When it comes to getting married, following tradition is vital to ensure a happy wedding day and successful start to married life. One practice that is hard to give up by many brides is seeing the groom before the actual ceremony on the wedding day. It’s the moment when the church doors open and everyone is looking at the bride – including the groom – with beaming smiles and oohs and aahs as she passes everyone down the aisle to her prince charming. It’s like THE moment of the wedding that pretty much everyone – no matter what the culture or religious background – looks forward to and signals the actual start of the wedding day and celebrations.
Fast forward to our current times and not much has changed about the first look. For many couples, the wedding photos help to chronicle the wedding day to show and share with future generations to come. However, in order to ensure that the necessary pictures are taken, much time is taken up to do so from an already busy day. This can cut into the newlyweds missing out on cocktail hour and not getting a much needed break in between the ceremony and reception.
Recently, a new first look has emerged in which the bride and groom see each other before ceremony. Now, before you run off in shock, it is suffice to say that the new first look does not take away from the surprise because it is still a first look. The groom will still be seeing his bride for the first time. Whether that happens at the beginning of the ceremo
ny or an hour before, it is still a first look. Better yet, the happy couple gets to bask and share in that moment because it will just be the two of them and to take the time to take in and appreciate the big reveal. The best part of all is that this allows for pictures to be taken. You can choose to do all of the couple shots at this time or to also include the pictures with the bridal party in order to save on time later on. By doing this, after the ceremony, you can focus on just taking family pictures (which usually do not take too long) and then to enjoy the cocktail hour.
It is going to take more and more couples to do this new first look before it catches on, but it is a safe bet that this practice is becoming more in vogue with the times. Perhaps in future generations, this will not be an issue, but for now, we have to be the ones that decide if we want to stick with the old or step out into a new age of walking up to your groom, tapping him on the shoulder and seeing and capturing that first look in his eyes for all the years to come.
