The Unplugged Ceremony And The #Hashtagged Reception

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So you're getting married! Congratulations! But you're already agonizing over your wedding guests pulling out their smartphone/iPad/Tablet during your ceremony! 

It's a bride's worst nightmare. You've envisioned your wedding for years, you're walking down the aisle to the man of your dreams, then Mary Ellen steps out in front of you to take a photo of the groom's face staring at you! Problem is, now he has to shift his view causing a less than exciting expression as you get closer. Disappointing right? Thanks Mary Ellen for ruining the perfect moment! 

Sadly, this happens all too often. You can't have a redo. It's this very moment that you will forever have, it will be captured by your professional photographer that you have hired. But even they have obstacles with guests jumping out in the middle of the aisle. Thanks to Mary Ellen, the perfect picture op of the groom staring at his bride, was ruined. You can't get that moment back.

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Talk to your photographer and your wedding planner (if you have hired one). Come up with a plan to have a completely unplugged ceremony and stick to it. 

"I've had officiant's make an announcement before the ceremony began that asked guests to please refrain from taking photos", Virginia Conaway, owner of A Day To Remember Wedding & Event Planning, LLC. "Most of the time, guests respect that." 

If you don't want to have your officiant make an announcement, create a cute sign that goes with the rest of your decor and place it near your ceremony for guests to see. 

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Yay! You're officially married!

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Now that your ceremony is over, your guests can now whip out their cellular devices and snap away! It's not that you were punishing them from social media, it's that this is YOUR day, your wedding, your ceremony. It is a very special day and you want to be able to remember it, without Mary Ellen standing in your way!

Make sure you have more cute signs letting guests know that it is now okay to start taking photos and it is even encouraged. 

But please make sure to discuss with your photographer and wedding planner, special moments throughout the night where it is important to not let Mary Ellen get in the way again, such as the cake cutting. At this point it is up to your hired wedding professionals to nicely ask Mary Ellen to please wait her turn during these special moments. Many guests don't realize that their simply little flash on their device or camera will completely ruin a professional photographers chance of capturing these memories that the wedding couple has hired them to take.


(If you have any ruined photographs from your event, we would love to share them. We feel that if examples are shown, more guests may simply get the point, without being told.) Submit them Here!
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