For the record I would never run over your grandmother during your ceremony. However If she pulls out her little point and shoot camera one more time and steps directly in front of me, were gonna have some issues. Trust me when I say I speak from personal experience on this matter. In all honesty though, I want to touch on some really important things that can legitimately affect how your ceremony shots turn out!
Weddings photo-bombed by devices!
I’m not the only one that’s experienced a screen-saturated-wedding. More and more couples are sharing wedding footage that was bombed by someone’s device, and expressing frustration at how guests were disconnected from the present moment. I don't know about you but, that's definitely not how I want my wedding to go.
Because of this, more couples are requesting loved ones do the UNTHINKABLE, and stash their devices! What will they ever do... For the most part you really only need to worry about your ceremony. It will be the only time of the day where all of your guests will be patiently seated in one concentrated area and you can bet your high dollar each one of them CAN NOT WAIT to whip out their phones and and start snapping away!
With that being said, if you feel irked by the idea of friends and family taking in your big day from behind a screen, consider the following…
Decide how unplugged you want the wedding to be.
Do you want a total moratorium on devices during your ceremony, reception, and everything in between? Or do you just want them banned from the ceremony? Talk it over with your fiance, then move on to the next step.
Tell guests before the wedding.
To avoid confused, or even indignant, guests the day of the wedding, add your unplugged-guidelines to your wedding website, and send an email about your decision a week or two before the celebration kicks off.
Give guests access to your professional photos.
Going all-in with an unplugged wedding? Then consider satisfying grandma's desire for documentation by creating a digital folder of the professional wedding photos you’re comfortable sharing. I do this with all of my clients anyway simply because not every photo was meant to be shared with everyone! Make sure to fill them in on this plan when making your initial unplugged wedding request, as it could soothe anxiety they might experience at the thought of being camera-less during a monumental event. Ensure them that all of the moments they think are meant to be taken with their phones, are probably already being covered by your photographer/filmmaker crew and they will have access to them soon after the wedding!
Create clear parameters for sharing.
If you’re allowing cameras at certain phases of your wedding, but want to be the first to share the images, tell your guests. In the age of live streaming, and posting the moment instead of being in the moment, many don’t think twice about whether the couple is cool with others sharing their wedding images.
If this is important to you, discuss with your fiance what your ask should be – for example, no posting on social media until two weeks after the event – and communicate the ask on your website.
One last option if you're going for an unplugged wedding…
Go old school with disposable cameras.
For a completely phone-free event, consider having disposable cameras up for grabs at the reception. This helps folks satisfy their click-cravings, while providing you a slew of photos from various perspectives to fill that wedding album.
To make sure you end up with the cameras, make an announcement near the end of the reception that you would like the cameras to be left in a designated area.
Well, there you have it!
How to basically not get your Grandmother ran over by your photo & film crew.
