With the proliferation of cameras today offering high resolution images from tiny devices, including phones and I-Pads, more and more wedding ceremonies are being subjected to an unending process of guests jumping up and out in the aisles during the ceremony to grab a quick and often not so fast photo of the Bride and Groom.

Look at the photo above and see what the other guests and the professional photographer frequenty have to deal with during a wedding ceremony.

Not only is this distracting to the Bride and Groom, their wedding party, their other guests, and the officiant, but it has a seriously damaging impact on the wedding ceremony itself and the ability of all guests to be able to absorb and enjoy a beautiful and meaningful ceremony.

Moreover, given the high cost of wedding photography, it also compromises the ability of the professional photographers to do their best because they have to contend with people ruining their shots during key moments, whitening out their shots by using flashes at the same time, and, putting up obstructions which block peoples faces.

As officiants and celebrants, we have become the leading advocates of Unplugged Wedding Ceremonies in the Ottawa area. We actively encourage all our clients to consider designating their ceremony as unplugged right from the start and to communicate that to their guests as part of the invitation process. Presently, over 95% of the wedding ceremonies we perform are unplugged!

We have been working with a number of professional photographers to enable our mutual clients to obtain the best possible photography during their ceremonies so that their photographers do not have encounter situations like the ones above and below.

Photo by Ryan Parent Photography

Photo by Bryan Jones Photography

You might want to check out the following article Why You Might Want to Consider an Unplugged Wedding in which an international award-winning photographer based in Northeast Ohio,Corey Ann, shares why you might want to ask your guests to put aside their cameras for the ceremony. Her photos graphically speak for themselves about effects of unrestrained guest photography.

Now here's a cheeky video which bluntly shows you just some of the types of guest and camera issues that ruin so many weddings today because of thoughtless use of all of our new toys.

If you are considering having an unplugged wedding, we definitely recommend you doing some research online.  There are many excellent websites which offer very detailed information about unplugged weddings and you should review those thoroughly, as well as discuss the idea with your significant other before printing off “no cameras” on your invitations!  

Image courtesy of Google Images

Here's another article to help you get started from the Offbeat Bride site.

We’ve included a few tips below based on our own personal experience not only as officiants but as wedding guests and as parents of a bride, as well.

If you’re going to have an unplugged wedding, please consider the following:

Having helped execute many unplugged wedding ceremonies, we really know how to help you plan it and make it one of the best memories that your guests will ever have. Contact us (Lynne & Keith) using the automated form or by phone at (613) 831-7555 to discuss the possibilities for you.