Ever since The Huffington Post published this piece about “unplugged weddings” the bridal industry has been buzzing even more about them. (Truthfully the term is a couple years old.) And since I promised in the comments of this post that I would address the trend here on BBB I decided to make it my Pick of the Week. In short, an unplugged wedding is one that discourages guests from taking pics and moreover frowns upon Tweeting, Facebooking, Intagraming, etc. during the affair. Here are the immediate benefits to unplugged nuptials:
- Your guests can actually enjoy the day without worrying how many people have RT’d, liked or commented on a wedding photo of you in your gown
- Extended loved ones are less likely to experience any anti-climatic feelings if you ever do decide to publicly share your wedding photos
- Professional photographers and videographers are often hindered by the flashes from guest’s iPads, cameras and phones
One the flip side, sometimes candid shots from guests rock! I’ve heard many newlyweds say that it was the random shot captured by their uncle of the flower girl secretly licking the wedding cake icing that they cherish most from the reception. Does that mean your uncle should shoot your entire wedding? Um, probably not. But it does indicate that amateur shutterbugs have value at weddings and nearlyweds should be carefully consider the pros and cons of an unplugged wedding before declaring guests (who might be a little frustrated by the mandate) shut off their smartphones to watch you say I Do.
I’ve yet to attend an unplugged wedding but since launching Triple B I think I’m more likely to unplug on my own before the ceremony begins. My fiance and I haven’t discussed whether we’re applying this to our big day and while I’m pretty sure we won’t, I would be kinda annoyed if someone is Tweeting pics of us while we’re still at the altar. Thankfully, I don’t foresee this being an issue with our loved ones.
What are your thoughts on unplugged weddings? Great or horrible idea? Leave a comment with your thoughts.
It is a good idea in theory but unless the couple literally takes away everyone’s phones before they enter the ceremony you still can’t prevent people from sharing your wedding pics on social media. Welcome to the information age…
People do way too much over-sharing on FB and Twitter (I’m not even on Instagram yet!) so I think this is a great idea! Let the couple have their day.
I really loved the fact that my defacto FIL took so many great photos along side our pro photog on our big day. We had wedding pics to look at on the flight on the way to our H’moon, while we had to wait for the professional ones for a few weeks. I had no worries about anti-climactic feelings about our pro shots since she took different shots before and after the ceremony. In fact, I asked guests to send me any of their pics that they may have taken – our pros couldn’t be everywhere all the time!
@Patricia – Welcome to the information age is right!
@BK1 & Dawn – Thanks for weighing-in, folks.
To all – What I neglected to include in the post is that there is a difference btn not wanting guests snapping pics at all and not wanting them to share any pics they’ve taken on social media right away — like while the wedding is still going on…
I’m glad Dawn had a positive spin on this because I hadn’t thought of the possible benefits. As someone who doesn’t even have a Fb account and uses Twitter only for work purposes, I would feel a little irked if my event photos were all over the interwebs before I got up to the Honeymoon Suite because I’d want my guests to be fully present and not networking on that long-awaited day. But, I guess this can be an updated version of having disposable cameras on each table for guests to take candid shots (and, it has almost no landfill contribution). Maybe ask guests who do take photos to email/upload them to a specified location and request that they not post them elsewhere. Then, the couple can access them and enjoy the memories.
However, there may also be a role for delayed gratification. Some couples may want to keep the ‘mental pictures’ then have a separate joy later when reviewing the wonderful, valuable candid shots when they return from the H-moon. Honor your own preference and, no matter what, don’t let anyone/anything steal your joy on such a special day.
I’m feeling a bit guilty. I can honestly say that I’ve been that person uploading pics to FB during the reception (not ceremony) on numerous occasions. This is something I’ll be mindful of going forward.
@Erica J. – I’ve never posted to FB during a reception (I don’t think) but I do recall being a picture taking fool last summer during a wedding where my nieces were flower girls. Not once did I ever think about how I might have been obstructing the view of the pro photog that was hired to capture the day on film. When you know better, you do better…
@Ronda – The last sentence of your comment pretty much sums up how I feel, too.
So, of course I get an email from The Knot today advertising their photo upload site and app. They designed it so that guests can snap pics and put them into the app for the bride & groom. It’s something to consider if you are inviting shutterbugs and is a nice way to get your candid shots.
BBB family: Would anyone consider doing this INSTEAD of hiring a professional photog? I’m not sure I am ready for that but, some younger ladies might be ready to innovate…
@Ronda – …INSTEAD of a pro photog? Prob not. There are a lot of great portraits (especially of fam that rarely gets together in mass for a celebratory occasion) and treasured prep pics — bride and groom getting dressed, etc. — before the ceremony that would likely go missed if so.
Yeah, it’s very risky.
I have no plans to do so.