Wedding To See or Not to See Before the Wedding...

[Dakota09]

Tradition = don''t see the groom on your wedding day before walking down the aisle because that moment is priceless.

Modern Times = many women opt to do pictures prior to the ceremony so there''s no break or delay between ceremony and reception, and/or they are less nervous.

I''m totally on the fence about this and see the positives of each.

What are you doing, any why?

 

[mimzy]

we''re not seeing each other because
-we want to actually be married in our wedding pictures
-we''ll probably be less nervous after the ceremony, which will show in the pictures
-it will give us an excuse to get some time alone after the ceremony (which is more important to us than mingling at the cocktail hour)

totally personal preference though! i don''t think you can go wrong.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

We saw each other before the ceremony (after we were fully dressed in our wedding clothes). It was a great photo op. I have photographs of his reaction, my reaction, etc. I was so worried I would cry during the ceremony this allowed me to release all my feelings so we were calm and collected during the ceremony. Also my aisle was *SO* long I would have not seen his reaction anyways. I do not regret it and think it is actually one of the best things we did.

ETA: we also took pics AFTER the ceremony alone.

 

[PearlDahhhling]

I''m not superstitious at all, but I''ve always pictured us seeing each other for the first time that day as I walk down the aisle to him. I think it''s romantic and it''s a moment I definitely don''t want to miss.

Also I agree with Mimzy that we would like to actually be married in our wedding photos.

 

[Amandine]

We are doing pictures beforehand. Why? I lost my sister four years ago, and have really missed her while planning my wedding. I am afraid that I will cry (and not sniffly, pretty crying) at some point, and want to get the pictures done while pre-cry. Also, I really can''t stand the wait between ceremony and reception caused by photos.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I was on the fence, but DH wanted that "moment" where he looked down the aisle and saw me. It wasn't the first time we saw each other that day (in fact, we parted ways at that same spot earlier in the day) but it was the first time we saw each other after getting ready. I was very emotional--just the weight of the moment more than anything else. Seeing him at the end of the aisle was something I will never forget...we were both a little emotional until we grabbed each other's hand and then it just felt relaxing and easy.

I do think that if we'd seen each other before it probably would have been a little more relaxed, but I enjoyed the anticipation of the moment and all of the emotions (from both of us) that went with it. It turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the day.

I also think it helped that our wedding was tiny, so we didn't need much time at all for photos--everybody was a part of the photos.

 

[muffindowd]

We''re not seeing each other before the wedding...I have the biggest mouth in the universe and I am so proud of myself for not showing my fiance even so much as a photograph of my gown...and I cannot wait for the moment that he sees me. I can''t wait to see him. I think that is going to be one of the most precious moments of our wedding day and I don''t want to spoil it for myself by seeing him beforehand. I can definitely see the practical side of seeing each other before for pictures and everything thought!

 

[oobiecoo]

I thought I wanted to take the pictures beforehand but eventually decided not to so that we could have that moment of suspense when I walked down the aisle.

Well... fast forward to wedding day... I call DH to go to the church (we left our stuff there overnight) and bring me my hair pin at the salon. NO ONE at the salon would even look at him or help so he had to walk to the back to give it to someone and WE SAW EACH OTHER! I was devastated but at least I didn''t quite look like a bride yet. We still had our special moment when I walked down the aisle in full wedding attire!

I have a friend who saw her husband before the wedding... they all had champagne (bridal party, parents, couple) and the dad bought a round of shots

for everyone. They even went to Starbucks for pics beforehand. Well, that much fun before the wedding gets you into trouble! She got a stain on her dress!

I say wait and do pics after the ceremony. Your guests can wait an extra 30 minutes at the reception so that you and hubby can have that special first glance at each other.

 

[Octavia]

We plan to see each other before the ceremony. Neither of us are terribly attached to the idea of the "magic moment" -- culturally, it''s not really done where my FI is from and I don''t like the idea of being locked up for an hour before the ceremony while the guys get to mix and mingle. Plus, the way our venue''s garden is set up, it''s really difficult for the bride to sneak up unnoticed, so chances are people will at least glimpse me before I start my walk down the aisle. I''d rather have private time together with FI beforehand, and we can always take time afterward, too, if we want it!

 

[Livinthedream]

We are not going to be seeing each other beforehand. Like others have posted, we want the first moment we see each other to be when I walk down the aisle.

Our ceremony and reception are at the same place so there''s a time saver, but I can see where other people are coming from in wanting to meet up beforehand.

 

[buttercup80]

I''m so glad to see these responses!! We are not going to see each other beforehand, but I have gotten the feeling that most people do now. . . MANY of my vendors have tried to convince me it would be easier. . .

 

[zoebartlett]

We stayed in a suite the night before (and the night of) our wedding, so we saw each other before my sister and I left for the salon. We didn''t do pictures before hand, and I''m glad. I liked having it be a surprise (I had never seen my husband in a tux and well, he obviously had never seen me in my dress). I''m not sure which picture we have that captures the moment we saw each other, since we were both just smiling a lot in all of them. Neither one of us cried either -- we just had big goofy grins on all day.

 

[Nocturnius]

We didn't see each other after midnight of the following night.

We had the rehearsal dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and had traveled in different cars (I was with my family, he was with his grandmother and his groomsmen.) So at the end of the dinner, we saw each other for the last time right before we left.

If I can take a moment to make you all gag, it was one of the most magical moments of my life. He put his arms around me and said, "well... this is the last time I'll see you before we get married." He smiled for a second, then the smile went away and he just gazed at me. It felt like the world had completely stopped turning. Finally someone snapped us out of it and we went our separate ways.

As for that day, we probably could have benefited from taking the pictures beforehand, since we quickly lost daylight and thus, light for photos. But nothing compares to the feeling of seeing each other that first moment, best described by my husband:

"I was totally calm until I saw you. Then my heart just started pounding a million miles a minute and I felt like it was going to burst."

 

[marchswallowbird]

I''m going to wake up next to FI on our wedding morning, as we''re renting a room at the hotel the night before (destination wedding). Then he gets kicked out of the room while I get ready, and the next time I see him will be at the chapel, as I walk down the aisle.

 

[galvana]

we are not seeing eachother, im seeing him night of rehersal and then not again until i walk down the aisle the next afternoon.

I want to keep with tradition and have him "not" see me til i walk down the aisle.

we have a gap of time after the ceremony before reception so we are doing pics then

ceremony ends 315 and reception starts at 5p - we get announced at 6pm

 

[Laila619]

We are definitely NOT seeing each other before the wedding! We want the first moment we see each other to be when the music starts, the church doors open, and I walk down the aisle. I've dreamed of that moment since I was little. My fiance is so cute--he wants to make SURE we don't see each other, so we're getting hotel rooms on opposite wings of the hotel, and he wants his room to not have a view of the parking lot in case he should inadvertently see me the morning of the wedding when I'm running errands.

 

[palomablancabride]

We won''t be seeing each other before the ceremony either for reasons already listed. We''re going to do some pictures beforehand me with BM and him with GM and also our own families.

 

[Sparkalicious]

We''re not seeing each other before.

I''ve always envisioned my groom seeing me for the first time as I begin to walk down the aisle and he likes it that way as well. It feels more romantic to us. While there are pros to seeing each other before, that just doesn''t work for us and we have enough time between our ceremony and reception that we should be able to take care of our pictures.

It''s a tough choice. I''m sure that it will come to you shortly though.