Let’s also take a moment to look at the photographers point of view. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve assessed a ceremony site, chosen my lens, my settings and my position for a processional only to have an uncle jump out into the isle and completely block my view of the flower girl. Suddenly I am scrambling to change my position to shoot the flower girl only to end up with a few mediocre images of 10% flower girl and 90% uncles back. Yikes. This is also common for the first kiss. I place myself at the back of the aisle, ready for that gorgeous moment where the couples lips meet, where the guests laugh and cheer. and then ten guest jump right in front of the couple to get their photo. I would love to say my magic camera could shoot through humans and still get that awesome first kiss shot, but that isn’t the case.

An image by Thomas Stewart recently went viral after he experienced a moment where the groom actually had to step out of the way of click happy guests to see his bride coming down the aisle. I think this image says it all…. And I don’t think I will ever stop cringing when I look at it.

So how do you communicate the decision to your guests? A sign at the ceremony site is the most common way. You can also put a note in the program and even have the officiant announce the request before the ceremony begins. To help planning your ceremony, I’m proving a free download today! The incredible Michelle Ayres did an amazing job with the design…honestly, have you ever seen anything sweeter than this camera graphic?

Use the form below to have the file download directly to your computer!