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I did not.
I can 110% assure you digital cameras flashing off did not affect our pro pictures as well.
Classic example:
My friend's girlfriend, is quite nice, but very in your face. A little clueless (yeah I know all this irrelevant).
Anyway during the cake cutting she was IN OUR FACE taking pictures. Like standing right next to our photographer taking pictures. Her flash was starting to blind us and I could see out of the corner of my eye our photographer patiently waiting for the friend to finish taking pictures before she took pictures. Thankfully she topped taking pictures after a couple shots or I wold have said something. Like seriously?! We paid our photographer good money to be here! Go away with your digital camera! Why is our pro photographer waiting for you to finish taking pictures? Some people have no sense.
Anyway, my point is. Those pictures came out just great! :)
I wouldnt say no pictures but I would say please no flash photography and talk to your grandma about her camera. There always seems to a few pictures missed by the photographer that may have been captured by a guest.
Totally agreed on some guests capturing good pictures.
You're photographer can't be everywhere and sometimes a guest can happen to be sitting at just the right angle.
Oh good idea about the no flash photography.
I am asking everyone not to take photos of any kind during the ceremony. I have a little note on the website about this, and our officiant will make an announcement before the ceremony. Our photographers will also be well out of the way. I'll let people do whatever at the reception.
For me, the ceremony is a sacred event. I'm inviting 50 people who are extremely close to us (and 6 of FMILs friends who don't know us at ALL 
), and I want them there because I want them to share the ceremony with us, paying attention to what is being said. I don't want them messing with their cameras/cellphones trying to get a good shot. Our officiant feels strongly about this, too, so we are able to blame him when anyone seems a little disappointed about the rule.
Honestly? I think it would come across kinda rude to ask guests not to take pictures. You've invited them to witness a wonderful time in your life and with digital cameras being EVERYWHERE I think it would be really unrealistic to expect everyone to not use them.
I would have a conversation with your grandmother (or maybe your mom could have it with her), and say something like you've hired a professional photographer so that she doesn't have to be worry/be distracted/ to take pictures for you and you would love to sit with her after the wedding and pick out her favorites to order??
I don't think a film-camera would really make THAT much noise. Yes, you might hear it but you'll be focused on much more important matters at hand. I wish I could have a grandmother be at my wedding- loud camera and all. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but just be happy she is there at all.
Guests took pictures at our wedding. It was fine. I didn't even notice that there were even guests there, I was so wrapped up in getting married and my hubby, so I definetly didn't get destracted by pictures. Our pro pictures came out great, and it was nice to see pictures from friends and family before we got our pro pics back.
@PinkPinstripes--Film cameras DO make that much noise. Sorry your grandmother couldn't be there but please don't make assumptions about others' familial relationships and tell me to "be happy she is there at all".
I have to completely agree.
During the ceremony my husband and I had eyes only for each other. We were clueless as to what else was going on besides him and I and our officiant.
We had probably 90 or so people that showed up on time for the ceremony and a TON of kids. So I'm sure there were plenty of distractions. But honestly, we did not notice it.
I had no problem with guests taking pictures of the ceremony because I wanted to see all of the pictures that had been captured. Because the room was so dark, my photographer had told me that she would need to use the flash. I was hoping that by everyone else taking pictures I would have a good variety of photos.
I kind of wish I had let only the photographer take the pictures. There was one guest we had, who my husband invited, that was very rude about picture taking. He was standing up taking pictures during the entire ceremony and blocking everyone else who was trying to record it or take their own pictures. He was also getting in the photographer's way while she was trying to take pictures of the bridal party before the ceremony because he was right next to her taking pictures along with her, she was a sweetheart so she was patiently waiting for him to take his pictures. Since it was a guest of my husband's and I didn't know him I didn't feel it was my place to say anything. This is what we ended up with when the photographer tried to take a picture of the ceremony as a whole...
Standing in front of my MOH
Blocking me!
I was so mad when I saw these because I didn't realize it at all during the ceremony. Then people started complaining to me about him and all I could say was I understand why you are mad. Finally they started complaining to my husband too, and he is flattered that this man was doing this. My husband says that this man thinks of him like a son so it is okay that he did that. Ugh! He hasn't seen these wedding photos yet.
Wow that guy getting up like that is pretty ridiculous. i can safely say that I have NEVER seen ANYBODY have the audacity to do that. Everybody takes photos from where they are sitting and i've never seen anybody get in the way of the photography. When my friend does weddings, while she is posing people or talking to someone in the party, she encourages the grandmas and aunts to snap a few in between of the bride and groom.
