Are you worried about people being more engaged in their phones than in your wedding!? The fear is entirely rational! It’s a fair concern these days.  There are many reasons you may be considering asking your guests to put their phones down during your big day.

3 WAYS TO ENCOURAGE YOUR GUESTS TO PUT THEIR PHONES DOWN

Ringing cell phones are an often occurrence and really take away from the moment during the wedding ceremony. I have witnessed professional photographers missing majorly important shots of the bride and groom because a guest ruins the shot by stepping into the frame or their phone flash distorting the photographer’s photo (*insert eye roll*).

Your guests mean well and are excited for you!  They want to assist in sharing your big day.  But if that is not your top priority there are some etiquette appropriate ways to ask your guests to relax and enjoy the experience without being concerned about their phones.

1. Invitation – You can include something in your invitation asking people to please turn off their phones during the ceremony and leave the photography of the bride and groom’s big day and important moments to the professionals.  If they would like to take a photo with the couple on their own device during the reception, the happy couple would be happy to oblige.

2. Announcement – Have someone make an announcement before the ceremony. I have found that the officiant is usually the best person to do this because he has a mic they will kindly remind your guests to power down so as not to interrupt the intimacy of the ceremony.

3. Program – Put a note in your program.  This is a subtle but effective way to remind your guests of your request.
Whether you include all three tips or choose the one that suits your ceremony, best be sure to get the word ‘please’ into the request.

The last thing we want as photographers is a guest jumping out in the aisle to snap a great shot of a kiss with their iPad high in the sky and then suddenly it blocks our view and we miss part of your faces or even worse they cover you both completely. Trust me on this one, you would much rather have our photo than Uncle Bobs.

There is nothing wrong with encouraging your guests to put their phones down. Refer to these three ideas to politely have your desires for an unplugged wedding known!

I hope these tips help and give you some insight you may not have thought about before! Newly engaged? Congrats! We would love to discuss the photography options that would suit your perfect day. Interested in booking your own engagement or wedding? Let’s Chat!