Allowing cell phone pictures at the ceremony?

Not to mention some people's movie theater decorum is better than the level of respect they show at weddings. That forfeits certain liberties.

Goodness. I am on the fence here. I know that alot of shots will be great to see from the guests' perspective. And some of those "magic moments" are a bit more personal when captured in their natural essence. Plus I love the idea of having so many pics from the people I know and love to look at before we get our pro pics. BUT, I don't want my shots ruined... and I don't want anything to be spoiled by social networking. I was thinking of having the ceremony be unplugged and then allowing them all to go all out with the reception? Maybe even put some disposable cameras on the tables? I have some youngsters, teens, and tweens that will be there.. so I was going to opt for a photo scavenger hunt for them...

Here are some photos from our ceremony, where we allowed cameras (we just asked people to stay in their seats and not block the photographer). Maybe it depends on your group of family and friends, but it wasn't a sea of cameras and phone at all. I really think it might have to do with your social group though too.

*There is an group of empty chairs in the front of one of the photos because my brother-in-law and his Dad took my nephew for a little walk when he was starting to talk. It wasn't empty the whole time!

Unplugged is the way to go! I have seen guests many times get in the way of the professional photographer. Once even had a woman put herself right behind the minister and stay there til she was asked to move (by the bride). The woman could be seen in many many photos.

Do you really want your guests watching your wedding through their cell phones? or actually watching and enjoying your wedding as it happens?

Yesterday, we had a small chapel ceremony with 20 guests...about 15 guests had cell phones or tablets in the air. When doing formal photos at the end, we had to ask the guests to turn off their flashes, because it was washing out the professionals photos. 10 to 15 flashes at the same time, does not do good things to photos! I wish you luck!

"Do you really want your guests watching your wedding through their cell phones? or actually watching and enjoying your wedding as it happens?"

@ Holly, as adults that's their prerogative, if that's what they choose to do that's what they want to do. Who are we to say how they will enjoy the wedding more. For example my grandmother absolutely loves being behind the camera snapping away that's where she is happiest, that's how she enjoys family events.

No, as the couple, it's your prerogative. If you don't care, then by all means, let them go, but I have to tell you, my wedding tonight TOO was unplugged, and it's a totally different vibe. It was lovely.

We have announced on our website that we are asking for cameras and phones to be down for the ceremony. I don't think many people are going to look at the website so we are going to have our officiant announce before the ceremony. We are telling everyone though that we have set up a twitter, FB & instagram account for any of our tech savy guest to share their pictures from the reception!

I honestly hadn't put much consideration into this at all. But after reading these comments and that article, I am more and more thinking I'd like an unplugged ceremony. If you think about it, the photos guests get at a ceremony are never very good and not just because they are not professionals but because of the sea of heads in between them and the couple. I myself have taken several over the years before I realized there was no point.

My photographer put in our contract that no flash photography is allowed during the ceremony, so I already need to make this known somehow. I might just go ahead and say she asked that no other photography be taken during the ceremony.

@allysia02 -- you are more than welcome to make that your choice for your wedding. Personally, guests seem much more engaged in what is happening if not staring through the lens of a camara, a tablet, or a phone.

The flash is definitely a problem for the professional photographer. If 15 flashes are all going at the same time it can completely wash out the professional's photos. I am not trying to upset anybody...just sharing what I have seen from some of the 350+ weddings we have hosted.

We will probably have an unplugged ceremony. My FSIL had it, and it worked out nicely. I don't want people to view the whole ceremony from the screen of their phones, or focus on uploading a picture to Instagram. During the reception, they can take as many pictures as they like.

@ Celia, I guess we just have fundamental differences then when it comes to weddings. Our wedding is about our guests and thanking and honoring them for helping us become who we are today. We are not a "it's all about us" couples if so we would just go get eloped and be done with

@ Holly I appreciate your perspective and your experience is impressive but still I just find it weird it to assume that your guests can only enjoy the day by behaving one way and one way only.

About the flashes, this is a fair point as well, however If I'm paying for professional pictures, I would think any photographer worth their salt should know and have a plan on how to deal with errant flashes if the occur.

How do professionals get awesome pictures of concerts or football games or celebrities on red carpets or other events where there is a ton of flashes going off all at once? I thought that was all part of being a professional photographer. Perhaps this is a wake up call for me to be sure to ask my photographers if they have plans on how to handle flashes if they occur.

We're having an unplugged ceremony. However, we do have my FMIL to contend with who at the last wedding we went to kept popping up in her seat and taking pictures with the damn shutter noise on. The bride (her niece) was pissed because they asked everyone to keep electronics put away. That woman never put her phone down... FH kept getting after her too but she didn't listen. His dad has offered to hide it on our wedding day.

I tried so hard to have an unplugged wedding. It was listed on our wedding website, I had printed on our wedding programs, etc.

as you can see in the photo below, there were a few rebels at our wedding ceremony.