It isn't so much as the extra flashes, though it does change some lighting on the bodies, but it is the distraction factor. As the B+G, bridal party, or family; if you have 1 pro with a 2nd shooter, that is already a little confusing to know which one to look at. Add in the rest of the guests? Eyeballs and faces will be looking everywhere.
As a photographer, I can't really look back when I back up to change perspective and if there is someone behind me, well I am not going to know about it till I bump them down as I back up. Happened. It wasn't fun.
It just needs to be put into perspective for the guests. Courtesy and politeness goes a long wayl
@aubray-- Thank you for posting this! My mom is on the fence about whether it's rude or not to tell people not to take pictures. I'm going to show her what you've posted. I'm sorry this happened to you, people can be so thoughtless!
We had someone taking photos, but not a professional photog as we did not have the $3,000 all the local photogs wanted for pics. In fact, that was the entire budget for our wedding.
I have to say, we got the BEST pics from some of the guests. I also had the cameras on the tables at the reception, and we got some great candids there as well. My poor brother, who was tasked with taking the photos I wanted, got all of the "formal" shots too, but sometimes they look too posed. Fortunately we have some talented shutterbugs for friends/family too! Something about a little disposable camera seems to bring out the ham in some people :)
I didn't tell people to not take pics, but I did tell people no flash photography (but then again, I said that to my photographer too) and I asked people to respect the photographer and not call to peoples eyes to another spot when the photographer was taking pics.
I bet the location of your ceremony might have an impact on how distracting the camera flashes are. Our ceremony site requests that guests not take flash photos, which was on the program, and most of our guests ignored it. We got married in a big, dark chapel, and there were so many flashes going off as I walked up the aisle it looked like paparazzi with a celebrity. It actually was very, very distracting, and I really wished people had respected the chapel guidelines. Overall it was a tiny little blip of a thing and didn't really matter, but I do feel the same as you--I wish people would just watch rather than trying to take a million pictures that didn't turn out very well anyway.
I don't think you'll notice the cameras.
I've been married once before, and I can tell you once I got up there, the audience disappeared, I was just focused on the task at hand.
(Same thing happens when I show my dog, I become oblivious to anything going on outside the show-ring.)
@youhavemyheart I think you are smart for doing this. There are people out there who are total shutterbugs and think that getting that perfect shot of you is much more important than what they are supposed to be experiencing. Out of 20 weddings I shot this year I had 5 where I wasn't able to get a great shot of the bride coming down the aisle with her dad because a guest or two stepped in front of us or in front of them and this is with TWO pro photographers. It's actually not the other camera flashes that screw with the photos its the little red light that helps the new point and shoots focus get beamed right onto to couple. So you didn't want your wedding dress to be orange right?
@Gerbera & @aubrav we have a name in the photography industry for these kind of people we call them Uncle Bobs. Some of them just l LOVE photography and others are inspiring to be wedding photographers themselves and want to use your wedding for their portfolios. Some ask but most don't. I can not tell you what a distraction is for us. It really makes our job that much most difficult when we have to fight someone for the prime spot or for the subjects attention. Our couple are paying us thousands to be there and create images of their day, it boggles me why anyone would want to try and take that away from the couple. Mostly for their own selfish reasons. We have stopped allowing anyone else to take photos of the formals as we got sick of head swap requests because so and so was looking at her boyfriend taking a photo rather then look at the pro. We want formals to go quickly
So my $0.02 is if you are investing in a pro then let them do the best job they can for you. Let your shutterbug uncle bobs know they can take photos during the celebration but to please just stay out of the way of the pro and they are not there to compete with them. It will only result in your pro getting frustrated and not being able to give you their best. If your friend asks if they can shadow your pro so they can build their portfolio tell them you are honored and they are more then welcome to take photos but "shadowing" is not allowing the pros you paid to do their job to the fullest.
I think it is perfectly acceptable to asked that guests refrain from snapping photos during the ceremony. I have been a several wedding that guests taking photos became a distraction. (That being said, I think I'd get my grandma a new digital camera for the wedding!) That way she can have fun snapping photos quietly, and you can enjoy the moment, and enjoy her mementos later on... Some of my favorite photos from my parents wedding are photos that my great grandfather took. He captured my mother's smile and radiance in a way that only someone who knew her could do.
