There’s nothing more heartwarming and more sacred than a wedding ceremony.
Naturally, in our snap-happy world, wedding guests are wont to whip out their phones, tablets, and smart devices to document the beautiful moment for themselves.
But one Australian photographer is putting his foot down, saying enough is enough with the use of technology at wedding ceremonies.
At a recent wedding he worked for, Australian photographer Thomas Stewart was appalled to find that so many individuals had taken out their phones to snap a photo that the groom himself had to crane his neck over the elbows, arms and technological devices that blocked the view of his lovely bride. In anger and frustration, Stewart took to Facebook.
Stewart wrote, “Right, I’ve had enough. I want to talk to you all about guests using mobile phones/cameras at weddings. I want to plead with you, and I’m going to make this very simple: brides and grooms, please have a completely unplugged wedding ceremony.”
“Look at this photo,” Stewart continued in his caption. “This groom had to lean out past the aisle just to see his bride approaching. Why? Because guests with their phones were in the aisle and in his way. This sucks.”
The ongoing debate regarding technology has indeed conceded to the idea that we are entirely too disconnected from one another, and things only feel real if we are able to validate them through the lens of our smart phone. Stewart also argues that the use of technology during a wedding takes away from the intimacy of a photograph, making the moment a little less special.
“I wanted to highlight the negative effect technology can have on our photos,” Stewart told TODAY in an interview. “It’s become a bad trend and is now seriously interfering with my ability to do my job. I hope that brides and grooms will at least consider an unplugged ceremony, or at least become aware of what might happen if they do allow their guests to take photos during their ceremony.”
Since Stewart shared his thoughts on social media, the post has gone viral, climbing well above 100,000 likes and 70,000 shares. And he is not alone in his sentiments.
Recently, there has a been a new trend of “unplugged weddings,” where brides and grooms ask guests to refrain from using their phones until later in the event, such as after the first dance.
An average of more than 44,000 weddings take place each weekend. Perhaps unplugging for a few hours will help bring back that genuine Kodak moment that everyone is trying so hard to capture.
