Tips and Tricks: Why You Should Consider an Unplugged Ceremony
While taking in a beautiful wedding, making sure I capture every moment necessary for the bride and groom to effectively relive their day through my images, I look over to see the father of the bride on his cell phone recording the ceremony. This absolutely broke my heart. I turned around to walk farther back in the church and see several people on their phones or cameras taking photos and video. All I could think was, why?
If you haven’t considered this in your wedding planning, I would urge you to consider to do an unplugged ceremony. An unplugged ceremony is a ceremony where everyone’s cell phones and cameras are tucked away and out of sight so they can be present in the moment. I think this is SO important, and it always makes me sad when I see people consumed by taking photos of the moment rather than living it.
Here are my top reasons for having an unplugged ceremony:
Stay in the moment- By asking for an unplugged ceremony, this allows your guests to be fully invested in your ceremony and remember the moment. When they are looking through a lens, they are less likely to see or remember all of the little details.
Keeps photos clean- This may seem like an odd reason, but hear me out. We have all seen those photos on Facebook with cellphones reaching out in the aisle obstructing the view of the photographer. No, there isn’t always a giant iPad out in the aisle, but even a few cellphones are so distracting and get in the way. The bride should only be focusing on her groom as she walks down the aisle, not all the phones and cameras in her way.
Cuts down on distractions- We have all been to a wedding or other even where someone has a phone out and it is making noises or the flash is going off. It is so distracting for everyone there for sounds to be going off or flashes to be firing. It takes away from the beautiful, intimate moment that is happening.
No awkward, unwanted photos posted- Let’s be honest, everyone has a feature about themselves that they are not comfortable with. Most couples will tell their photographer what that may be so they make sure not to grab any photos that the couple is uncomfortable with and especially not post any. Guests won’t know this or what to do to capture the best angles, so a lot of the time, when I see guests photos posted online, they are not at the best angles or what the couple would like.
Your photographer will be so appreciative- The fact that your photographer won’t have to struggle to shoot past phones or worry about stumbling into others trying to grab the same shot means a lot to us photographers. There is so much we have to worry about on wedding days as it is; worrying about tripping over others is not something we should have to worry about if we can avoid it.
What do you think? Is an unplugged ceremony something you would consider? I did it for my wedding and I am SO glad I did. I loved being able to look out in to the crowd and see everyone’s faces rather than their phones. Tell me what you think about unplugged ceremonies!