Mobile devices have changed pretty much everything. I never really had a problem with cables when I was a kid and I never bothered to add a data ‘bolt-on’ to my phone contract because why would I want to search Google on my phone?

Fast-forward quite a few years and most of us are unable to function without a mobile. It’s funny how social media has made us pretty unsociable.

Although we try our hardest to think about others, our social media activity is almost always about ourselves.

Look how interesting my life is. Look how much nicer my breakfast was this morning. Look how funny this person’s hat is.

You get the idea…

So how does this relate to weddings? Weddings are always about the happy couple, right?

Most wedding guests bring their iPhones along, and that’s fine. Everyone needs their phone to hand in case of some sort of emergency. However, it’s actually got to the point where professional wedding photographers are having to focus more time and attention on avoiding iPhones or even worse, iPad screens – instead of capturing the moments. Pretty sure this was never a problem before.

Auntie Julie pushing to the front and snapping away for Facebook alongside cousin Chris who needs to update his Instagram Story, probably think they’re doing you a service by capturing these special moments on their phones.

As good as their intentions might seem to them, deep down, it’s probably all about them.

People don’t want others to think they have a boring life. People want to tell the world about what they’re up to. This is the ‘look how much nicer my breakfast is’ situation all over again.

What many wedding guests forget as that the couple have often paid a significant amount of money for a professional photographer to capture these moments, largely so the guests don’t have to.

Guests should be invited to share your special day with you. Not to share your special day with everyone else.

Don’t get me wrong, some guests probably are genuinely capturing these images for you. The problem is that mobile phone cameras require you to get up close and personal (a lot closer than the photographer needs to get), resulting in lots of photos of the backs of your guests heads.

What’s the solution?

Sera & James’ Wedding at Pennsylvania Castle, Dorset

Many popular wedding blogs have chucked around the idea of an ‘unplugged wedding.’ I have some reservations about the use of the word ‘unplugged,’ although the concept still stands – politely asking your guests to keep their phones switched off and kept in their pockets for the whole day.

It’s not really as strict as it might sound. This doesn’t necessarily mean banning your guests from using their mobiles. If they need to make a call or reply to an urgent email, they can step outside and crack on.

The concept of an unplugged wedding is more about your guests keeping their phones in their pocket and spending more time and energy with you and the loved ones around them.

Pretty sure you’re not going to hang a photo of yourselves on the wall that’s a bit blurry, a bit wonky and features someone’s finger covering 30% of the image and you’re not going to miss having them plastered over social media for days after the wedding.

I like to get the best 50-100 online within a couple of weeks of the wedding. This has proven to be the best time to keep the excitement flowing and the format is perfect for sharing with family and friends on social media.

They’ll all be in focus and blur-free too! Doesn’t that sound awesome?