28 Mar Ensuring An Unplugged Wedding Ceremony

Over the years I’ve seen a growing problem of guests using their phones (and iPads, for cry’n out loud) during ceremonies to capture the bride walking down the aisle or the kiss. It’s pretty much a no-no in all houses of worship and doesn’t happen quite as much, but I still see that happen occasionally. At venues other than a church it’s practically a given that you will have these part-time shutterbugs rare their ugly phones. We’ve all seen those photos on the internet that would have been amazing but some schmuck unknowingly (or uncaringly) photo bombed it. A couple of years ago couples started going to signage that asked guests to go unplugged and put their phones away during the ceremony. This worked some but it’s still not fool-proof. So today I’m sharing with you what I have been doing for about a year now and it has worked beautifully. I get with a couple’s minister prior to their ceremony to go over specifics to make their rehearsal go smoothly but I also ask if he or she would be willing to speak to the congregation prior to the ceremony to remind them to put away their phones, etc.. Basically the gist is to convey that this a special time for the couple and is first and foremost a religious ceremony that is due respect. Ministers/priests will communicate this in their own words but guests really seem to sit up and take notice and fall in line. So far this has worked very well!

I also talk with the minister about stepping to the side for the photo of the kiss as well and you can read about that in my post called You May Now Kiss The Bride.

Photo: Allison Lewis Photography