Unplugged Weddings
January 23, 2012 More and more I am astounded by the number of wedding guests that feel the necessity to capture the wedding day for the bride and groom. I can almost guarantee that if you talk to your photographer and videographer about the subject, you will hear many tales of how shots were ruined by over anxious guests. This is not just a problem for your vendors; I can't help but wonder how much of the ceremony your guests actually enjoy. How can they possibly be tuned in to what is occurring before them when they are concentrating on their lcd screen?
It used to mostly be guests using a small handheld camera, but it has recently escalated to full DSLRs (with zoom lenses), iphones, and ipads. Yes . . . ipads. I actually had to ask a guest once to remove his tripod with a video camera on it. He reluctantly agreed to do so, but it was still a problem since he seated himself in an aisle seat and proceeded to shoot the entire wedding handheld. (We refer to these guest-videographers as "Uncle Charlie".)
Last summer, The Offbeat Bride focused on this subject with a couple of posts instructing brides how to have an "unplugged wedding". If you are planning a wedding, you need to read these posts! Your photographer will thank you. Your videographer will thank you. And, your guests will have a more enjoyable experience too.
I have not posted any example pics because I don't want to embarrass any of our past clients or their guests, but there are several "Uncle Bobs" that I will never forget. Picture this: The bride and groom are at the alter saying their vows. Its emotional. There are tears. I'm in the front (shooting towards the guests) with a closeup on the faces of the wedding couple - when slowly another face creeps into the screen - centered perfectly between the bride and groom. Oh look! He has a camera too! This guest just ruined the video of the vows for this couple. If he were to ever see the clip, I know he would be mortified, but the bride and groom will see it each and everytime they watch their movie.
I have many video clips of bride and grooms during the recessional where our camera is blocked by guests stepping out into the aisle in order to get a better shot. The result: our shot is ruined - what we have on film is the back of the guest holding a camera in front of you. And when that guest steps back into his seat, another guest takes their place. We don't actually get the happy faces of the bride and groom until they are at the end of the aisle.
A solution to this is to have an UnPlugged Wedding. It can be done! And it can be done without hurting anyone's feelings. One of our past couples handled it by making this request on their website and printing it in their program.
It worked; guests honored their request. The couple confided to me prior to the wedding date that they were also speaking to some people personally, but I really don't think that would be necessary if you use some of the suggestions made on The Offbeat Bride site.
Reader Comments (2)
Good idea.
Perfect! I love the thought of it.