Unplugged Wedding - Wording??

I would maybe say "welcome to our unplugged wedding" I don't like that you said prepared twice. Also, just making sure you want the reception unplugged too? We def want an unplugged ceremony, but I feel like guests are really going to want to take pictures at the reception. Do you at least have a photo booth or something so guests have their own memories of your day?

That sounds a little wordy; why don't you ask your officiant what they say?

I like the idea of an unplugged ceremony, because it's so short, I want my guests to focus on what's happening, not on pictures of the back of each other's heads. I also really like how wedding pictures will keep popping up for weeks on Facebook when guests take their own at the reception, so I personally would go with what Richard said and modify it to "The bride and groom request that you turn off all electronics and refrain from taking pictures until after the ceremony. Thank you."

Thanks for the feedback. I have been trying to make it short and sweet, so I appreciate the one sentence wording. My officiant has never announced an unplugged wedding. He is a older pastor and is not aware of this more modern request. So he has asked me to give him some examples to work from.

In regards to the reception, my photographer has requested that we keep everything unplugged since I have full day coverage and two photographers covering the whole day. That being said, we do have a photobooth! A pretty awesome one at that, the prints out the pictures right there as you take them or lets you email them immediately. My photographer is also making a instant upload to a website so you can check the photos out that way as well. With so much coverage going on I'm hoping to limit the usage of camera's especially among the older crowd, since at my youngest brother's wedding they brought a bunch of wind up cameras and flashed them throughout the day. It pretty much ruined their photography.

Probably why I'm coming across harsh and lecture-y in my wording. Fear gets to you haha

Have your ushers let people know to turn everything off. Make a pretty sign for the entrance.

I'd probably say something funny, but then he's not me.

If you're in a church, some of your guests may not be so shocked.

"Please disable your phones and cameras during the ceremony." "Or you'll go straight to hell."

Just kidding.

My friend had this in her program. It was under the welcome section under order of worship. She also had the pastor announce it.

"'Jane' and 'John' invite you to be truly present at this special time. Please, turn off your cell phones and put down your cameras. The photographer will capture how this moment looks - we encourage you all to capture how it feels with your hearts, without the distraction of technology."

I just officiated an 'unplugged' wedding and it was great! No one seemed to take offense when I asked them to put away their cameras and phones.

I have it listed on my wedding website and then I have just a "please disable all electronics during ceremony" at the very bottom in parentheses of my ceremony programs. I am really hoping that works!

I thought this sign was cute!

I plan on this as well. I found this one on pinterest, similar to the above.

The more places you put it, the better - because people will arrive late and flustered and rush to a seat, or be chatting on the way to their seats and admiring babies, or just looking around. Those are the people you have to emphatically announce it for, because they will miss both the programs table AND the carefully placed sign. They will especially not read the sign if it is a full paragraph of small print that takes 5 minutes to read, as a line will be forming behind them by the time they reach the second sentence.

My photographer was so relieved when I told her it would be an unplugged ceremony! Though we will ask folks to share their candids with us from the reception, since it's a tight room and hard for her to get around once dancing starts.

My officiant said something to the effect of "Today is a day for wedding bells... But those are the only kind of bells we want to hear during the ceremony, so please remember to silence your cell phones." Lighthearted and it got the message across without lecturing. We also included a note in our programs asking people not to take pictures during the ceremony.

I know I'm going to be in the minority here (and this isn't truly a response to your question, even), but I really hate the unplugged wedding thing, and as a guest (I went to three weddings this past summer), I get really annoyed when someone asks me to be "truly present" for the event - it comes across as so condescending. In my eyes, it's just an extension of a bigger problem of brides trying to control every aspect of the day and I don't think it's fair to your guests, your family, and your bridal party. Yes, it is your day, but no, it's not all about you.

Funny you mention it - the weddings I've been to that weren't unplugged hugely annoyed me. Because nobody was paying attention or respecting the gravity of the occasion - they were squirming around trying to get better camera angles with their phones. And several people hadn't turned off the sounds, so I heard every zoom, flash and click. Made it hard to hear the ceremony sometimes!

For me this is about the line where your personal rights begin to infringe on others' personal rights. You have a right to have your phone accessible. You do not have a right to use it in a way that detracts from others' enjoyment of a solemn occasion, or interferes with the occasion itself. And others in the audience have the right to witness the main event without interference/deliberate intervention due to your self-centeredness.

The unplugged wedding this is rude, but whatever, people will do it anyway. But you can't tell people to turn OFF their cell phones. It's not a plane. No one dies if the phone is on. My phone is not constantly taking pictures when it's on in my purse.

Those Pinterest signs are awful. The officiant can say a simple "Please refrain from taking photos during the ceremony at the request of the bride and groom" if you have to tell adults how to behave.

Actually, you can tell people to do whatever you want- but they don't have to listen! if a guest has their phone on silent and it's in the purse/pocket/whatever then that is good enough. no one should ever be forced to turn their phone off though. I suppose if you're in a church the rules may be different.

I don't see it as a bride trying to control every aspect of their day- I see it as a bride politely asking her friends and family to allow the photographer they paid thousands of dollar to their job and to let her & FH be married in peace, without distractions that are avoidable. it's not a baby crying or a sneeze- its a jackass that thinks their shitty cellphone pic is going to be gold and is worth standing in front of others is worth it.

no matter your stance on this subject, don't be that guest that blocks others views or has camera flash sounds loudly going off as the vows are being exchanged.

I've been thinking about something similar to this, I'm ok if our guests want to take pictures I just don't want them to post pictures. My FH and I would like to be the first ones to post pictures of our day. I'm trying to figure out how to get this information out to our guests. I wasn't sure if FH and/or I should say something ahead of time or have the officiant say something before we start.

We were supposed to ask out officiant to announce it, but forgot to and I am so glad we did! We got some amazing pictures from our guests! It was nice to have those photos while we waited for the pro ones.

What's the reason for having the wedding unplugged?

@Stephanie - if it's silent or on vibrate, fine. But not everyone remembers to silence it, or is competent with their phones. In fact, chances are very good that in a crowd of 100, at least 2-3 people won't silence their phone out of absentmindedness or ineptitude.

The pinterest/etsy signs are annoyingly wordy, but they're just trying to help guests understand the couple's request. I appreciate the sentiment, if not the form.