Unplugged Wedding - Wording??

Here's a rough draft of the wording we're using:

Sign outside the church:

Welcome to our unplugged wedding! We invite everyone to enjoy the ceremony, feeling truly present and in the moment with us. We’ve hired an amazing photographer who will capture this joyous moment and invite you to relax and appreciate our ceremony. We respectfully ask everyone to turn off your cameras and cells phones before entering the Sanctuary. We’re happy to share our wedding photos at a later time, but the greatest gift is to be fully here with us in the sacred and special moment. Your cooperation is truly appreciated.

Sign at the reception:

Thank you for attending our cocktail hour and reception. Feel free to take photos at our photo booth, and if you so desire, take photos with your camera and post them to our FB page we provided earlier. During the reception, we ask that you refrain from taking photos during the ceremonial parts of the reception (first dance, cake cutting and toasts) so we can see your faces. Your cooperation is truly appreciated

StitchingBride, this is the reason to have an unplugged wedding:

KitandKaboodle: This picture again?

I've worked in photo labs for years and have seen 1000s of wedding pictures and never once did I ever see pictures come out like that from guests taking pictures. I've asked pros and photo labs about pictures like this and opinion is all the same-

they've never seen a actual pictures like that that wasn't staged to try and support the whole 'unplugged wedding' trend. Most of the time the problem with wedding pictures is lack of lighting not too much.

I don't buy that picture and being proof or reason for anything. Looks like they set up a theater spot light to get that affect.

If this is the only photo a wedding photographer could get of the couple coming down the aisle even with other flashes going off, I'd really question the photographers competency. Other people's flashes are likely not strong enough to get this sort of affect. Even if this picture is real, there's nothing saying that the over exposure is from other's flashes, could be from a light that was set up by the wedding photographer.

I've seen many more instances of people being very happy they had pictures taken by the guests and I personally have never heard a couple state they wished they'd had a unplugged wedding when they didn't.

IMO If anyone wants to support the argument for a unplugged wedding they will have to do a lot better than one over exposed picture.

Besides, who's the horrible photographer that only took one picture of the couple going down the aisle anyway?

I'm not concerned about flash. Just people blocking others and being in the photos with their cameras out too.

I will be having an unplugged ceremony, but that's more so because I want to look out at my family and friends and see their faces, not their cell phones up in the air. Also, I am hypersensory so I will absolutely notice if someone's phone is clicking away, but that's just me. FH and I don't have phones at dinner and same with my family, I think people are way too attached to their phones these days unfortunately and forget to just be in the moment - or as my mom says, "be with the people who are here with you!"

I am all for unplugged weddings. I was planning on having one and forgot to have the officiant mention it, partly because a lot of people on here were like "omg you can't do that". Fuck that. I wish I had.

The majority of our guests were respectful and if they took pictures I didn't notice. One of DH's aunts, however, ran around during the entire ceremony with her big ass iPad. That was distracting to me and I can't imagine how distracting it must have been for the guests. She actually went all the way AROUND the gazebo with her big iPad in front of her face. If she had been sitting in the audience I probably wouldn't have noticed her, but I sure did when she was directly behind my officiant.

My photographer was awesome and didn't let that ruin any shots, but it must have made her job a bit more difficult.

If you are thinking about doing an unplugged wedding, do it. There is absolutely nothing rude about asking people to not take photos at your private intimate event.

We are having an unplugged ceremony but not reception. I want guests to get candid shots and videos once the partying starts but prior to cocktail hour I do not want them taking photos.

With that said we are having a sign made by one of my super talented BM's that explains it and will be put at the entry of the venue. It will say something along the lines of "Welcome! Thank you for coming. We have one request, please keep our ceremony camera-free. But feel free to start snapping away during cocktail hour."

It needs some refining but it's a start...

I'm bumping this thread because my FH and I decided to have an unplugged wedding and some family members reacted in a very poor manner to this news. I am only pro unplugged for two reasons: I do not want my professional photos ruined (or people getting in the way of potential professional photos) and also because I do not want to see the backs of cells phones the entire evening. There are a select few members of my FH's family that are OBSESSED with social media and taking pictures of anything and everything to see how many likes they can get so needless to say, it was essentially WWIII when we told them this news. Of the very few weddings I've been to (mostly before cell phones and social media were popular) I don't remember seeing a single cell phone so that's exactly what I'd like to have for my special day. I love the quote, "We want to see your faces, not your devices!" This holds so much substance with me because, well, it's true! I am marrying the man of my dreams and we are inviting guests that we want to share the special moments with. If I wanted to look at the backs of cell phones all night, I could have hired 75 teenage girls instead to get the same effect! I am super easy going, non-confrontational, etc. but this is the one thing I am sticking to my guns on.

My FI and I are having an unplugged ceremony. There are a few reasons for this. First, we are paying good money for a photographer and videographer, and we don't want people getting in the way of them or obstructing their view. We also don't want the distraction of flashes of the "clicking" and "zooming" sounds. We have full rights to our photos and video and intend to share those digitals with family so they don't feel like they're being "ripped off" by not getting photos. I think this is a mind set with older generations who had to pay for their wedding pictures per print. The only way to get pictures as a guest was to take them yourself! Second, we have friends and family coming from all over for the wedding, and we want to be engaged with them, not their devices. Third, and MOST IMPORTANT reason is that its something my FI and I feel strongly about in all aspects of our lives. Him the most. He believes that people no longer experience things in person but through their phones. People at a concert? How many people spend the whole time watching it through their screen, and how many watch the artist actually perform? As much as people think they can multi task, they're not able to fully take anything in if they're preoccupied with their device. We are happy to have people take photos through out the reception, but the ceremony means a lot to us emotionally and religiously and we don't want ourselves or our guests to be distracted by electronics.

We're using this wording with our officiant. "Good afternoon! It is my pleasure to welcome you to the wedding of Taylor and Caleb. Please take a moment to silence any cell phones or other noisy electronics. If you would also take a moment to put your cameras away, Taylor and Caleb have requested that no photos be taken during the ceremony today and that you share in their wedding fully and not through the lens of a camera or cell phone. — thank you so much for your understanding. The ceremony will begin shortly."

I don't think having a unplugged wedding is rude. They don't have to turn it off but, be polite and keep it in your bag or pocket. here we are paying thousands of dollars for photographer and videographer and do you think i want people in my pictures with their cellphones in every shot....ugh NO