Photo Credit: Homemade Bride

Wedding Traditions Explained: Not Seeing Each Other Before the Ceremony

Are you planning on seeing your bride or groom before your wedding ceremony? Many couples have strong beliefs about not seeing the person they will marry on their wedding day prior to the ceremony. Other couples don’t feel as strongly about wedding traditions. Whether you believe it’s good or bad luck to see your fiancé on your wedding day before your walk down the aisle, it’s important to know the history of this tradition before making your decision.

Photo Credit: Amy Hutchinson Photography

Think back to the days when most marriages were arranged. A couple’s marriage was thought of more as a business deal than finding your soulmate. If an arranged wedding was called off, the bride’s family was typically shamed. It was thought that if a groom didn’t find his bride to be attractive, he would walk out on the wedding. To prevent the groom from bailing on his arranged marriage, the bride’s family kept them from seeing each other until their walk down the aisle. This is also one of the reasons why brides wore blushers on their veils. It prevented the groom from seeing his bride’s face until the very last minute.

Photo Credit: Afloral

Today, many couples still honor wedding traditions like this, by not seeing each other before their wedding ceremony. It is thought to be bad luck if they do see one another. Brides and grooms also find it exciting to be surprised when they see each other in their wedding day attire. Couples that don’t believe in wedding superstitions often find that seeing each other before the ceremony calms their nerves. This also builds in extra time for a wedding photographer to get some of the photos out of the way.

Photo Credit: Christine Chang Photography

Many wedding traditions have interesting stories behind them. Learn more about other traditions here!