An unplugged ceremony is when you ask your guest to put their phones and cameras away during the ceremony.
Of course as videographers we fully support this trend and here is why:
- Pros:
Better photos and videos. When we arrive at your ceremony, your photographer and videographer will most likely come up with a plan, where we will all be during it all. Especially for when you walk down the aisle and the first kiss. We talk about every possible scenario and we plan so we are not on the photographer’s shots, and the photographers are not in our shots. What we can do is talk to all of your guests, whether you have 10 guests, to when you have 300. You never know who is going to take their phones out of their pockets, pull the hand out and ruin your photos or videos. We all know your family and friends are so excited to see you and taking a photo and posting it on their instagram story might be super important to them. But we are talking about YOUR wedding day! And there are moments that only happen once, and it’s so important that your photographer and videographer capture them in the most beautiful way possible.
For months you have been planning this moment that will only happen (hopefully) once! Wouldn’t you want everyone to enjoy it with you without any distractions? Especially in this day and age, we are constantly on our phones. And it’s difficult to listen, when you are checking your snapchat or reading memes. Putting technology away during your wedding ceremony, allows your guest to be mindful and in the moment with you.
- Cons:
Photographers and videographers can take a couple of days or weeks to get your photos and videos edited. So having your guest post photos they day of, might give you some memories to look at right away.
You can hurt feelings. People don’t like being told what they can or can’t do, and this might not be something they understand.
If you decided to do an unplugged ceremony. Here are some ways you can make it happen:
You can give a gentle warning on your wedding website. That way your guest will know ahead of time and it won’t be a surprise the day of.
The day of your wedding you can have a sign at the entrance of your ceremony so everyone can see it when they walk in. Make sure this sign is legible and at eye level.
And lastly, before your ceremony begins, your officiant can make an announcement. For example: “We are about to start, the couple would like this to be an unplugged ceremony, so please put your phones away and refrain from taking any pictures and video” It is very important the officiant makes this announcement before the ceremony begins, we have been to weddings where they wait until the bride walks down the aisle and personally I think by then it’s a little too late. If the officiant is making his entrance with the wedding party, maybe the DJ or your wedding planner can make the announcement.
Of course this is a very personal decision so don’t feel that you have to go one way or another. At the end of the day is YOUR wedding and the most important is that they both of you are happy!
