One Photographer’s Viral Rant Has A Pretty Important Message For Every Wedding Guest

It’s not news that tech at a wedding nowadays is kind of inevitable. From smartphones and ipads to expensive cameras, it’s not surprising that for many couples, a ban on uploading images to social media now goes hand in hand with an invitation. Or there’s the couple who have a wedding hashtag to try and collect all their images at the end of their special day. There is one important message though – where does the digital obsession end and enjoying the moment begin? Now one Australian photographer’s rant has gone viral. Why? Because thanks to the modern obsession with phones, this groom had to lean out to watch his bride walk up the aisle. In a post to his Facebook page, Thomas 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. 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. And i'm not blaming these guests in particular; I actually take a large amount of responsibility for this occurring. In the past I should have been more specific with my clients in explaining to them why guests should be told no photos. Well, from now on, I'm going to make a pretty big deal about it.’ He then continues with a list of suggestions for his future clients, including: ‘1. Guests with phones, iPads and cameras get right in your photographer's way. They have no idea how to stay out of our way. They often ruin many of our shots. They will make our photos worse. You're paying a photographer quite a bit of money; that means you want great photos. We cannot do our best work with people getting in our way.

2. These same guests will get in YOUR way. You will miss moments of your own wedding day because there'll be an iPad in the way. You will miss seeing your partner's face in the aisle.
3. The guests' photos are usually crap. I'm sorry, but it is true. You can't take great photos with your camera phone by leaning into the aisle of a dark church to photograph a moving subject. Hell, even lots of professionals have trouble with this.

And finally, the most important point:

4. Imagine you're in the middle of your wedding ceremony. You're elated. You decide to take a quick glance towards your guests as you're sure they're sharing these happy moments with you, possibly even shedding a tear of their own. What do you see? NO FACES AT ALL AS THEY ARE ALL HIDDEN BEHIND PHONES AND CAMERAS! I highly doubt this is the way you want to remember your wedding ceremony.’

He ends his rant by asking people to consider an unplugged ceremony, asking people to remember the real reason they’ve turned up to this special event: ‘Guests, you’ve been invited to this wedding to share and celebrate the love that two people feel for each other. ‘They want you there with them in heart and soul, and they want to see your tear-filled eyes as you form part of their wedding ceremony. ‘You are witnesses to their marriage, so for goodness sake, watch them with your eyes and your minds, not your phones.’ If in doubt, maybe take your lead from the main man and wife. While we admit it’s hard not to take a cheeky wedding snap (it’s something about that big white dress), we definitely see the justification in holding off until after they say ‘I do’.