NEW YORK – Once you decide on an “unplugged wedding,” you have to get the word out.
Banning smartphones and cameras for all or part of weddings is a relatively new concept, so you’ll need to remind your guests gently, but often.
Lizzie Post, an etiquette adviser for the Emily Post Institute, recommends using several channels, including an announcement from the officiant, spreading the word to phone-addict friends, and posting a sign or a few words in the ceremony program.
“If your request can be made gently and it seems really reasonable, you should have no problem,” she says.
What if someone ignores your request?
Well, there’s not much a couple can do beyond reminding the guest of the request.
“If you take someone’s phone away, that’s too far,” she says. “We always try to say ‘two etiquette negatives don’t make an etiquette positive.'”
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A few other recommendations:
— Give your guests something else to do, such as setting up a photo booth where they can record the moment without distracting themselves with selfies.
— Target your requests. Instead of asking your guests to stay off their phone for hours, think of a few key moments where you’d like to go phone-free.
— If you want to keep wedding photos off social media, consider setting up your own site. Collect guest photos and share them there.
— If forbidding phones is going too far, compromise by announcing that you’ll take a moment to pose for photos. That will let your guests get it out of their systems all at once.
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