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By Melissa Fleur Afshar
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A TikTok video capturing a wedding videographer nudging a guest out of the way to take a professional shot has gained viral attention online—and sparked a discussion about unplugged weddings.
Joel de Vries, an Auckland, New Zealand-based videographer, shared the clip to TikTok on February 16. The short video highlights the challenges of asking guests to refrain from using their phones at tech-free, or unplugged, weddings.
"I am all for unplugged weddings, but this is what it is like as a wedding filmmaker in 2024," de Vries, who goes by @smallroomvisuals on TikTok, told Newsweek. "Most people think the hardest thing about filming weddings is the bridezillas. The reality is, oftentimes it's working around guests who push in the way of professionals and think that their iPhone 6 can take a better video or photo than our professional setups."
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And lo and behold, the clip showed one guest stepping directly in front of the shot of the newly married couple armed with his smartphone camera—and De Vries forced to walk toward the guest and nudge him to one side.
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"The uncle in the video got excited when he saw his beautiful niece, the bride, walking up the aisle and in his excitement, he went to grab a picture on his phone," de Vries said. "He unknowingly stepped right in front of the photographer and myself, blocking our shot."
The Internet's Reaction
Unplugged weddings, where guests are asked to put away their phones, are becoming increasingly popular. For instance, in the U.K, 75 percent of respondents said they were considering a tech-free wedding, according to a March 2023 poll of 608 people conducted by planning website Hitched.co.uk.
De Vries' candid handling of the situation provoked emotion in many of the video's 2.1 million viewers, and has sparked a discussion about unplugged wedding rules.
"This! We've paid for a photographer but they still insist on posting their 100 blurry photos," one user, @hanaconda95, wrote.
Another, @kerrianneyoung, added: "Mine was supposed to be unplugged but so many [people posted] photos of me walking down the aisle before I could post."
Another, Mercedes Ellis on TikTok, shared: "I for one absolutely loved the photos my guests took."
And @iamsinigaglia, said: "Let them take photos."
Despite the occasional challenges, de Vries remains optimistic about the unplugged wedding movement and hopes that guests will learn to respect the wishes of their hosts in the future.
"I've started taking on a different approach to unplugged weddings," said de Vries. "I myself will get behind the mic before the ceremony and put a more memorable and comedic spin on the unplugged announcement."
"I only hope guests learn to respect unplugged weddings, except Nana. She's allowed to take as many photos on her iPad as she likes haha."
De Vries has been working as a videographer for more than a decade, and has amassed more than 18,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram in the process.
"This has been my job and my passion for years," de Vries said. "I have built my business on being my true self, cheeky, often unfiltered, and being the most genuine version of myself."
Do you have any funny wedding videos or pictures that you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.
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