Unplugged Ceremony

Our officiant will make an announcement.

We are just displaying a large sign at the ceremony entrance, but I don't think it'd be weird at all to have the officiant announce it.

Not weird at all! We are also requesting an unplugged ceremony and our officiant has already said he will make that announcement just before the start of the ceremony. We are also putting up a sign and on our wedding website. Now I just hope everyone can actually stick to it!

This was super important to daughter & SIL; they'd seen too many professional wedding pictures ruined by thoughtless guests. They had a small sign in the lobby area of the venue near the guest book, they spread the word early and often during the wedding planning (they handled their friend group and I reached out to the relatives on our side -- who have a track record for thinking they are great photographers who should be taking pictures of everything), as the GM helped seat people they "politely" reminded them to please turn off their phones, and finally the officiant made an announcement just before the processional began. It worked! Not a single guest posted or shared any photos from the ceremony and when they received all 1100+ edited pictures from the photographer, not a single phone or camera is visible during the ceremony. Good luck! My advice, be clear and firm about what you want.

This is what I have written under the ceremony information part of my wedding website here on Wedding Wire. Definitely also having the officiant announce it!

The best way is to have the officiant announce it. Most people won’t pay attention to a sign or something in a program.

We’ll be putting a note about the unplugged ceremony in the program and our officiant will make an announcement right before the ceremony begins.

We had a VERY visible sign when you first came into be seated at our ceremony. Almost everyone adhered to it. But the only down side is I did hear about it from family members later on. Really snarky remarks. I was willing to deal with those comments to avoid having my pictures ruined though.

View Quoted Comment Good to know! I am hesitant to be that aggressive about this issue but I am so sick of people having their phones out at a wedding even in a church! I will be doing all of those things you mentioned. I paid a lot for pictures I don't want to see someone's phone.

Our officiant will be doing just that; making an announcement after he enters and before the wedding party walks in. Signs are too easy to ignore or pass by.

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Exactly! We had a relative get married about 6 months before daughter, and members of our extended family IMMEDIATELY were posting pictures from the ceremony -- in a Catholic church -- and in all of their pictures all you saw was 15 other people holding up their cell phones.... As soon as they started posting those pictures, I sent an email (we live across the country and didn't attend that wedding) to the family guests on our side, including a couple of the worst offenders at the other wedding, and said this was super important to daughter and SIL. They were clear they did not want guests taking pictures during their ceremony. One of the "offenders" sent back a snotty, "Well, good luck with that! What are you going to do to stop me????" response to everyone on the email. I responded back that since it was what the B&G wanted, we would think people who loved them would be respectful of their wishes. I also attached the "best" photo of one of daughter's best friend's professional photos of her and her dad walking down the aisle at her wedding, in which two guests were standing in the aisle blocking the photographer's view of the bride.... Nobody said another word to us after that. I'm sorry, but people don't have an "inalienable right" to take pictures at someone else's event....

I was going to have my officiant come first and before any of the processional starts he would announce for those to find a seat and turn or silence cell phones

We're asking our DOC to let guests know when they arrive and then our officiant will make announcement before the ceremony begins.

My sister will act as our master of ceremonies and will come out before the processional to make the announcement to turn off cellphones, cameras and tablets. I am also going to say something to my fiance and our groomsman who are acting as ushers to be speaking to people we know like to take photos of everything as they are seated as an extra precaution. I'm only getting married once and I'll be dammed if my very expensive photos are ruined because Aunt Cheryl cant keep her stupid phone out of her nose

I would definitely have your officiant announce it prior to the ceremony starting. I originally wanted an unplugged ceremony but then got paranoid about technical errors with the photographer losing photos so decided against it.

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Ugh, people these days! At least be respectful of the bride and grooms wishes and the fact that you are in a place of worship. My photographer is not shy about telling people to move out of his way or otherwise. I totally back him.

Thanks everyone! I COMPLETELY agree - it’s insanely rude to take pictures during someone’s ceremony, ESPECIALLY if they post them on social media before the couple gets a chance to! I just hate the idea of having my professional photos ruined. Thanks for the advice!

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Yes! Daughter's photographers weren't shy either, but in the middle of the ceremony they won't have the opportunity to ask someone to move in order to get the perfect shot. We found being very direct with people beforehand and the day of worked out, and if they thought we were rude, too darn bad. (I also think some of them had never really thought about how their behavior would potentially impact the way the pro photos would look, so some of it was "education." )

We had "We invite you to be fully present during our ceremony. please turn off all cell phones and cameras. Thank you!" at the bottom of our programs & also had the officiant mention something about it during his welcome. As far as what I've seen from our pictures, people seemed to listen.

You could do all 3, if you are really worried about it. We may ask our officiant to say something, but more like keep your hands out of the aisle and down so the photographer can do her job rather than no phones at all.