Unplug Your Wedding

We all know social media takes up a lot of our lives right now and many of us are addicted to our phones, so how do you ensure your guests are truly present on your day? Why not Unplug your Wedding?

Unplugged weddings are becoming more and more popular with couples wanting their guests to enjoy the day as much as them and not be distracted by their electronic devices.

Guests trying to take photos of you may ruin some otherwise great shots your professional photographer has captured. So as with any special request you make of your wedding guests, you need to be sensitive and respectful.

How to Unplug your Wedding

Requesting your guests to unplug can be achieved in a number of ways, if you have a wedding website, a note with your invitations, give your officiant a few words to say before the ceremony, print it in your order of service or have a sign made for your venue.

You don’t have to have a total ban on devices throughout the day. You may opt to have certain periods unplugged, for example, the ceremony and the first dance. This way you can be sure that your official photographer will get some great images without your guests impacting on them for the wrong reasons.

If you talk to any professional photographer they will all have stories of how they missed the first glance from the groom looking for his bride due to guests stepping into their path. Also, professional photographers can be restricted in some churches as to where they are allowed to take photographs from so having your guests remain in their seats will make their job much easier.

Social Media

If you don’t want any images on social media until you as a couple has decided which one to share, then make sure your guests are aware of this. Again this request could be added to the invitation or order of service. The last thing you want to do is offend your guests so here are a few ideas on how to request they unplug:

If you are asking through your wedding website or invitations:

We want you to be able to really enjoy our wedding day, feeling truly present and in the moment with us. We’ve hired an amazing wedding photographer who will be capturing the way the wedding looks and we’re inviting each of you to sit back, relax, and just enjoy how the wedding feels. We’re respectfully asking that everyone consider leaving all cameras and phones off. Of course, we will happy to share our wedding photos with you afterwards!

If you are printing it on your order of service:

We want you to be able to relax and have fun with us today! This in mind, we invite you to put down all your favourite devices and just be present in the moment with us. Please leave your camera in your bag (we’ve got photography covered!), and put your phone on mute (we promise they’ll call back!).
We’re happy to share our professional wedding photos later, but the greatest gift you can give us today is just being fully here with us in this sacred and special moment.

OR

The bride and groom have asked that you share in their wedding fully and not through the lens of a camera or mobile phone.

If your wedding officiant is requesting on your behalf

Heartfelt

I invite you to be truly present at this special time. Please, turn off your mobile phones and put down your cameras. The photographer will capture how this moment looks. I encourage you all to capture how it feels with your hearts, without the distraction of technology.

Humorous

Ladies and gentlemen, prior to wedding take-off, all seatbacks and tray tables must be in their upright and locked positions, all bags properly stowed, and all portable electronic devices turned off and stowed. This includes mobile phones and cameras.

Wording for signs for your venue

Welcome to our “Unplugged Wedding”
We invite you to be fully present with us during the ceremony.
Please turn off all mobile phones and put your cameras away.
Thank you!

OR

We really want to see your faces, not your devices…
Please put away your phones and cameras until after the ceremony.
Plus our photographer is awesome and likes to share…

OR

As we tie the knot, please be our guest
The photographer here will handle the rest
These moments go fast, as I’m sure you well know
So put your cameras down, as we’ve hired a pro

OR

A polite note from {Name & Name}
We hope after the ceremony you will take lots of snaps
But hoping you can keep them under wraps!
Feel free to share them later on in the day
But we ask that you wait until the evening is underway
We would like our evening guests to come and take a look before the pictures are posted on Facebook

Share your Wedding Photographs

Finally, if you are asking guests not to take photos then make sure you share a few images with your guests within a couple days of the wedding. Most wedding photographers will have a password protected gallery online that you can share with your guests after the day. You could make prints of your favourite images to include with your thank you cards.

If you think highly enough of these people to ask them to be guests at your wedding then they will respect your wishes and it won’t be an issue for them to “unplug your wedding”!

I hope you have found this article useful! I would love to chat with you about being your Wedding Photographer.

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