No Cell Phones Allowed | The Five Effects

No cell phones allowed.  It is something out of a horror movie, right?  What about this one: “If it is not on Instagram, it never really happened.”  This phrase, I’m sure, is nothing new to you.  In America, we live in a society where social media is pretty much the driving force of every thing we do.  Recently we had a sweet couple get married, and the officiant made a bold request.  He had the nerve to ask everyone in attendance to put their phones on silent, and then, *GASP* even more shocking, he asked everyone to turn off their mobile devices.  Power down, off.  No notifications, no picture taking, no social media posting, off.  Like for real, off.  O-F-F.
There is always that one Aunt, Grandmother, or just the family friend you see every four years, who will bring their rather large camera to a wedding and then do everything possible to get every single moment captured on film.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I like capturing the moment like the next woman, but why is it that when someone asks us to turn off our phones we feel like something within us has died a little? When did we become so social media driven that we can’t unplug for a few hours to actually be present within the present?
We recently caught up with J.Woodbery Photography and were given a glimpse of what it is like to be a Professional Photographer on a Wedding Day.  While their job is amazing, as they are right in the middle of all the action, wedding guests and all the Aunt Alices of the world, make it difficult.  Wedding Photographers get one shot at capturing all the important details, and once that moment is ruined (and typically ruined by  everyday people like us) they can’t recreate it.  The moment is gone.  As Wedding Planners, we see this all the time, but it is the actual proof of our society’s rudeness.  It’s horrifying, really.  So we felt our duty at Becky’s Brides is to share that glimpse with you.  Why?  Because we care about you.  YOU are the reason we do what we do.  So here is a peek into the struggle of the American Wedding Photographer:
1) The Red Dot Effect
This may look like a wonderful photo of Becky’s Brides couple, Adam and Megan, but what you don’t see in this gorgeous image is the red dot from a guests camera that would only allow this picture to be delivered in black and white. Now this isn’t an ultimate fail in our book, as this is a wonderful photo, but hang in there, it gets worse.

2) The Flash Effect
This beautiful train wreck of a photo turned ghostly when Aunt Betty Jane decided to become honorary photographer of the day.  When a flash goes off from another camera at the same time your Wedding Photographer is trying to get a shot, the ghosts come out.  But on the bright side (see what we did there), the Mr. and Mrs. Birdie cake toppers are too cute.

3) The Instagram Effect
The following photos are what happens when every sorority sister, Grandmother, Uncle, and pretty much anyone else sitting in an aisle seat, wants to get a post worthy picture:

4) The No Professionals in the Front Effect
Sometimes certain venues, or officiants, will request that no photographers come up front.  As Wedding Professionals, we completely understand that distractions can ruin a special moment but we also understand that Aunt Susie and her camera can as well.  If only Aunt Susie understood that, too…

5) The Rude Guest Effect
This one is my personal favorite.  Friends and Family.  We know they all mean well, but the following is reason enough why unplugging during a wedding is vital in honoring the bride and groom.  In the following photo, this precious couple was in the middle of their “non-reveal”.  In case you have never heard of this, a “non-reveal” is a special moment where a bride and groom come together to share a private moment yet are so careful to not actually see each other.  As they read personal letters to each other, their friends made sure that the moment was not so sweet in print . Fact: Hiring Becky’s Brides will ensure your special moments remain special moments.

So the moral of this story is be the good friend.  Leave your cell phones in your purse and your gigantic Nikon in the trunk.  Special thanks to J.Woodbery Photography for the inside look into Wedding Photography at it’s worst.