I know we are all too familiar with the cheesy "silence your phone" commercials during movie previews. Practically everyone owns a cell phone today, and while most people are used to silencing it during meetings, church, etc., I think it is important to remind people that a wedding is also the occasion to "unplug". In fact at one wedding that Mr. Beagle and I attended, the church was going to charge the couple an extra fee for every cell phone that went off during the ceremony. Thankfully, no annoying ringtones were heard throughout the ceremony and fees were avoided.
The other technology item that may cause disturbances during the ceremony is the digital camera. Of course practically everyone owns one of these too. I wouldn't have even thought to mention anything about cameras if our church coordinator hadn't said something to me at our last meeting. She told me that flash photography is frowned upon during the ceremony... even from the professional photographer. I actually understand where they are coming from. As valuable as the photos from each moment are, sometimes the photographer/camera can detract from the present moment- the union and marriage. This may not be as strict in another setting, but since we will be getting married in a church, I really wouldn't expect anything less.
I was going to originally make mention of this somewhere in our programs, but then I forgot to include it *doh!*. The next best thing I've come up with is to make a small sign that will sit beside the guest book and program basket that will say something along the lines of:
Have you thought about the burdens of technology at your event? Are you reminding your guests about the proper etiquette concerning phones?
The other technology item that may cause disturbances during the ceremony is the digital camera. Of course practically everyone owns one of these too. I wouldn't have even thought to mention anything about cameras if our church coordinator hadn't said something to me at our last meeting. She told me that flash photography is frowned upon during the ceremony... even from the professional photographer. I actually understand where they are coming from. As valuable as the photos from each moment are, sometimes the photographer/camera can detract from the present moment- the union and marriage. This may not be as strict in another setting, but since we will be getting married in a church, I really wouldn't expect anything less.
I was going to originally make mention of this somewhere in our programs, but then I forgot to include it *doh!*. The next best thing I've come up with is to make a small sign that will sit beside the guest book and program basket that will say something along the lines of:
"Please remember to silence your cell phones and refrain from taking flash photographs during the ceremony. Thank You, Mr. & Miss. Beagle."
Have you thought about the burdens of technology at your event? Are you reminding your guests about the proper etiquette concerning phones?
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