Unplugged ceremony announcement

At our wedding, we had the officiant make an announcement and put it on our website. I personally don't think it is rude to include it on the website. It also sounds like your fiance needs to sit down with his parents and explain that it is important to you guys that no one has their phones out including his father. It would be very disrespectful of his dad to have his phone out taking photos/videos when you've told him not to.

I do think it's important to consider the audience when planning the message. An unplugged announcement is fine on your website (and the farthest possible from confrontational or rude), but it also seems likely to be ignored or forgotten. I would take your photographer's advice about signage at the ceremony. I think having the officiant announce it is probably the best idea for your particular guests and likely to be the most effective in general. But I also agree that a personal request directly to the people you are most worried about ahead of time is a good idea, too.

It's not rude at all! Have the officiant make an announcement before the ceremony. He can say something like "Before we begin, the bride and groom have kindly asked if everyone could turn off their phones and keep them placed away in their bags or pockets throughout the ceremony. That way there are no distractions or noise going on during the ceremony. This also helps the photographers while they also take pictures. So, please take this moment to shut them off and put them away so that we can get started."

So much was happening the day of our wedding, I completely forgot to even mention the unplugged ceremony to our officiant to make the announcement. At the time, I wasn't even worried about it but now I just hope it doesn't ruin our video or other key moments we had. I don't think it's rude at all to want to tell people on your website and/or the officiant making an announcement. What's rude is the father who will possibly attempt to video while standing with you guys.