Unplugged Wedding Ceremony: A Note to Wedding Guests

A Message to Wedding Guests from a Bordeaux Wedding Photographer

Yes, it is important to talk about guests taking photos during the wedding.

A short announcement that concerns everyone! I want to speak to the guests who use their smartphones or cameras during weddings. And to couples-to-be: what if you held a completely "unplugged" wedding ceremony?!

In this photo, the groom had to lean out into the aisle to see his bride-to-be walking towards him. Why? Because guests and their phones were in the aisle, blocking his view of her.

If you are going to a wedding, please bear these points in mind:

• Guests with phones, iPads or cameras get in the photographer’s way. They do not know how to stay out of the frame, and they often ruin many of our photos, making them unusable. Couples pay their photographer a significant amount of money, which means they expect to receive truly beautiful photos. We cannot do our job properly if people get in our way.
• Even more annoying: sometimes guests also get in the couple’s way. The couple will miss moments of their own wedding because there is an iPad in front of them. They will not be able to see their partner’s face coming down the aisle.
• Guests’ photos are generally not very good. You will not take great photos with your smartphone by leaning into the aisle of a dark church to photograph a moving subject. Even many professionals struggle with this kind of shot.
• During ceremonies, especially religious ones, climbing up to the altar next to the priest to take a photo really is not acceptable… unless you have been allowed to.
• Remember that you will receive the official, high-quality photographs, so there is no need to waste time taking the same shots. Enjoy the moment.

One last point about guests’ photos during the wedding

• Imagine the couple, in the middle of their wedding ceremony, glancing quickly at their guests to make sure you are sharing these happy moments with them, perhaps even shedding a tear. What do they see? NO FACES, BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL HIDDEN BEHIND PHONES OR CAMERAS… It is doubtful that this is what they want to remember of their wedding ceremony.

It is more and more fashionable now: more and more couples announce in their invitations that they are holding an unplugged wedding. No technology, please. Write it on a board that guests can see when they arrive on the day. Ask your officiant, minister or priest to tell your guests at the start of the ceremony.

You have been invited to this wedding to share and celebrate the joy two people feel for each other. They did not invite you to take photos, and they will almost certainly never look at them. They want you with them, in heart and mind. They want to see your eyes filled with tears as you take part in their wedding ceremony. You are the witnesses of their marriage, so please, look at them with your eyes and your hearts, not through your phones.

Dear guests, for your wedding photographer and for the two people getting married, remember to leave your cameras at home, and enjoy the moment.

To see what the photos of a ceremony lived to the full look like, browse my wedding stories.