Amateur Photographers at Your Wedding – Yes or No?

You’ve looked at the wedding picture of your mom and dad on the mantle above the fireplace all your life. You’ve dreamed of the day when you will see yourself in a wedding dress with that man you fell in love with beside you in the same kind of picture. In a wedding album is another picture of a bridesmaid. You imagine her wearing the bridesmaid dress that you picked out together and how you and she couldn’t decide if the gold bridesmaid dress should be the one. 

Now, the big day is fast approaching. The reservations have been made for the church and reception. It’s on to the planning part, to picking the cake, flowers, guests, the photography, and all the incidentals. Part of the planning process will be deciding if amateur photographers in the gallery are going to be permitted to use their smart phones and digital cameras to fire at will.

Pictures are one of the most important parts of the wedding. They are going to capture not only the faces and the key moments, but also those special details like the bridesmaid dress because it’s a blue or gold bridesmaid dress and all so beautiful. Since you have to decide to what extent you want to allow guests to take pictures, you might want to consider these options.

Option #1 – Open to All – It is going to be so much fun to see all those pictures as friends send them out through social media for all to see. You can watch your social network going crazy in anticipation of what’s going to pop up out there next. On one hand, that’s an exciting thought, but on the other hand, there could be issues. Will the result of too much picture taking be utter chaos and complete loss of control over this once in a lifetime occasion? Will the presence of amateur photographers interfere with the professional photographer doing their job? These are things to consider.

Option #2 – Limited Access – Limiting your guests to certain places and even certain times for staged picture taking might be a good idea. Letting everyone know ahead of time that announcements will be made when pictures will be permitted could work to your advantage. This would allow for some level of control over the situation and make the professional photographer more comfortable that he won’t get interference while trying to get that perfect picture at that special moment. 

Option #3 – Prohibited – Ultimate control is achieved with this option. Only the photographs that the bride and groom approve together would appear on social media. Furthermore, only the pictures of the highest quality would be accepted and there would be no excuses the professional photographer could offer, suggesting that guests interfered with his work.  Some guests might not like this option much, but by notifying them beforehand, the request for ultimate privacy is certainly reasonable.

Remember, this is your special day. You need to decide which option is best and stick to it. This is a once in a lifetime event and at the end of the day,  your pictures might end up serving as a guide for your kids when they start planning their weddings.