Technology is undoubtedly a massive part of our lives in this day and age. Our phones are practically extensions of our arms and we can’t go without checking in to our social media once a day. Most of our memories are made by captured moments on our digital devices and not by living in those moments. This can frustrate people who would rather be doing the latter, especially when it comes to significant occasions such as weddings.
This might be the reason some couples choose to have ‘unplugged’ weddings, where guests along with the bride and groom must forego using their mobile devices and instead be present in the moment.
The benefits of having an unplugged wedding is the intimacy and the lack of distraction. Take away cellphones and the guests will pay more attention to the happy couple. Everyone will be able to relish the occasion. Requesting that digital devices are switched off also eliminates the chance of unwanted disturbances during the ceremony.
By unplugging, the photos from your wedding will also look a whole lot better – no more pictures of your beautifully-dressed guests with their eyes glued to their mobile devices. There’s just something refreshing and romantic about photographs without cellphones in sight. There also won’t be any unplanned overexposure in the pictures because five people all decided to take a photo with the camera flash on at the same time as the photographer. It will also remove any awkward encounters. We all know the aunties are going to insist on taking fifty pictures, of the same shot, with their outdated cellphones. That either means your paid-for photographer will have to compromise their shot or uncomfortably wait for the aunties to get their picture.
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Aunties aside, there are some positives to plugged-in weddings as well, the first being that you don’t have to wait for the professional photographs to be sent to you (there is a bit of a waiting time) before you can see pictures from the wedding. While you wait for your professional photo’s, you can enjoy Auntie Jackie’s pictures from her phone!
Having access to social media at a wedding can also be a good thing. Using a unique hashtag just for your wedding on Instagram or Facebook is a smart way to create an online ‘photo album’ made up of pictures snapped and uploaded by you and all your wedding guests. Everyone will be able to view pictures posted with that specific hashtag, all in one place. It’s also a lovely idea to implement the hashtag from the first wedding event onward, for example, the engagement party. This will allow snapshots from every wedding celebration to be placed in one section.
Still can’t decide if you should have a plugged or an unplugged wedding? Why not do both. You can opt for an unplugged wedding ceremony and a plugged-in reception, for example. You can customise it however you want, after all, it’s your big day.
Picture: Pexels
The wedding cake is an important element at any reception. It serves as a centrepiece on the big day, and is often one of the most spoken-about things…
It’s confirmed: there is indeed love after The Bachelorette! Season 12 alumnus Wells Adams proposed to Modern Family‘s Sarah Hyland, and she said yes.
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Hyland shared a photo of the moment Adams got down on one knee on her Instagram. She captioned the sweet picture with “That can’t eat, can’t sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world series kind of stuff”, a quote from the 1995 film It Takes Two. Adams posted a video filmed on a drone of him proposing to Hyland, along with some cute images of the couple.
Hyland showed an interest in Adams back when he was on The Bachelorette. The two started flirting on Twitter in 2016 but only made things official in late 2017. The happy couple had been in a long distance relationship, since he lived in Nashville, Tennessee and she in Los Angeles, California, but took things to the next level in August 2018, when Adams moved in with Hyland.
The couple share three dogs and have stated that things have been weirdly normal and moving in together has brought them closer than ever – definitely a good thing when you’re about to tie the knot with someone.
Picture: Wells Adams/Facebook
The wedding is over. Now you can finally relax, right? Nope! There is still one thing left to do – send out thank you cards. This may seem…
Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are luxuriating in the Maldives for their honeymoon after their second wedding. The couple were first wed in an impromptu Vegas-style ceremony on May 1 2019, the same day as the Billboard Music Awards. They made a little elopement to a chapel, and the ceremony was officiated by an Elvis Presley impersonator.
On June 29, the two had another wedding – this time planned and a little more conventional – and tied the knot again, in front of family and friends. The romantic ceremony was held in a picturesque chateau in the south of France. Sophie wore a beautiful Nicholas Ghesquière wedding gown from Louis Vuitton. The beautiful silk and lace dress included an open back, traditional veil, plunge line neck and lace sleeves. Joe opted for a Berluti, black tuxedo designed by Kris Van Assche.
The details are kept to a minimum though, as Sophie stated that she wanted to keep things private.
After a wedding for the books, of course, comes the intimate honeymoon. The (kind-of) newlyweds are enjoying their honeymoon at one of the Soneva Fushi beachfront villas on Kunfunadhoo Island.
The lovebirds seem to be relaxed and having fun as they eat sushi and have a game of chess with the ocean 10 steps away, floating above the sea in a floor hammock. Sounds like heaven.
The scenic and charming villas cost anything between R19 000 – R386 900. A small price to pay for happiness, we suppose?
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Although wedding favours are not compulsory, they are a great sentiment. It is recommended to give something that is either edible, reusable, or an item that is fun…
There are all kinds of unique wedding traditions across the world, some of them rather strange. We compiled a list of the eight oddest we have come across.
Banging on the wedding night in France
This may not be the kind of banging you would expect on the wedding night. Family and friends gather outside the house of newlyweds to bang on pots and pans. The couple then also serves their guests drinks and snacks. This age-old French tradition is known as Charivari.
Fat arms in Mauritania
In Mauritania, brides work towards becoming chubbier in preparation for their weddings, as it is believed to be a good luck charm in their tradition.
The groom is beat with fish in Korea
South Koreans believe that in order to make the groom ready for the first night of the marriage, his feet should be beaten by dead fish and bamboo sticks.
Scotland’s “Blackening Ritual”
This age-old tradition involves family and friends showering the couple with all sorts of disgusting things and then tie them to a tree. This is done to help the bride and groom prepare them for anything life throws their way.
Crying for a month before the wedding
Chinese brides have to cry every day for an hour for the entire month leading up to their wedding. For the Tujia people in China, crying ushers in a good wedding or life event.
Stealing brides
In some small villages in Germany, grooms aren’t guaranteed that their brides will make it to the altar on time, or at all. Kidnapping the bride is an old custom, beloved by pranksters, and carried out by friends of the betrothed-to-be. The locals might provide clues for the groom as to where his bride is, provided they are invited to the wedding. If they do not receive an invite, however, custom demands that the brideless groom pick up the bar tab – for the entire pub.
Carrying coins in shoes
In Sweden, brides are decked out from head to toe in tradition. They often wear crowns made of myrtle flowers, which symbolise virginity, marital fidelity, and good luck on their heads. In their shoes, they tuck one coin each – a silver coin in the left shoe from their father, and gold one in the right from their mom. The coins symbolise hope for the couple’s marital prosperity.
Pin the cash on the bride
Weddings in Cuba are nonreligious civil ceremonies. Even so, they are often extravagant affairs, earmarked by interesting customs such as the “money dance”.
Meant to help fill the newlywed’s coffers, this tradition is also tons of fun for guests. After the formal ceremony’s pomp and circumstance is over, male wedding guests who wish to dance with the bride must first pin money to her dress.
Picture: Pixabay