This is a guest post by Anne Kleinberg
An unplugged wedding is when you ask your family, friends and guests to turn off their phones, tablets, cameras and other digital distractions during the ceremony and / or reception.
After your wonderful wedding is over, the recollections of your big day will be etched into your heart and mind forever. While no doubt you will have myriad photos and films to look at again and again, it will be the memories that you carry within you that will be the most exceptional: the gleam in your father’s eye; a loving touch on your shoulder; the admiring glimpse of someone you haven’t seen for ages — those will be your most treasured mementos.
With all the planning, there’s an element you may not have considered which can affect the atmosphere. It’s the question of how you want to treat the use of digital devices at the wedding. It might be a phone buzzing (assuming your guests have the sense to turn off the ringers), a camera clicking or an iPad blocking the view. People today have a tendency to be so totally involved with their devices that they often miss the real life experiences happening around them.
There are endless examples on the Internet as to how devices have interfered with the sanctity of the marriage ceremony. I live in Israel and while I know this is by no way common elsewhere, here in the Levant it is perfectly acceptable to be on your phone before, during and after the ceremony. I actually witnessed a man answer a call and speak on his phone as he was walking up to the chuppah to bless the couple and offer one of the Sheva Brachot (Seven Blessings). No one but me seemed horrified.
