Are You Having An Unplugged Wedding Ceremony?

I'm having an unplugged ceremony. I know that half the people at my wedding are going to want to record/take pictures during an I don't want anyone having to strain there necks to look around someone's phone.

At the chapel guests are not allowed to take pictures at all, so it has to be unplugged.

Yes we are unplugged guests think it's great. Those that have babysitters have a # to hostess station and will have a pager .

We are having an unplugged ceremony. It's important for us, its our belief that's this is a precious moment for us to share with our closest family and friends thus the reason why we are personally selecting those we are inviting to be there to witness this moment in our lives. If we wanted to stream it for everyone else to see then we'd invite no one and put it on web and live stream. I want our guest to with us in the moment not on their screens.

We sort of did, I had a note in our programs asking people to turn off their phones during the ceremony, and our officiant was supposed to make an announcement as well, but there was a miscommunication with the DJ so that didn't happen. Our ceremony was only 10-15 minutes long, I didn't notice anyone taking pictures and nobody's phone went off. It definitely depends on your crowd, the main thing is you don't want people jumping out of their seats or blocking others' view trying to get a good picture.

We will be doing an unplugged ceremony for sure! We have a lot of friends and family who love to be on their phones or forget to silence their phones unless someone reminds them to!

We will have our officiant make an announcement right before the ceremony starts so people can silence and/or turn off all phones and cameras.

We are having an unplugged wedding. With all the money we are paying our photographer I do not want to have a million phones, cameras, ipads, in the background of our professional pictures. I also don't want anyone going live during our wedding on Snapchat, FB, Instagram. I want the guests to be present. We are both actually hoping and planning to be unplugged the entire day as well.

I definitely am! I have a sign and our officiant will say a gentle reminder before the ceremony begins.

I just don't want phones blocking the aisle during our wedding when the photographer is trying to get some good shots! I want the focus to be on me and FH, not on the phones in people's hands!

Our venue doesn't allow any cell phones or cameras to be out during the ceremony so yes we will be unplugged lol. If we had the choice I'd still go with unplugged though. I don't want people's faces in their phones while I'm walking down the isle

I will not be asking my guests to do this because I feel like it errs on the insulting side to tell people what to do at a party where they've come from all around and given gifts just to support you, but the last few weddings I've been to had no formal announcement or sign and the phone usage wasn't too bad - I feel like people are starting to get the memo.

I know this is popular, but it really rubs me the wrong way. I have no right to tell an adult what to do with their personal property. I've never been to a wedding where phones were a problem. And as a guest, I've snapped maybe one photo at most at an appropriate time. Guests can capture different moments anyways. I got the most touching photo of my FBIL sitting in front of me shedding a tear at his sister's wedding. It didn't distract anyone to take it, and it's definitely a favorite.

ETA: If someone wants to be a jerk and text the whole time, they're going to look like an idiot and it's on them, not me.

View Quoted Comment

If your officiant makes the announcement....isn't that going to be after you walk down the aisle?

View Quoted Comment Nope. Every wedding I’ve seen the officiant announces it before any of the procession begins.

I know for certain that my sister, brother in law, FMIL, and at least two friends are utterly glued to their devices. So for us, it makes sense to ask people to keep their phones down for the ceremony.

Lately I've been seeing a lot of people posting photos of weddings as they're happening, often before the bride and groom get to put anything on social media. Not sure how I feel about that one either.

View Quoted Comment

Interesting. The one unplugged ceremony I went to, the officiant didn't say anything before the processional and it was announced when the couple was at the alter. But hey, if you have it organized in a way that works, rock on!

I am still on the fence about it. I will have our pastor make an announcement to at least have our guests silence their phones during the ceremony.

Nope, we aren't having an unplugged ceremony, I personally don't see if being that big of a deal. Sometimes, some of the best pictures are those from the guests.

View Quoted Comment

Totally agree, knowing your audience and guests is a good tactic, first and foremost. Most people know when it is best to put their phone away. Some couples choose to have an announcement made by the officiant and/or have a sign politely encouraging guests to not have their phones out, so the "strictness" of enforcing this unplugged wedding detail is flexible but the concept/goal is still there.

View Quoted Comment

This is true, sometimes guests do catch a unique perspectives or a different view, a guest-eye-view (haha.. like birds-eye-view... but guests-eye)

View Quoted Comment

Totally true, good point