I've been asked recently to weigh in on an unplugged wedding.  Not being one to shrink away from voicing my opinion - here goes: 

There have been a handful of weddings (mostly ceremonies) in which guests' over exuberance has caused me to miss a few key shots. Thankfully not many.  Personally, I really don't care whether my couples go unplugged.  But...and this is a big one...respectfully.  Here are a few examples in which friends have ruined shots:

• A beautiful outdoor wedding being filmed by a friend.  The friend was a pretty large sized man who decided to squat, actually sit in the aisle between the front two rows making it impossible for me to get a shot of the couple from a distance, you know - that romantic one that everyone wants?  To keep him out of the shots, I either had to pick a less desirable angle or stand up behind him blocking the guests' view of the vows. #Fail


• Another outdoor wedding at night.  Many of the guests were employed in social and internet media so every phone in the place was streaming the ceremony.  Really wrecked havoc on my electronics.  Same wedding a guest thought it would be funny to photobomb the couple as they made their sparkler exit. #Fail



• The most recent wedding incident had a guest set up a large tripod and camera in the middle of the aisle between the last two rows blocking me completely unless I crawled over the tripod which would be too disruptive.  She never moved, she didn't care. #Fail

My advice?  I'd ask guests to put the phones and cameras down during the ceremony and no one taking photos during any posed formal shots.  The rest of the night - yeah, I might have to work harder but usually it's just not an issue.  Just be available, or have someone I can go to, if a guest gets a bit unruly.  I don't like to confront guests, ever.  No photos to show you as I throw those away if I even pressed the shutter.