Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. All brides have heard this saying, and most make sure they follow it on their wedding day. One of the oldest traditions is not seeing the groom before the wedding. What happens if you do? Is it really bad luck?

Although having the “first look” is on the rise, we have had only a handful of couples that have chosen to see one another before the wedding. And for each of them it has been a special moment.

One of our couples decided to have their first look at the front of the church where they were to be married. It was a large stone church with an extremely long aisle. The groom was waiting at the front of the church while the bride slowly walked toward him. It was such a dramatic moment. You could have heard a pin drop. No guests, no bridal party, no parents. Just the bride and the groom together for a brief time to enjoy each other before the commotion of the day ensued.

At one of our destination weddings, the couple planned to meet on a bridge over one of the resort pools. The groom stood at the middle of the bridge anxiously awaiting that first glimpse of his bride. She peeked around a tropical tree to see him and immediately beamed with excitement. It was so adorable and heartwarming to see them together.

Another couple planned to have their first look at the grand staircase of the hotel where the bride was getting ready. She kept trying to peek down the stairs. She couldn’t wait to see him! Once she got to the landing at the top of the stairs, she stopped for a moment and smiled. Seeing the groom’s face the first moment he saw his future wife was the best.

A wedding in Florida brought us another highly anticipated first look moment. The groom waited on the dock behind a family friend’s home for his bride to walk down to him. You could see him pacing the dock while he waited for her. Their moment of solitude among the mossy trees was so romantic, as if it was straight out of a movie. 

If you're wondering whether the moments were taken away for these brides when they walked down the aisle for the ceremony, don't worry. In each case the excitement was still there. The music, the guests, the flowers, and knowing this time they’d be saying “I do” created another emotional experience for the bride and groom to enjoy. Nothing, however, will compare to that first quiet moment when each couple was together...alone.