Enjoying the Moment (and not taking a photo of it)

Elie Saab Jr. got married a few weeks ago. So of course you know his bride is going to have her wedding gown designed by the groom’s father, designer Elie Saab.

And she didn’t just have one wedding gown – she had two! The bride, Christina Mourad, had a ceremony gown with 500,000 sequins and a 14 foot train! Then her reception ballgown had 650,000 sequins and 150,000 Swarovski crystals! Wow!

I get it that a LOT of guests wanted to see THE dress (not knowing she had a second dress for later) but this ceremony photo makes me cringe. So many guests are so focused on taking photos with their phone that they are missing out on just Enjoying The Moment.

I counted over 50 cell phones taking photos in this photo. Wow. In all fairness, there are two – what look like – photographers/videographers up at the front with larger cameras both walking away and totally missing this moment.

I remember when cell phone cameras really started to pop up at weddings. I used to love the photos I took of the bride and groom during their first dance and people were just standing smiling and watching. Or the photo of the bride dancing with her dad and her mom was standing there watching and it was such a beautiful moment. Then cell phone cameras showed up and people were making odd faces and squinting while taking photos instead of just beaming at the couple and enjoying the moment.

I recently saw a rant on Facebook from a photographer and she talks about how cell phone photographers are really getting in the way. I can see both sides of the argument. As a guest, I love taking a few photos of my own. But I don’t block the professional. Ever. And I don’t want to go to a party where my phone is taken away from me temporarily.

Hannah nailed it when she said this:

What exactly do you plan on doing with that photo? Honestly. Are you going to print it out? Save it? Look at it everyday? No. You’re not. But my bride would have printed this photo, looked at it often and reminisced over this moment as her dad walked her down the aisle on her wedding day.

Hannah Mbalenhle Stanley

So the next time you are invited to a wedding, enjoy the moment! Put your phone away. And speaking of enjoyment, let’s see more photos of those gorgeous Elie Saab gowns: