The Unplugged Wedding Ceremony 📱
Written By: Jordana Snyder, Photographer Owner of Jordana Snyder Photography
Every detail of your wedding day is important, beautiful, and perfectly planned. It is no wonder why your guests want to show off your amazing wedding details on their social media channels! Your wedding guests want to capture a unique photo or video of you, especially during your ceremony. They want to congratulate you on your big day! Unfortunately, some of those guests will allow all logical etiquette to fly out the window to capture that “perfect cell phone photo.” You don’t want your guests compromising your cherished wedding ceremony moments … This is why an unplugged wedding ceremony is a very popular request amongst planning couples.
Q: What exactly is an unplugged wedding ceremony?
A: An unplugged wedding ceremony is when you politely ask your guests to turn off their devices to be fully present with you in the moment. This can be done with a sign, printed in your wedding program, or mentioned verbally by your officiant.
Q: Will my guests think it’s rude if we request no photos at our ceremony?
A: No, the unplugged wedding ceremony trend is very popular and is widely recognized and respected by most wedding guests.
As an experienced wedding photographer, I have seen many wedding guests' cell phones cloud their judgment. Picture this: a beautiful bride and loved one are walking down the aisle. Just as they reach the front of the church, an unsuspecting wedding guest from the front row pew, wearing a bright yellow outfit, steps into the middle of the aisle. They proceed to take pictures on their phone of the hugging and crying between the bride, loved one, and the groom. For this particular ceremony, I was only able to photograph from the back of the aisle as they walked in. Because of that particular guest, all of the professional photos of this moment were ruined. I, along with many photographers, have far too many stories of a guest stepping or leaning into the aisle during the hug, vows, or first kiss as a married couple to snap the perfect photo or video. Unfortunately, once in a lifetime special moments are being stolen by your guests' cell phones.
While your guests mean well, they are stepping in front of the photographer you’re paying to capture the important moments of your day. I personally believe the unplugged wedding ceremony is a huge win! Your guests will be more present during this special moment of your day, you will have beautiful wedding photos from your hired photographer, and no memories will be stolen by a guest with a cell phone. As an added bonus, you won't have ugly cell phone screens & cases lining the aisles in your cherished ceremony pictures. After the ceremony, it is time to let loose, invite your guests to take pictures, post, Snap, and TikTok all their favorite parts and details of your amazing wedding reception.
