Hey ladies,
I’m aware (so far) that I’ve sat on the fence regarding the ‘Would you unplug your wedding to avoid uncle Bob?’ article ~ and to be brutally honest I didn’t know {at first} what I really thought…
Obviously I’m a married lady and have been through the process of getting married myself and having the wedding day with camera tote-ing friends, family and photographers. So I have my own experience to base my opinion on. I’ve also read the comments on my blog from future brides, photographers and already marrieds and taken points on board and do understand and respect both sides.
My personal preference looking back would have been to allow an allotted time during the group shots for guests and family to get snap happy {I found it distracting to everyone involved to be pressured into looking at more than one camera}. I also believe that a great wedding photographer should have or learn to develop the people skills necessary to manage awkward situations with camera wielding guests. I do feel for the photographer though who told me about an errant guest jumping into the aisle to ensure they got the picture of the bride being walked down the aisle by her dad… sheesh!
But I guess what you want to know is… would I unplug my own wedding? Hmmm, I don’t think so. I hear the argument that guests are not really present or in the moment but I disagree… I think they’re sooo in the moment they cannot wait to capture, share and then treasure the memory.
Professional and beautiful wedding photography was a huge deal to my husband and I. We ended up budgeting more than originally planned so I totally understand the pressure to get it right. Is banning your guests from taking pictures the right answer though? I remember guests being so excited about taking images they couldn’t wait to share them in the following days.
Personally, I believe there’s a place for both the perfectly framed and edited photo…
{Image credit: Segerius Bruce Photography}
And the not so flattering but incredibly memorable snap. I love how loved up we look, you know… just having fun!
{Image credit: our friends Dan & Sam}
This is just my own opinion however and afterall this is YOUR wedding day . You must do what you want and feel is right.
Love side by side comparison of the professional shot and the friend’s snap! I agree that it is only when you take all of the photos together that you get the whole story of the day. And love seeing all the different perspectives…
I think it’s fine to have guests have cameras, however I think a great idea is to get the bride and groom to ask guests to photograph the friends and family they came with more than just trying to recreate what the professional is doing as then you get lots of fun extra shots of what people were up to.
Love your official wedding portrait by the way – big fans of Chanelle and Craig’s work and this is such a beautiful happy shot!
I loved seeing all of the different photos as each guest had a unique take of our wedding day, especially as kids were taking pics aswell.
I agree, it’s your choice & can definitely see the appeal. The risk of unplugging is annoying people by banning them. It may be difficult to enforce and put someone in awkward position if your asking the bridal party to stop other people whipping out their cameras. I think many people would like photos from weddings they attend but not necessarily want to pay for the professional ones.
Plus after an event people part of the fun is the photo sharing as it’s one of the things that keeps the buzz going from it in the subsequent days and weeks as people upload, share, like and comment. Part of the fun!
I covered an unplugged wedding before. I didn’t know it was unplugged until the day though. Heck of a lot of pressure was suddenly dumped on my shoulders with the usual safety net of ‘anything missed will be got by someone else’ missing – Ok, so I never usually miss anything but I feel that it’s better with than without.
That said, the only suppliers who should have cameras are the photographers. These days I see DJ’s and bands in particular swanning around with cameras. e.g. I’m shooting the first dance and usually by standing in front of the crowd I can take a shot of the bide and groom camera free. Until the DJ pulls out his one with an autofocus light.
One band stuck about 50 photos up from the dance onwards the day after. Is this the done thing now? The public seeing photos before the bride and groom?