Do you remember 5 or 10 years ago when you attended a wedding and you sat quietly, were in the moment and you soaked up every moment of a wedding ceremony? My how times have changed. Having officiated at over 100 weddings I have noticed a new and not so great a trend. It seems that with the coming of the cell phone and ipad things have changed and in my opinion not always for the better. Everyone it seems wants to capture in picture or video form almost every aspect of the wedding. While it is nice to capture a few moments for your records, it really does take away from personally experiencing being ‘in the moment’ with the happy couple. Brides at times can be posted to Facebook before they get up the aisle. It also takes away from the pictures that the professional photographers (who are being paid well for their services) are able to capture. I have noticed guests unknowingly blocking photographers from getting pictures of the wedding party on their way in and out and when they try to capture a picture of the overall room, their are arms extended with phones etc taking away from it. Not to mention those who forget to turn their ringers off and receive and actually take a call.
If you are invited to a wedding, you are included by the happy couple because you are special people in their lives. Please consider sharing in every way possible by being totally present for the ceremony and letting the professionals capture the moment. You will have plenty of time later in the day to get great pictures of the festivities.