Since it's your wedding, I think it's fine to do what you and your SO think is best. Just my point of view as a guest...two years ago I went to a friends wedding (the first wedding I had been to for a friend, and not for family from years earlier) and I was really shocked about all the picture taking--it felt sort of papparazi like and annoying. (I was just sitting in the "audience" so to speak). She was okay with it, so I didn't say anything. But I thought it was annoying.
But then recently I was in a friend's wedding, and there lots of people took pictures. Of course being a bridesmaid is not the same thing as being a bride, but I think the BASIC expereince is the same--walking down the aisle, standing up front. etc. And that time, though I was aware people were taking pictures, it wasn't so annoying or really all that noticeable.
So....I think you can go either way, and it would be fine either way :-)
I didn't notice any of the cameras during my wedding ceremony. My photographer did not have a second shooter, so my friends got some shots from angles that my pro photographer was not able to get. I'm glad I had the viewpoints from the "second shooters" in the audience!
Everyone stayed in their chairs, though. I would have been furious if someone got up in the front and started taking pictures like aubrav's guest!
My cousin was married in a church that did not allow photography. No one told me this and i was in the back snapping away until some church official stopped me. My cousin was glad tho, i got the only picture of her walking down the aisle with her dad.
@youhavemyheart: No way, I am actually trying think of a good way to ask them to take pictures. I love pictures and the more pictures and perspectives on the day / moment the better. You could ask to not take flash photos if you are afraid of being distracted. But honestly I bet that you will be so in the moment that you wont even notice.
I WISH I had asked people to not take pictures during the ceremony.
It is SO RUDE and POINTLESS. It ended up distracting me a lot, and also messing up some of our pictures.
We had our ceremony in a non-traditional space, so it was a lot more open for people to walk around--if they so chose. But WHY would you choose to do so!??! There were people roaming all around, including behind our "altar", and it did distract me because, in part, I was thinking "S%^$! These people are messing up all the pro pictures!!"
I also feel like its mostly so totally pointless. The people taking these pictures are not going to look at them ever again. They run around like crazy trying to get shots, end up with pictures with people's heads cut off or out of focus, and then it's not like they are putting these pictures together in an album or framing them on their wall. If we are lucky, they would end up on facebook, or forwarded to me in an email, for me to then throw away b/c they are way worse than the pro photog's pictures which I actually WILL use. Why they would be so desperately in need of their photos give than I had 2 pro photogs that I was paying $$$$$$ for, is beyond me!
In the rare occasion where someone has a photog catastrophe, then those are valuable to have--even if they aren't the greatest--but if you don't have that happen to you, then it's only annoying. (Too bad you don't know which one you will be at the outset.)
I do wish I had told people not just to not take pictures, but just to stay in their seats at least. That was really all that mattered.
I was also really offended b/c as people are wandering around they totally AREN'T paying attention to the ceremony, which is why they were there in the first place. I can even see them in the video, not paying attention whatsoever. It was kind of infuriating, esp. since this was close family.
ejs4y8 youhavemyheart PizzutiStudios In their defense, they are from the Philippines and I am not really sure if maybe in their culture it is normal to act this way? They really are the nicest people, but my wedding pictures are something that I don't really get a second shot at, you know. I'm over it now but I'm glad to be able to help you decide. This is honestly something I never even would have thought could exist as a problem, I've never been to a wedding where anyone left their seats while the ceremony was going on. My poor family couldn't get pictures because he was sitting in the second row in front of my family who wanted to take pictures (who knows how that happened). If he had just sat on my husband's side I wouldn't have had to worry about it because his side of the family wasn't trying to take pictures. Although it didn't help anyone when he was standing in front of us!
@youhavemyheart: Flashes last somewhere around 1/10,000th of a second. You really don't need to worry about that interfering with your pro photos. It didn't in any of mine. I think it's kind of rude and pointless to ask people not to take pictures, frankly - I feel as strongly about it as the person who said the exact same about the opposite ;-).
i agree that it might sound rude/not set the right tone at the beginning of the ceremony.
And you will definitely not notice (but other people might).
In my experience, most people are smart enough to stay out of the way, but there's always one person who is awkward...Since you won't notice, don't worry about it.
Last, some of my favorite pics are from guests and I got them back a lot faster so I almost wish more people were taking pics!
I'm not going to ask people to refrain from taking pictures at the ceremony. If they see the photographer do it then I'll bet they'll do it anyway.
I had photographers tell me that sometimes guests can be distracting during things like the first dance...dancing with your hubby for the first time and every family member is saying "look here! look at me!!" click click click!!
I am seriusly contemplating asking guests not to take photos as well. For us, the ceremony is sacred and I'm just not sure how I would feel about people taking photos & posting them all over the internet for strangers to gawk at and comment upon.
