It’s bad luck to see the bride in her wedding dress before the ceremony.

But WHY?

This superstition dates way back to the years when arranged marriages were common. During those times, the couple wasn’t allowed to see each other before the wedding AT ALL! Generally, marriages were treated as a business deal and daughters were married off to wealthy families, allowing the bride’s family to “move up”. Plus father’s feared that the grooms would call off the wedding if their daughters were not attractive to the man they were supposed to be marrying (because that’s super father like and not at all body shaming – am I right?!), so they made it impossible for the wedding to be called off ahead of time. They believed that by the time the bride was walking down the aisle, it was too late to call of the transaction (OBVIOUSLY they hadn’t seen the  Runaway Bride).

Your marriage (and wedding) are not a business deal anymore.

Now, with arranged marriages highly uncommon, some brides choose to stick with the tradition of not seeing their partner before the wedding ceremony. THAT IS TOTALLY FINE! However, the first look is becoming more and more common. While a lot of reasons for having a first look come into play during the decision making time (portrait time frames, reception schedules, time allowed at the ceremony site) there’s one MAJOR reason for having a first look:

EMOTIONS

Imagine. You’re standing in front of a crowd of 100 people. Your favorite people, and maybe some of your least favorite people (Great Aunt Jane who always gives $5 bills in your birthday card even though you’re 25 and that doesn’t even buy a coffee…. but I digress) are all watching you. ALL EYES ARE ON YOU! Then your partner comes walking down the aisle, looking fantastically stunning and all you can think is “I’m not going to cry”. So you stand there, with your resting bitch face on, looking ready to murder someone…. NOT like you’re about to marry the love of your life.

That’s not very pleasant now is it?

Your partner doesn’t want to remember you staring at them stone faced as they walked towards your new life together. They want to remember the smile on your face, the pure exhilarating joy, and the shine of the love you have for them. All those things you only show them, and you can’t possibly let the rest of the world see while you’re standing at the alter.

Let’s try this again.

Imagine, you’re standing outside, listening to the birds maybe talking to the wind or yourself. It’s peaceful. You can almost feel your partner’s presence as they walk towards you from behind. Your nerves ramp up, and the excitement of seeing your forever love grows with each passing second. Suddenly you feel a tap on your shoulder, so quickly you almost jump. Turning you first catch a glimpse of a flower bouquet, then a white dress, then finally the love of your life. They’re completely stunning. You don’t even notice the photographer on your left, shooting over your shoulder… or the birds in the trees anymore. In that moment, it’s just you and your bride. You kiss and dance and twirl, enjoying a moment that just the two of you share.

And THAT my friends, is how your first look should be.

Adapted from original article by Markie at www.markielynne.com on July 7, 2016.