Plugged or unplugged wedding?

Profound Photography
Let us start with defining what an unplugged or plugged wedding is before we dive in too deep.

An unplugged wedding is a wedding where guests are not allowed to use any technology to capture what’s happening at the event and a plugged wedding is where guests have all the freedom to do whatever they please with their devices to capture the proceedings.

So, who determines whether to have a plugged or unplugged wedding?

At Profound Photography, we leave it to the clients to decide what they want. All we need the couple to do however is to be clear on what they want.

How does it work?
Many Zimbabwean photographers are not keen on the idea of other people with cameras at weddings and for a good reason that they can potentially interfere with your best photo or an important part of the day.

We also see that sometimes, half of the people at the group photos can look to the side where a relative is taking pictures with a camera or a phone instead of looking at the photographer.

Personally, we have no problem with friends and family bringing their cameras to the weddings we shoot.

If the couple doesn’t mind, then we also don’t mind. A good photographer will work around everyone to make sure they get the best possible photos.

Ever heard of something called the wedding #hashtag? It’s a trend where friends and family are asked to put a certain hashtag on everything they post on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter including pictures and videos from the wedding.

This is usually done so that anyone including the couple who searches up for that hashtag sees all the posts in one place. So, this can only happen at a plugged wedding.

Any good photographer would take a couple of weeks to process images and video from a wedding and most people do not want to wait that long to share in the excitement of the event hence the urge to snap a quick photo and post it somewhere.

How to communicate what you want
So you want an unplugged ceremony only but wondering how best to communicate with your guest? It’s easy!

The most common way is to ask your officiant to announce it at the start and during the ceremony. One other way is to include it on your invitations.

Word For Fellow Photographers
It’s always important to be kind and respectful. As professionals, we are always dealing with unexpected hiccups during a wedding, and other guests may be one of them.

We work the best we can and remain professional at all times. Talking of respect, you need to respect the decisions made by the couple and their friends and family.

And don’t forget to always talk to the couple about their priorities and help them plan accordingly.

For the best of both worlds, consider an unplugged ceremony and a plugged-in reception where guests can have all the freedom to snap as many photos as they can.

-This article was written at Profound Photography, a top Zimbabwe wedding company that specialises in wedding photography and cinematography. You can contact us on +263 776 253 018 or email us at [email protected].