I'm also considering making a request that people not post photos on Facebook, flickr, etc until we've returned from our honeymoon so that we can have the joy of seeing our wedding photos before the masses... I'm not sure how that will go over, though.
A very very good friend of mine, went to her fiance's sister's wedding this summer, and brought along her digital camera. She took pictures from her seat, which wasn't super close to the front, but she got some really good shots. And she took TONS of pictures. A week or two after the wedding, she made an album on facebook of the wedding and tagged her future sister-in-law in the photos. Well, future-sister-inlaw was NOT very happy at all and made my friend take all the photos down because they hadn't got their professional photos back yet and everyone thought those photos were the pro ones. She ended up waiting and waiting and waiting for her pro photos, and in the mean time demanded that my friend give her copies of all the photos she took and told her she could put the album back on facebook because so many ppl had been asking to see pics. i don't think i would mind if guests took pics, as long as they are flattering (no blinking, or red demon eyes) ;)
It didn't both me so much during the ceremony, as nobody really got in the way with their pictures, and it was an outdoor daytime wedding, so no flashes necessary.
However, during formals, we had about 6 people standing beside our photographer yelling "look over here, look over here!" I had a minor bridezilla moment where I yelled back "Look at the person we're paying!"
And I totally agree with the PP that didn't understand why they were doing this. We had a no facebook policy because DH doesn't like pictures of himself on the internet in uniform. I haven't even seen any of the photos people took. I doubt they've been bound up in an album somewhere as their treasured memories.
Disclaimer on our website:
"You are welcomed to take photos during the ceremony, but please remain seated. Our photographer isn't afraid to tackle someone for the shot."
@saphiresun - Same thing happened to me...the one picture of me, my husband and my mother--she is looking at the wrong person. UGH!
My uncle is an amateur photographer and he took photos the entire time. I think it annoyed our photog a bit but not us. He sent us a DVD with 400+ photos after the wedding and he took some incredible shots! I love our professional photog but in a lot of cases I actually preferred my uncle's shots for our album. He caught a lot of hilarious and intimate moments with the family. I got a couple other photos from other guests that I used in my album also, they took photos of little things that noone was paying attention to while our photographer was mostly focused on us. I think it's great to have that kind of diversity. You never know what kind of photo talents your guests may have.
@Miss Tattoo: That is awesome!!! I think there is definitely a way you can phrase your request without it coming across as snarky or rude. Adding a bit of humor as Miss Tattoo did definitely gets the message across without stepping on anyone's toes! Also, putting the message on the programs somewhere and having your officiant make an announcement at the start will ensure the message gets across.
It's all in the wording and a little humor never goes awry... :-)
Your ceremony location is beautiful!!! What is it??
hahha. Uncle Bob. Classic.
Thankfully all our guests had enough sense to stay in their seats while taking pictures. If not we would have been fine as well because we had two photographers and they were moving around because they got shots from different angles.
Our guests got some brilliant photos and mostly we're very polite and respectful. I can tell you I didn't notice a single flash or camera noise at all during the ceremony - I was fully focused on the Fella, trying not to cry too much and making sure I didn't muck up my vows!
We did have some guests standing next to our photographer to get additional photos when we had family photos and she did have to politely ask them to wait until she'd finished because their flashes we're effecting her photos. But all in all it was fine! Although I didn't have any obnoxious guests standing in front of us during our ceremony! Some people need to know that as a guest, their job is to watch the ceremony, not photograph it!!
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I'm thinking of asking guests not to take pictures during the ceremony. I'm worried for starters, about it being distracting to them and to us. I don't want to feel like an animal in a cage at the zoo! As a guest, I'd never dream of taking picutres during the ceremony, I'd want to witness every moment, not be fussing with my camera! Also, I'm worried that having flashes and stuff going off randomly from a bunch of different cameras may impact professional photography. If I'm going to fork out $1500 for pro pictures, I don't want to risk that the pro pictures are messed up by other camera's flashes.
Also, this is dumb but, my grandma still uses one of those old film cameras. So when a roll is over it makes that loud whirring and clicking noise as the film winds up. My mom has been embarassed time and time again (brother's graduation, my graduations, etc.) by her mother's camera making all that awful racket at such an inappropriate time.
I want to put up a sign by the program basket and also have the ushers mention it. I'd also put a line in the program and spread it word-of-mouth.
Did anyone ask guests to refrain from taking pictures? Did they abide by that rule?