Unplugged: the Gift for Every Guest
You’ve seen the nightmare photos all over the internet (don’t worry, we won’t show you anymore, or give you the horror stories). You know the ones, with guests’ iPads blocking the first kiss, or fifty phones in the air during what ought to be an intimate moment. Maybe you care, maybe you don’t.
By now, you probably know that an unplugged wedding is one where guests are asked not to take photos (especially with their phones) during the wedding. Sometimes, this is just for the reception; sometimes, it’s for the entire wedding. Sometimes, the restriction is just on social media posting. It’s been done a dozen different ways.
But why is this a thing now? Here are all the reasons we know of to consider an unplugged wedding:
The most practical is for the sake of your photos. Yes, we’re photographers, so we’re biased. But we’re also guessing that you don’t want your guests blocking your photographers from capturing important moments, right?
Obviously, you don’t want a phone ringing in the middle of your vows, or a guest jogging out of earshot to take a call. (Yes, we regret to inform you that we’ve experienced both of those things… more than once.) In a time of smartphones and smartwatches, notifications abound. They pull at our consciousness and compete for our attention every second of the day. If you think your guests will be present as you say your vows, think again. The average person touches their cell phone more than 2,000 times per day, with the top 10% of users reaching for it more than 5,000 times in a 24-hour period.
But asking guests to turn off their phones goes beyond capturing their attention: you’ll actually be helping them make better memories. Not to get all sciency on you, but our brains have to choose one of two things to do: 1) make and store a memory, or 2) take a photo. Because our brains can’t actually multitask, we truly can only do one or the other. Which one do you want your guests to do?
Hint: Your photographers are taking care of one of those things.
Lastly, if you or any of your guests are sensitive about your privacy, or if you don’t want the first social media posts of your wedding going up in the middle of your walk down the aisle, an unplugged wedding helps contain all the posting to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and beyond.
If you decide to have an unplugged wedding, it’s pretty easy to convey this decision to your guests.
1. A sign at the entrance to your ceremony site is a great way to keep your wishes fresh on guests’ minds.
2. Before the ceremony begins, have your officiant give a gentle reminder to guests to turn their phones off.
3. If you have a wedding website, or if it can be easily included with your other invitation attachments, let guests know ahead of time that you’d like them to be present.
The choice is yours, and a professional photographer will be able to work around the distractions, or find a way to artfully include them. As with everything, the best decision is the one that honors you, your relationships (not just with each other, but with your family and friends), and your wedding goals.