The unplugged wedding. What is it?It's a wedding where the guests are asked to not photograph or video the wedding ceremony.It seems there is a growing movement in Australia for brides to declare their wedding "unplugged". They don't want their walk down the aisle to be broadcast to everyone on social media as it happens.There are a lot of brides who don't mind this happening either. When you put together a guest list you can't invite everyone you know to attend the wedding unless you have the financial backing of Gina Rinehart. It's expensive to put on a wedding!There are good reasons why I can see, from a photographers point of view, why an unplugged wedding can be a good thing.When I'm photographing a wedding, I'm looking at everything through a lens. It's an interesting experience photographing something - whether it's a wedding, a birthday party or any event. You are aware of everything that's going on and looking for the best angles, the wonderful expressions on people's faces, but you are slightly detached from it all. You are concentrating on making sure the right people are in the frame and you aren't missing anything. But you aren't "in the moment" as you would be if you were concentrating on what was happening by using just your eyes and your senses. I have had tears in my eyes at some ceremonies because of the way a groom was moved when he first saw his bride, or when a bride hears the vows from her groom. But it's not the same emotion that you experience when you are watching with all your concentration on the bride and groom.It can't be because you are being distracted from what is happening as you look at it on a device. It's like watching it on television. You aren't seeing the people - you are watching them on a screen or through a lens.As your photographer we do everything in our power to get the best photos of you on your wedding day. Some guests get over enthusiastic about getting "their" shots of the couple, and that can mean getting in the way of the paid, professional photographers.I must say that in the years that RT Photos has been photographing weddings, we haven't had a lot of trouble with guests ruining the perfect shot for us.Maybe wedding guests in Canberra are more polite than some other cities in Australia. I've heard from some photographers that lament the number of guests that placed themselves in the aisle to make sure they got the best possible angle to photograph the bride and groom during the ceremony meant getting a clean photograph of the ceremony almost impossible.My main concern is that when a bride walks down the aisle she should see her friends and family looking her in the eye to show her how stunningly beautiful she is and how happy they are for her. Not have their faces obscured by a mobile phone recording the walk. That's what she's paid us to do.I read somewhere that the Queen remarked how disconcerting it was to look at a crowd of people and not see the people, but instead a sea of mobile phones.I imagine a bride would find that disconcerting as well.We are happy to work with couples who want an unplugged wedding, but we are equally as happy if the wedding isn't unplugged.It's the bride's choice.But if I were a guest at a wedding, I'd want to experience the ceremony fully and be in the moment and rely on the professional photographer's images to capture each emotion.
