An impassioned post from a professional photographer about the use of smartphones at weddings has sparked a debate about what is and isn’t appropriate tech etiquette on a couple’s big day.

Photographer Thomas Stewart took to Facebook to air his grievances after one of his photos was ruined by attendees brandishing smartphones.

• You won’t believe who crashed this US wedding
• Turkish couple feed 4000 refugees on wedding day
• Thirteen reasons I’m done with Bed and Breakfasts
• Why you should start reading romance novels

“Look at this photo,” Mr Stewart posted on November 6. “This groom had to lean out past the aisle just to see his bride approaching. Why? Because guests with their phones were in the aisle and in his way.

“This sucks. And i’m not blaming these guests in particular; I actually take a large amount of responsibility for this occurring. In the past I should have been more specific with my clients in explaining to them why guests should be told no photos. Well, from now on, I’m going to make a pretty big deal about it.”

The post has since received more than 100,000 likes and hundreds of comments.

“Went to a wedding about a month ago – didn’t get to see the actual ceremony. Instead I got to watch it on the iphone of the lady 3 rows in front of me who held it over her head to record the ceremony,” one commenter added.

Mr Stewart explained that iPads and smartphones get in the professional photographer’s way, block the bride and groom and distract the attendees from what’s actually happening in front of them.

“Guests with phones, iPads and cameras get right in your photographer’s way. They have no idea how to stay out of our way. They often ruin many of our shots. They will make our photos worse. You’re paying a photographer quite a bit of money; that means you want great photos. We cannot do our best work with people getting in our way,” Mr Stewart wrote.

“These same guests will get in YOUR way. You will miss moments of your own wedding day because there’ll be an iPad in the way. You will miss seeing your partner’s face in the aisle.”

While Mr Stewart suggests having an “unplugged” ceremony, in this technology-saturated era that might be a challenge.

Instead, we’ve compiled a list of things to avoid if you decide to take smartphone photos at your friend’s wedding.