“Unplugged Wedding” is a term already used in other countries to make guests understand they must enjoy the party and left their phones, cameras, and devices at home, car or turn them off during the celebration, in order to avoid that guests can ruin the hired professional team’s photographs.
As can happen to any other wedding photographer, it’s a very uncomfortable and stressing moment when a guest destroys the perfect moment for the picture you have been hired for. Many guests go out into the hall, other even go after you during the ceremony to take pictures, and the worst are those who attach to your perfect framing, there are those who get close during the first kiss, the old man who is taking video with his iPad in front of my camera or the one who unintentionally makes that half of the family watch to other side during family pictures at the end of the ceremony; all these people are always a headache, sometimes it is very sarcastic because they get mad when I go in front of their camera, they say: “shhhh move” “excuse me sir I am recording” and other things, some of them even push or pull me.
The purpose of this article is to include this idea of “Unplugged Wedding” in our Guatemalan events.
¿What exactly is an unplugged wedding? It’s when the couple asks their family and friends to turn off their phones, iPads, cameras and other digital distractions during the ceremony and party. The purpose is to allow that the hired wedding photographer can capture the moments efficiently and as perfectly as possible, without losing key pictures due to guests’ interventions.
Not long ago, I met a guest who since the moment I saw him, I knew that it was going to be a difficult situation to handle, in his excitement to take pictures to the couple, he didn’t notice that he was getting into all my framing, so I asked the wedding planner to help me inviting him to take his place, he sat for 10 minutes and then he came back to the crime scene. I asked my assistant to request him to please enjoy the ceremony, but he ignored her and continue taking pictures. I got mad and asked him to please not ruin my framing and he only said that his Huawei P30 had a 40 megapixels camera. By my side, I dedicate myself to continue working, but now that I am not working, I want to dedicate a pair of lines to this guest.
There are several well-respected rules in weddings, for instance: Women do not wear white dresses, guests do not say yes if they are not attending the wedding, it is not allowed to publish pictures until the groom sees the bride for the first time, among others. Now, I want to ask a question, why to be so selfish? Are you really going to make a photobook with the pictures from your cell phone? Are you going to print the pictures and give them to the couple’s relatives? I don’t think so! I can assure that your cell phone’s 180 megapixels pictures will be stored and using your phone’s memory and for your grandson’s birthday you will delete them to have more memory, I am also sure that the framing, colors, brightness, contrast and others will never be the same even though your phone has 390 pixels. Why don’t we all respect then? You respect my work and I don’t interrupt your celebration.
It is urgent to take action to this matter and create another well-respected rule in the events. We would all enjoy much more, and the couple will have better documented memories, if we all fulfill our responsibility without affecting others!
It would be incredible if all the weddings could start their ceremonies with the following message: Good evening everybody, welcome friends and family! Please take your seats, the bride and groom invite you all to be present in this special moment. We request you to turn off your phones and put your cameras down. The hired team to document the wedding will capture every instant, so, we cheer you all to remind this moment in your hearts without the technology distraction.
As a wedding photographer, I can’t even count the endless number of pictures that because of a guest with a phone have to be deleted, even when many of those lost pictures would be worthy of a giant canvas or to be a cover page in my photobooks. So, what do you think colleagues, decorators, planners and other people about the concept of having an unplugged wedding?
Please share, leave your comments, anecdotes and experiences!