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Unplugged ceremonies aren’t a new concept, but their importance and impact are steadily growing.
In this article, I’ll discuss the numerous reasons you may want to consider an unplugged ceremony, from the impact on the overall experience to the impact on photography.
I’ll share some tips for you, whether you’re a wedding photographer trying to deal with the countless smartphones in your photographs or a bride trying to help your guests be present.
I don’t require or push unplugged ceremonies on any of my couples, though I perfectly understand why some photographers would.
However, over the years I’ve noticed many benefits of going unplugged and feel like it’s something we should do for important events like wedding ceremonies and maybe even for weekly family dinners.
While I love technology and everything it allows me to do personally and professionally, I also notice when it impacts our ability to be in the moment.
We’re so concerned with snapping a photo of a memory that we forget to make the memory.
As a professional photographer, I have intimate knowledge of the difference between photographing an event and participating in it.
Let’s talk through the many benefits of an unplugged wedding ceremony, how to communicate and enforce the idea, and even some tips for wedding photographers looking to photograph the event.
What are Unplugged Wedding Ceremonies?
An unplugged wedding ceremony is when guests are encouraged to stay off their devices, such as smartphones, tablets, or cameras, so that they can be present in the moment.
The goal is to create a more intimate and distraction-free atmosphere where everyone is engaged in what is happening.
The trend has become increasingly popular for various reasons that we’ll explore in the next section.
Benefits of an Unplugged Ceremony
The two main benefits of an unplugged ceremony come down to being in the moment and the better photographs that will result.
The more connection and engagement between the couple and their guests, the more depth and emotion will be seen in the professional photographs.
We’ll dive into each of these benefits deeper in this section.
Essentially, I can’t photograph a genuine intimate moment between two people if there’s a smartphone preventing them from having that intimate moment in the first place.
How does it make you feel when you’re at dinner with someone trying to tell them something important and they’re focused on their phone instead of you?
Or have you been to a wedding ceremony where there’s a drone overhead distracting everyone from the ceremony?
We want to minimize distractions and maximize presence.
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Presence in the Moment
It may not seem like a big deal but I promise, there is a difference between watching a wedding ceremony through a camera lens and being present in it.
Think about the research on multitasking and how no one can really do it.
Or how it’s hard to be a good listener if you’re too busy thinking about your response to hear what the other person is saying.
It’s simply a better experience to focus and be present on what is happening, to really be engaged in the wedding ceremony.
The wedding guests are not just observers; otherwise, we could uninvite them and just livestream the ceremony.
The wedding guests are supposed to be witnesses and active participants, sharing their love and support.
When the bride looks out at her wedding guests, she should be able to see the faces and emotions of her loved ones supporting her.
Impact on Wedding Photography
Another big reason that couples encourage a device-free ceremony is that they don’t want a bunch of smartphones in all of their wedding pictures.
Unless the couple has specifically created an unplugged ceremony, any wide-angle shot that I have of the ceremony will show numerous phones held up in front of faces.
It seems that we can’t resist capturing everything on our phones.
As a wedding photographer, I love capturing emotional photos of the parents and other wedding guests during the ceremony.
Those images are much less appealing when the mother of the bride has her face behind a cell phone.
Additionally, take a moment like the recessional where either everyone is clapping and cheering, congratulating the newlyweds, or else their hands are full because they’re trying to take a picture on their phone.
It changes the vibe of the day and, therefore, the photos that I capture.
In a later section, we’ll talk about tips for capturing unplugged ceremonies and making the best of this amazing trend.
Communicating and Collaborating
Some people are fully addicted to their phones and can’t seem to set them down without multiple reminders.
I’ve come across countless wedding guests, including family members, that have this impulse to take iPhone photos constantly.
The bride walks out of the room with her dress on and instead of hugs and tears, the mother of the bride is snapping photos.
And there I stand, a highly paid professional photographer, capturing this technology-interfered moment instead of an intimate one.
Even when it comes to family pictures, we’ll sometimes have other people with their cameras trying to snap pictures at the same time.
It only negatively impacts the photos because not everyone is looking in the same direction.
What we usually do is lower our camera and say something like, “You go ahead and get what you need because I need everyone looking.”
Usually, that’s enough for someone to get the hint!
Communicating the Benefits
To get people on board with an unplugged wedding ceremony, the first step is to fully communicate the benefits.
It helps if the couple comes up with a vision for the ceremony and a picture of what they want it to look like.
If a bride can tell her mom that she wants to look into the audience and see everyone’s supportive glances instead of everyone’s phones, that’s hard to say no to.
Painting a picture of the differences of a ceremony with and without technology is a great way to communicate the why.
Having a strong why is more persuasive than a simple, because I said so.
Informing Guests
The trick comes in how to communicate this to guests.
I love the idea of collecting cell phones before seating guests, but that might be a little extreme and unrealistic, depending on how attached your guests are to their devices.
On the more subtle end, I’ve seen a lot of signs that say, “Welcome to our unplugged ceremony.”
Sometimes a simple sign is enough but other times you need to be more direct.
The officiant can find a classy yet stern way to make the announcement and request that phones be put away.
In the next sections, we’ll talk more about how to make sure your unplugged ceremony stays unplugged.
Providing Reminders and Explanations
You’ll have to decide how heavy-handed to be about enforcing the unplugged ceremony rule.
