Please Have an Unplugged Ceremony

Hey everyone! Happy BB Day!

Today, I’m just going to say one thing: PLEASE HAVE AN UNPLUGGED CEREMONY.

As a wedding photographer, time and time again, I have seen couples have a big beautiful sign at the front of the chapel or ceremony area asking their guests to kindly not have any electronic devices, phones, cameras, anything out during their ceremony, AND THEY STILL DO IT.

It’s really annoying as a photographer, because then these phones and cameras get in the way of the shots I’m taking and might end up ruining their professional wedding photos. So today on the Banter, I’m going to share a few reasons why you NEED to have an unplugged ceremony and how to make sure it stays unplugged.

#1) It makes everyone present and enjoy the moment.

Guests will be way more relaxed if they are not the ones having to take photos. Duh, you hired a professional wedding photographer to take your photos so they shouldn’t worry about lame phone photos. Some guests like to think that if they get photos on their phone first, they can be the first ones to post on social media and be super cool because they were the first ones or they got a better shot than other people. It’s also an instant-gratification thing where people have to be the first ones to post about you getting married- even though most people know about it already. Having an unplugged ceremony allows them to be stress-free, even though it might be tough for them, and enjoy the ceremony that only happens once.

#2) Phones and Cameras won’t get in the way of the photographer.

This is why you hired a professional photographer to capture your big day- to have nice photos of everything. Why would you want to settle for iPhone grainy photos that might not look good. Yes, you get your guests’ photos sooner, but do you want professional, clear, awesome photos? Or one from your aunt’s phone? With everyone’s phones out, most of the time, they get in the shot of the bride walking down the aisle, the first kiss, and everything in-between. Most photographers now have this clause in their contracts that says they are not held responsible if a guest whips out their phone and gets in the way during an important moment, but still—- you don’t want to risk that happening to you.

So how can you prevent this from happening?

#1) Have a BIG sign at the beginning of your ceremony area stating that its an unplugged ceremony. Big bold letters and even let the people hanging out the ceremony program or ushering you in to mention to have all phones and cameras put away.

#2) Ask your officiant to start by saying to have everything put away RIGHT FROM THE START. Even make it threat-like even if necessary. Something like “The Bride and Groom ask that all guests put away their phones and cameras and be present with them during this special moment”. They have hired a professional to take the photos, so just sit back and relax, or else…” lol

Something to think about if you are a guest and want photos on your phone…

Are you going to print the photos you took on your phone?

Are you going to hang them up in your home?

Are you going to make them your new profile picture or your phone background?

Most of the time, those answers are ‘no’ from wedding guests, so why jump in front of the professional photographer who is paid to be there to get a crappy iPhone photo you won’t look at after the wedding day?

Guess what, the couple might actually want to print these photos out, hang them up in their newlywed home, put in a wedding album, so please think about respecting the couple and the photographer, and let them take high-resolution and high-quality photos that they are being paid a lot of money to be there to take.

Having a plan in place to make sure people don’t whip out their phones is absolutely necessary. Yes, you can’t control everyone who wants to get a picture first, but you can take the above actions to make it less likely at your wedding.

Hope this helps with planning your ceremony and figuring out how to have an unplugged ceremony. I highly, highly recommend it and you honestly won’t regret it at all.

Happy Bridal Banter Day!

Also, check out some adorable Unplugged Ceremony signs on Etsy here.