Dear The Bridal Guru, Many friends' weddings that I have attended have everyone taking pictures and posting on Facebook, Instagram, Vine and other social media. This bothers me. I want to be the one to post the pictures. I want to post professional pictures from my photographer. And I want to be the first one to post the pictures. How do I nicely tell my friends and family not to post these awful grainy, out of focus pictures of our wedding?

First in Frisco

Dear First in Frisco,

Your request is not unusual. And it's a request that your friends and family should honor. Certainly, you don't want bad, out-of-focus pictures on any social media about your wedding. I know I would not. So, how do you tell everyone not to do this? There are several ways. With you friends and family, you can simply tell them not to post any pictures of your wedding before you do. For your wedding guests, you can have a short note in your program or on the tables. You might say in the note: "we thank you for sharing in our joyous time and we are honored to have you as our guests at this special time in our lives. We have special request that we hope you will honor. If you take pictures of the wedding on your cell phone, please do not post to any social media. We want to be the first to post our wedding pictures to friends and family. Thank you for honoring our request and sharing in this special time of our lives." Hopefully, everyone will honor your wishes. And Best Wishes to you both!

The Bridal Guru

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