By Rebecca Richman

Ever go to a wedding and witness a guest literally crawling on the dance floor in her nice cocktail dress so she could get into a position sitting underneath the photographer so she too could get a picture of the bride and groom on the dance floor? No? Well I have. I've also seen more digital cameras than flowers at weddings lately. Instead of watching the bride come down the aisle I've witnessed guests stand part way into the aisle (YES I know, it's insane) to get a photo of the bride straight on. 

Instead of clapping and cheering for the bride and groom as they come back down the aisle, it's been getting quieter and quieter because every guest has a camera in their hand snapping away. 

Now I have no shame in admitting that in the past I was the one in our group of friends with a digital camera glued to my hands snapping away at everything taking place. I would then get home and put the pictures on my computer and frankly never look at them again. There is a new concept taking place at weddings now called "unplugged weddings" and it's something that I've found myself suggesting to my clients as I help them plan their weddings and events. 

Brides and grooms have been asking their guests to turn off their cell phones and digital cameras in an effort to encourage their guests to be present during every moment of their wedding. We all know how quickly things happen during weddings, I promise you that while you are staring into your viewfinder you're missing the things happening around you. It's also possible that you're standing in the aisle, getting in the way of the professional photographer that your friends paid good money to photograph their wedding. You can very tactfully do this too. A photographer friend of mine David Zaveloff, is getting married this month and is having an unplugged wedding. He is posting this sign near the ceremony location to kindly ask guests to put down their cell phones and cameras and enjoy every moment of their ceremony. 

Now, I know the alternate side to this issue. Many photographers offer an online gallery for wedding guests to purchase photos but frankly at $10 for a 4×6 this just isn't feasible for most people. For my photographer friends: you may find that if your client is having an uplugged wedding they may request the hi res disc of images as they are able to share these photos with their friends and family who hopefully decided to put down their camera and enjoy every moment of the wedding day. 

Just food for thought as you plan your wedding!