Poem or Signage for No Cell Phones & No Cameras

Be Nice, Turn Off Your Device!

{We want you to be fully present on our special day. If you don't mind, please turn off your cell phones and cameras so you can fully enjoy everything we have planned for you!}

Here are a few of what a quick google search of "unplugged wedding" pulled up:

I may just ask people to turn off their flash on the camera, as it can ruin professional shots, but if they still want to take pictures, I'm not going to tell them no. Some people LOVE taking pictures, that's what they enjoy.

Awesome - Thank you so much ladies!

Oh I love the phrasing in the third pic Rubylee posted. I would be one of those guests who is super disappointed to not be able to take pics, so I think phrasing it as nicely as possible is important.

Just a thought...while you're guests may love to take photos...they could potentially ruin your professional photos without realizing it. I got 3 photos of the bride walking down the aisle. 2 of the photos looked almost identical (like this one)...except the lady finally stepped back into her row. The man with the iPad pretending to be the "videographer" stayed where he was...prominently in every photo. Wouldn't it have been so much prettier if the devices weren't there? There is no way to crop any of the images. Guests don't realize they are ruining your investment in your photography. Let them snap away during cocktail hour & at the reception.

Btw, I have a large number of photos similar to this from many weddings. I've had guests step directly in front of me to get their shot...keeping me from getting the shot the bride & groom paid for. I highly recommend to all my brides an unplugged ceremony.

edited for spelling

Ugh...double post....so sorry about that. What's up WW?

This post from Offbeat Bride lists several wording ideas:

http://offbeatbride.com/2011/06/unplugged-wedding-templates

Great ideas!!!

I'm glad you asked this... At first I didn't really care about cameras, because maybe guests can get a fun, random shot?? But the photographers comments have me rethinking.

My biggest fear is photos appearing on Facebook without my permission. So often I check FB and just know that guests were posting photos while the dang event was still happening! Last weekend there were photos posted in my newsfeed of a couple at the altar. I didn't even know the people but a friend had commented, so it was visible to me... Weird to me.

Maybe I should just do this too.

That is really a nice way to word that. I agree though, my guests would still take pictures I believe. It would be nice for them to leave the cell phones behind for one afternoon though.

I've had a few ceremonies where the Bride & Groom requested the officiant to make an announcement that no one take any photos during the ceremony with phones or cameras. Between that and the posts about it on their wedding website, it alleviated the problem of guests stepping in front of the photographer. I had one guest give me a black eye...she didn't realize where I was standing...I had my camera to my eye. She wanted to get the shot, stepped straight into the aisle, and just banged my camera into my face...I almost fell down. This could be a serious problem if someone trips your photographer (by accident, of course). What most folks don't realize is that their cameras and phones don't always have the ability to handle the available lighting (those flashes only reach 5-8 feet) and the photos come out blurry, grainy, or underexposed half the time.

I love the signs posted above, and will definitely share the ideas with my couples. They're super cute.