You might start with a sign and then make an announcement or even list it in a program.
I think the best rule of thumb is to personally approach any individuals you think might specifically have problems with the instructions.
If you tell that one particular uncle directly that the instructions include him and that you want him present in the moment, he might listen.
Telling specific people directly is the most surefire strategy.
I’ve seen it work not just during the ceremony but with a bride who wanted her mom present throughout the day.
She made sure to introduce her mom to me and remind her that I would be capturing everything.
Offering Alternative Ways to Participate
Since some people are attached to their phones, it can be good to come up with alternate ways that they can participate in the event.
One of the best things I’ve seen is an officiant having the couple smile at the guests at the beginning of the ceremony and telling everyone, “Ok, now is your one and only chance to get a great photo of the couple. Stand up if you need to, do whatever you need to, get your photo, and then turn your phone off and tune into the ceremony.”
It seemed to fulfill everyone’s compulsion to get a photo and then shame them just enough into actually putting their phones away for the rest of the ceremony.
It was lighthearted, funny, and effective.
You can also have the officiant assure guests that professional photographers are capturing high-quality images of the ceremony that will be made available to everyone.
Another fun idea is to have moments in the ceremony where guests engage with each other encouraging interactions and connections that are real instead of virtual.
At the beginning of the ceremony, after the phones are put away, the officiant can have everyone take a moment for personal reflection, prayer, or meditation.
If you can craft a ceremony that draws the guests into the moment, then it will be easier for them to stay there.
Photographing an Unplugged Wedding Ceremony
So you’ve convinced your couple, or your couple has convinced you, that it’s time for an unplugged wedding ceremony.
The pressure is on.
An announcement has been made that, have no fear, there are professional wedding photographers here and everyone can put their phones and cameras away.
It’s your job now to capture all the important moments and not miss anything.
Don’t worry, you won’t miss anything.
Instead, it’s your job to take advantage of all the genuine moments that are going to happen as a result of the unplugged ceremony.
Let’s talk about the importance of photojournalism and documentary-style wedding photography as well as how to capture those real genuine moments.
Then, we’ll dive into embracing authenticity as the relaxed wedding photography trend grows and delivering a timely image gallery for everyone to appreciate.
Importance of Capturing Genuine Emotions and Moments
While some aspects of weddings seem performative, let’s not forget what the day is about.
Weddings are about kicking off a marriage with a commitment in front of witnesses.
Each couple has a unique story about what brought them to the alter and there are a lot of potential emotions that go along with it.
There is often boundless joy in finding this bright future or deep love between the couple.
I’ve also seen grief around a deceased parent who can’t be present to witness the moment or elation at having gone through hard things to get to this day.
Regardless of the story, or perhaps because of the uniqueness of each story, I believe every couple deserves the beauty of a wedding day.
As photographers, it’s our job to capture the genuine emotions and moments that make each wedding special.
Capturing Intimate Moments
In the same way that I like to capture the beauty of nature in my wedding photography, I like to capture the beauty of real moments.
Luckily, there are some skills you can adapt to better capture moments.
You’ll want to strengthen your lighting and composition skills so that your images are technically strong from a photography perspective.
From there, you’ll want to learn to anticipate, see, and capture moments.
I’ve recently written some other articles on how to capture emotions and how to capture candids to tell a story.
Dive into those to help you learn how to capture intimate moments for your unplugged wedding ceremonies.
If a couple is choosing for everyone to be present, then they want people to immerse themselves in the day and feel all the feels.
It’s your job to capture that.
Enhancing Authenticity
In addition to emotions and moments, unplugged ceremonies are about authenticity.
Couples that want everyone to be present and undistracted by devices likely want the day to be real.
Instead of it being a show that the guests are there to capture, it’s an experience the guests are there to participate in.
The more you can witness and capture the authenticity that goes with real moments, the more you’re serving your client’s values.
Sure, sometimes our photography shows things a little better than reality because we make selective framing choices or try to show things in a good light.
Authenticity doesn’t mean showing the trashcans and mishaps. Instead, it means focusing on what makes the day real.
Delivering the Image Gallery
It’s more important than ever to increase your turnaround time on your editing.
People are used to instant gratification and they want their photos now.
If you can increase your turnaround time, then you can share images from the wedding sooner with the couple as well as their guests.
Then, while everyone is still excited about the event they can re-live those moments that they were fully immersed in because of the unplugged ceremony.
If your turnaround time is longer than a month, I would suggest you look closely at your post-production workflow and figure out how you can speed things up.
Whether it’s simply a time management issue or a need for some outsourcing of better editing tools, delivering the image gallery faster will be the icing on the wedding cake of your client’s experience.
Summary of Unplugged Wedding Ceremonies
In this article, we discussed the benefits of an unplugged wedding, how to communicate about it, and finally, how to capture it.
Whether you’re a bride planning an unplugged wedding ceremony or a photographer looking to capture one, I hope you see how putting away the devices can help you focus on real, authentic moments and emotions.
There are many benefits to an unplugged ceremony such as having people be present and avoiding having devices in your wedding photos.
Sometimes the conversation can be hard if there is resistance or if people are attached to their phones.
We talked about how to break the news and remind guests to put their phones away; now, you’ll have to decide how pushy to be!
If you decide to commit to an unplugged wedding ceremony, I hope you get to plug into the beauty and joy of the wedding day.
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