Wedding Paparazzi
When your Big Day arrives you want everything to be perfect. You have the perfect dress, the perfect setting, the perfect flowers and you want the perfect pictures. Unfortunately, everyone has a camera in their pocket or purse and have become social media paparazzi! Everyone is striving to get the “perfect shot” and to be the first to post a wedding picture. We know your wedding is going to be beautiful and it is going to be hard for your guests to resist taking pictures.
As wedding planners, we have seen quite a few professional pictures being overtaken by family members holding phones in the air or having the back of Aunt Jean’s head ruin a first kiss photo as she steps out in the aisle to take a picture with her smartphone.
How do you tell your guests…
How do you let your guests know that you have hired a professional to photograph this special occasion and you don’t want to look back at your wedding pictures and see your first kiss blocked by a sea of cell phones? At Big Day Weddings we have several suggestions on how to handle this delicate situation.
You can have your minister be the “bad guy” and give instructions. We suggest any of the following:
- Thank you for joining us today as we witness this beautiful ceremony uniting “Bride” and “Groom” in holy matrimony. We ask that you refrain from taking videos or pictures during the ceremony.
- I invite you to be truly present at this special time, please turn off your cell phones and put down your cameras. The photographer is here to capture this moment, I encourage all of you to capture how it feels with your hearts and minds, without the distraction of technology.
- The couple respectfully requests that all guest honor the sanctity of this ceremony by turning off cell phones and cameras.
What Else Can You Do?
Word of mouth is also a great way to ask people to leave the job of photographing the wedding ceremony to the professional you are paying! Big Day Weddings suggest telling everyone that the wedding will be an “unplugged” event. If you tell the wedding party, family and close friends they will start helping you spread the word before the wedding and the day of the ceremony. Adding signage at the wedding venue is also a good idea. Big Day Weddings has great suggestions for that also!
- Put your phones and cameras away and enjoy the day!
- Welcome to our “unplugged wedding”! Please turn off all cell phones and cameras so you can enjoy the moment with us!
- We have professional photographers here today to capture the moment, we request that you refrain from photography during the ceremony. We promise that there will be plenty of images at your disposal.
- The Bride and Groom would like to see your smiles, without the distraction of electronic devices.
If you have a wedding website, Big Day Weddings suggests adding a note there asking guests to refrain from taking photos during the ceremony. We have several clever ideas on our Pinterest boards.
At Big Day Weddings we believe we create the most beautiful weddings on the Alabama Gulf Coast. We would love to assist you in planning your dream beach wedding. Call us today at (251) 223-7430 or contact us here.
