While technology is undoubtedly a wonderful thing and often a fantastic addition to your wedding day, there is also a move toward what could be described as an ‘unplugged wedding.’ Think of it as the polar opposite of the techy wedding without hashtags, social media and photo sharing.
There’s certainly pros and cons to this sort of wedding and indeed it may sound a little draconian to some, but it can give the day a much more private feel and you’ll have control over your photos, plus it will allow your guests the chance to actually enjoy the day rather than watching it from behind their phone screen as they take snaps.
Of course, you can always have a hybrid of both, where you might decide to have the ceremony as ‘unplugged,’ and the reception as a selfie friendly zone.
If you’d like to chat about this or any aspect of your wedding day planning or décor, then please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.
Pros of an Unplugged Wedding
- The ethos of an unplugged wedding is twofold. Firstly, you want your guests to disconnect from their technology which rules most of our lives on a daily basis and instead just enjoy the day to the full. Essentially you want them to switch off and not see the day through a phone screen.
- The second major driver of this type of wedding is that you have much more control over what images are shared on social media. You may have waited a very long time for your wedding day and accordingly you want to make sure you are the one who gets to share the first snap of you and your new husband or wife and not some dodgy picture from a guests smartphone.
- Also let’s not forget, couples fork out quite a bit for professional photographers, so why not really let them capture the day instead of having your well-meaning guests get in the way of the official photographer who is trying to get those all-important shots.
Cons of an Unplugged Wedding
- The most obvious hurdle for an unplugged wedding is letting the guests know your wishes. So be clear from the off. Mention it in your invites, your order of service or have signage at the church or ceremony entrance. Or enlist a member of the bridal party to let the guests know about your wishes.
- While an unplugged wedding is great in theory, it can also mean you miss some spontaneous shots which only guests can capture, as no matter how good your photographer is, they cannot be everywhere at once. Also once you photographer has left, often it’s the guests pictures which capture the evening time fun, so if you are enforcing your unplugged theme for the entire wedding, you’ll miss out on these pics.
- Some guests might feel a little peeved about not being able to take pictures for themselves at the wedding day. Let’s not forget, most have taken time out to get themselves dolled up for your big day and would like to be able to take a few shots. A good way around this is to have a photobooth at the reception so the guests can have pictures from the day
What About A Hybrid Strategy?
- As you can see, there are pros and cons to having an unplugged wedding and sometimes it’s best to employ a sort of hybrid strategy. Why not have your ceremony as a tech-free zone, which will allow your guests to actually be in the moment and enjoy this very special time, rather than watching it from behind their screens. It also means you’ve got full control over your ceremony images.
- Then after the ceremony, you could lift the tech ban and indeed encourage your guests to get snap happy and upload their best selfies and shots from the day with a hashtag. That way you’re going to get the best of both worlds and not miss out on some potentially great guest’s pics.
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