But you may also be hindering a guest from enjoying your wedding day to the extent they wanted to. Yes, the photographer will take professional photos that they’ll share with you—the bride and groom—you may post them in an album on Facebook that people can look through... but it’s just not the same as your great aunt going home and looking at a picture she took on your wedding day from where she was sitting or standing or—hopefully—dancing!
As wedding photographer and small business inspiration, Jasmine Star, put it in a blog post speaking on wedding guests taking pictures, “It was their memory, their vantage point, they wanted to keep as their own.” There may be a big difference in photo quality and composition, but there’ll also be a big sentimental difference between the professional’s and their own picture.
So, no matter what your inclined to do, decide what’s most important for you and what will allow everyone invited to your wedding enjoy themselves on your big day, and make decisions based on that.
And remember, through all this wedding planning madness, to keep your chin up! Once that day is over a new adventure is just beginning.
Check out a similarly themed article to this one—Your Wedding Day Is Not About You—for more thoughts on why your guest’s happiness is so important.
All The Best To You & Yours,
Hannah (& Ben)