A bride who said her “I dos” this past August wrote to tell us how much she enjoyed all the wedding planning advice here at Daily Wedding Planning Tip, and we are so glad we could help! But we did ask one thing of her in return for the help we offered… no, not her firstborn! We asked her to share a piece of advice with all the brides-to-be who read our blog. She said yes, of course, and we’re delighted to pass her tip on to you. She said:

I’d tell future brides that they should do things the traditional way and not see the groom (or bride, I guess) until the ceremony. That means even if you’re getting married in the evening and have to wait all day, don’t even peek at your groom until you’re walking down the aisle. That’s what my husband and I did, and it made everything so much more magical and special. And exciting and emotional!

We actually saved time by taking all the wedding pictures we were in separately (like me with the bridesmaids and me with the groomsman and my husband with the attendants, etc.) so we’d have more time to take the pictures of just us. Doing it that way was kind of a pain because in our small ceremony venue we had to work to avoid each other, but it was worth it! I’d do it again in a second, if I had to. Walking into the church and seeing the groom for the first time that day was amazing.

We bet it was! But we also understand that with all the details that go into making a wedding day perfect, it’s not always easy to keep out of sight before the ceremony. Sure, if you are working with a talented wedding planner, he or she will make sure nothing goes wrong while you relax with your bridesmaids in the bridal suite. The rest of us have to figure out how to make ourselves scarce while also wrangling flower girls, finding the stylist who’s gone missing again, and keeping our newly divorced uncle from hitting on our friends. The best way to do this is to enlist the help of people like the mother of the bride, the maid of honor, the best man, and anyone else who might be willing to help hold down the fort while you’re making yourself stunning.

However, what if the issue isn’t getting things done before the wedding but convincing your bride or groom that steering clear of one another before the wedding is a good idea? In that case, if you’re a bride and your intended is the groom, consider playing up how busy and girly and ultra-estrogenic things will be in the bridal suite. Or just say that ladies will be changing their clothes in there and no men are allowed save the wedding photographer. Then again, you could just try telling the one you love that this is important to you and it’s just one day, so give in already!

You may be wondering if we here on TeamWED kept a bit of distance between ourselves and our spouses on the wedding day. Well a quick poll of all our bloggers reveals that, yup, all but two of us didn’t see our hubbies before saying “I do.” We asked the odd chicks out why they chose to buck the trend and meet with their spouses before walking down the aisle. The two that didn’t, it turns out, are Jewish, so they had to meet before the ceremony to sign the ketubah, or Jewish wedding contract. Otherwise is seems that not seeing the groom before the wedding ceremony is one old tradition that is alive and well… at least here at TeamWED! And you know, we agree with the bride quoted above. Not seeing our grooms before the wedding made the ceremony seem that much more exciting. Plus, we got to see the look on their faces when we revealed ourselves at the ceremony venue doors. Now that was priceless!

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