The Big Reveal

8.27.2009 | |


My friends Jamie & Sean Saunders' Big Reveal

Tradition speaks that it is bad luck for a groom to see the bride before the ceremony. I believe this superstition comes from a time of arranged marriages. The bad luck probably equates to cold feet. Imagine catching a peek of your portly and pimply groom right before the wedding. It is definitely cause to run off with the stable boy.

The modern couple doesn't have to worry about this superstition. Chances are you've lived together or spent a couple of nights together, so not seeing each other from 8 to 10:30 am on the day of your wedding, isn't going to perserve anything. If you want to hold on to tradition, you certainly should, but a favorite option of mine is the Big Reveal.

Usually the big reveal is a private occassion between the groom and bride and maybe the photographer. The couple gets to see each other for the first time in all of their wedding glory. The couple can also use this moment to exchange gifts, read a favorite Biblical passage, share a favorite memory, or whatever they choose. It's a moment you'll hold dear when recalling the hectic but fun pace of your wedding day. In a traditional reveal, when a groom sees the bride for the first time as she walks down the aisle, he is seeing her along with everyone at the ceremony. The moment can be special, but it can also be muted as it is caught up in the frenzy of the music, your mother's loud crying and grumbling stomach of your best man. In the big reveal, you can share a quiet moment together, before getting caught in the revelry. It's a nice option. One of the biggest complaiants from couples is that they didn't get to spend time together alone at their wedding because they were busy entertaining everyone else. This issue is definitely resolved by choosing to do the big reveal.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Love this post. Always go back and forth over which I want.

NightinGale1908 said...

Tam, we have no regrets about the big reveal. It was great to spend some alone time, and check each other out before the ceremony. Also saved us a huge amount of time with pics after the ceremony:) Which in turn allowed us to have dinner for two (all alone) immediately following the ceremony! Everyone told us not to, but we enjoyed every minute of it. I still cried when I walked down the aisle. LOL!

e.don said...

Well... I guess I haven't researched traditions and options as it pertains to weddings, but I like this idea. Though I offer no follow-up research to confirm your theory on arranged marriages, I stand in agreement. Who started that anyway? Were you really fibbing about your daughter's beauty? Is this marriage based on finance versus romance? Glad to have been chosen for this day and age. Besides, I probably would have had two babes back then anyway.