Choose to Have an Unplugged Ceremony

An unplugged wedding ceremony is a ceremony in which the couple requests that guests put away cell phones, cameras, and any other devices in order for them to be present in the moment.

When guests aren’t fixated on texting or capturing the money shot of the bride walking down the aisle, the event immediately grows in intimacy. “For the couple, it focuses the entire energy of the whole ceremony onto what’s actually happening and that sacred moment of the actual wedding,” says van Son, which is, you know, the reason your nearest and dearest have gathered together in the first place.

Plus, with wedding attendees fully present instead of nose-deep in their Instagram feeds, the to-be-weds get a greater sense of emotion (All. The. Feels.) from the crowd. “The couple can look out at their guests and see smiling faces and their grandmother tearing up and their parents holding hands,” she explains.

Eliminating phones and cameras is also a blessing from a photographer’s perspective. “It gives us clear shots, which is awesome,” adds van Son. “We don’t have to struggle to find an angle and it’s a more visually appealing look than phones in the air.” Because no couple should have extended limbs obstructing their professional pics. And, let’s be honest—of the snippets from each guests’ unwarranted photoshoots, one or two might make it to Facebook or Instagram, while the rest will merely live on their phones, out of sight, for all eternity.