A wedding photographer has explained why she posted a now-viral video of a bride telling guests to put their phones away as she walked down the aisle.
Khyla Nixon and Andrew Nixon are the husband-and-wife team behind the wedding photography and videography business Maple and Mist which is based in Brisbane, Australia.
Earlier this month, Khyla and Andrew shared a video on social media that showed bride Anna Reuss walking down the aisle in March this year.
However, as Reuss walks down the aisle on her big day, she softly chastises her guests for using their phones for the ceremony and humorously asks them to put the devices away.
The wedding photographers noted that the bride had been forced to do this despite already requesting guests to put their phones at the ceremony.
The footage went viral and amassed over 14.4 million views on Instagram. Social media users largely criticized the “disrespectful” guests for taking pictures on their phones given that there were paid wedding photographers at the ceremony and that the couple had requested no smartphone devices.
“There’s photographers there for a reason,” an Instagram user writes.
Meanwhile, another social media user declared that the brides do “not spend thousands of dollars” on wedding photographers “to see phones” at a ceremony.
Another bride similarly lamented that her professional wedding pictures were ruined by guests taking their own photos on her big day.
“We asked for no phones because we had a photographer and in all the pictures of me walking down the aisle you see a guest in the back, out of their seat, taking pictures with their phone,” the bride reveals in the comments.
‘They’ve Got Paid Professionals for Photos’
In an interview with Today.com, wedding photographer Khyla revealed she shared the clip on social media.
The photographer recalled that there were close to 100 people in attendance at the wedding. Of that number, there were around 10 guests taking photos on their smartphones as Reuss was walking down the aisle.
Khyla tells the publication that the officiant had expressly asked everyone to put their phones away for the ceremony but the request “got ignored.”
“The celebrant actually did ask all the guests at the couple’s request… to keep their phones away,” Khyla tells Today.com
The photographer added that the officiant said something to the effect of: “They’ve got paid professionals. They want you to be in the moment.”
The Rise of Smartphones at Weddings
Khyla went on to tell Today.com that she didn’t think the bride’s words didn’t put a dampener on the wedding day and as far as she knows, the incident wasn’t mentioned again. According to the publication, Khyla also noted how Reuss called out her guests for using their phones in a fun and loving way.
The photographer says she just stumbled across the bride’s words while editing the footage and thought she would share it on Instagram for awareness.
“Not many people would say anything,” Khyla says.
“So normally a bride will probably see it happening but just sort of ignore it at the moment and maybe talk about it later but she was flat out like, ‘I’m saying something.’”
The photographer says that she has noticed guests increasingly using phones (and even iPads) during wedding ceremonies. Khyla says that guests taking pictures on their cellphones block the professional photographer’s shot on the day. It also ruins the moment on a couple’s wedding day.
“We’ve seen people just sort of living behind their phones during these moments,” Khyla says.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
