When Did You See Your Spouse On Your Wedding Day?

My fiance and I were originally planning on seeing each other as we walk down the aisle, but then we talked to our photographer, who recommended a first look. Now, we're super excited to do a first look, for multiple reasons! I think it's totally personal preference, though we're doing a first look to help ease nerves before the ceremony, get as many pictures out of the way before the ceremony as possible so that we can attend cocktail hour, and to spend a few minutes of just me and him before we spend the rest of the day with our guests.

We are going to wait until I’m walking down the aisle!

We did a first look and it was one of my favorite parts of the day. It was so nice to get some time just for both of us and the pictures we got were awesome.
It was also still super emotional to actually walk down the aisle, I didn’t feel that the first look took away from that.

Oh and I did an impromptu first look with my dad and I reallllllly recommend it. We’re very close and it was so emotional and we both cried. If you’re close to any parent, I recommend taking the time for that.

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Everything Lisa said!

Completely personal preference, but logistically it just made sense for our timeline!

Like Lisa says, it’s such a personal choice & there are some things to consider. People say a 1st look can help with nerves; give you more time together w/o a crowd; and of course you get more pictures.

NONE of this was relevant for me. I’m not nervous about walking down the aisle or speaking in front of ppl. I don’t see how time together taking photos before the ceremony is any different than the time you have after (also, you’re not alone…you’ve got a near stranger telling you to smile). And I don’t want to spend any more time taking pictures than I have to. I REALLY hate posing for pictures and it’s actually the thing I am dreading most about the big day. Instead I wanted to eek out as much anticipation as possible before I step onto the aisle and see him at the other end! And I also want our friends and family to share that moment with us. And the anticipation will also help me express my emotions better during our vows & I want that.

But that’s ME. And my reasons are not yours. But perhaps they can help you reach your decision.

We won’t see each other until I walk down the aisle. We are ditching a lot of old school traditions, but this is one we both found it incredibly romantic 💕

View Quoted Comment YES TO ALL OF THIS! This is exactly how I feel also. I get why some people choose to do first looks (Nerves, timeline, etc.), but none of that stuff was important to us. For us, the most important thing was building the excitement and anticipation for the moment we first see each other when I walk down the aisle. I don’t care if I ugly cry, I don’t care if it wrecks my make up… I 100% want all those beautiful, once in a lifetime emotions. Plus, as far as nerves go, I feel like taking pictures beforehand with your families and wedding parties should help ease nerves and get you more comfortable being in front of the camera.. without taking away from the suspense of seeing your partner.

View Quoted Comment I think many ppl also want to get as many pictures as possible given how much they paid for the photographer & that totally makes sense. But I was willing to sacrifice that because I don’t want or need that many pictures. I just need a few great pictures & if there could’ve been better ones I’ll be none the wiser. And after looking through a recent album of a friend’s wedding (for an hour and still not reaching the end)…I think I made the right choice for me! 😆 But, that’s another thing to consider when making the choice.

We are seeing each other for the first time as I walk down the aisle

View Quoted Comment I totally agree. I think it’s actually become kind of obnoxious how people want hundreds and hundreds of photos from one day. Weddings these days are beginning to feel like a photo shoot rather than a wedding. That’s not to say that photography isn’t important, because of course it is. Everybody wants beautiful photos to remember a beautiful day. We just didn’t want to sacrifice the authenticity of the experience in order to have a hundred more staged and posed photos. We prefer to have mostly real photos capturing real moments as they happen. When I look back at the pictures of our wedding, I want to be flooded with memories of what was happening at that moment (or have the joy of seeing moments missed that the photograper captured), that we wouldn’t get from looking at staged/poses photos.

We waited until I walked down the aisle. We were still able to get tons of pictures of the two of us after the ceremony (and during our post-wedding adventure shoot), so I didn't compromise on the number of shots we got by doing it after. Photography was my #1 vendor priority, so I definitely wanted to make sure I got many pictures, but we didn't want to do a first look to keep the special-ness of seeing each other when walking down the aisle.

Technically I'll be seeing him the morning of because we're staying together in the hotel the night before. But, we're doing a first look. I think I would've been too stressed and emotional if the first time we saw each other was walking down the aisle. I want to have a moment to ourselves before to relieve some anxiety and just soak it in.

My FH and I will be getting ready together. Neither of us is good at showing emotion in front of people, and I think I'd end up disappointed if I hoped for an outward emotional reaction from him (or myself) and it fell flat. I'd also much rather spend our whole wedding day together rather than not see each other until 6pm that day!

For our minimony, we didn't see each other until I walked in the door down the aisle. We will most likely do the same for our big wedding, but I wouldn't be opposed to doing a first look and getting pictures out of the way since we are already legally married.

We waited until the aisle.

First looks were still an off-beat thing when I got married (I'm a geezer). I remember reading about it in an article and knowing I didn't want to do it. I had a very specific vision of how he would see me for the first time that day, and it was as I emerged to the sound of a very special song being played on the piano. (It wasn't a standard or common song.)

It was worth it, because my husband is one of those people who "feels" music very intensely, and it's something he will deeply associate with memories. So combining the music with the excitement of seeing me for the first time was a potent memory. He can still describe every single thing he was experiencing at the moment I walked out into the aisle when he hears that song, nearly two decades later. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

A lot of people have mentioned this already. It’s a personal choice. For us, we are doing a first look. I personally get real awkward showing emotions in front of people. Add an audience with all eyes on you on the day of. Ooof I get nervous just thinking about it. So instead, we are doing a first look so it’s a little private, say anything we want to say to each other to calm our nerves before the actual ceremony.

We stayed together the night before so i definitely saw him morning of and that was about it until later when we did our first look

We planned to do a first look because I really wanted to have a moment to calm down before everything started and because it was helpful for timeline purposes. We ended up having a miniwedding during covid, so things changed. Having specific, staged photos wasn't important to me, so the timeline wasn't an issue, but I still wanted that little quiet moment. We had a very brief first look with literally just the two of us (not even the photographer was there for it) like 3 minutes before the ceremony started. It was perfect.

I did not see him from about 8PM the night before until the curtain opened so my dad and I could walk down the aisle at 5PM(ish) the day of the wedding.

(I then may or may not have sped up walking, because everyone stood up, I'M SHORT, and I couldn't see him. My dad wanted to laugh so hard.)

We're actors and rather superstitious, so we did not want to see each other at all until the ceremony. I'm glad we didn't - we each got to spend a lot of the day with our families/our side of the BP, but in a relaxed way. It also allowed for the ceremony to be very 'us' and cute/funny - our officiant - a friend - had to ask us to maybe not stand so close together so he could do his job, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I kind of maybe launched myself at DH for the kiss? (He saw the look on my face and caught me.... as you can see, below.)