Superstition makes it harder for photographer

Your wedding day has arrived. You are taking great pains to make sure your groom doesn’t see you in your gown until you walk down the aisle.

Your photographer is silently thinking “grrrrrr!”

We’ve grown up with the notion that brides and grooms should not see each other on the wedding day until that magical aisle moment. Some who hold to this tradition think it is bad luck to see each other before the ceremony. Others just think it’s more special to see each other for the first time as the bride walks down the aisle.

If you abandon this superstition, your wedding photographer will love you for it.

Many photographers dislike this superstitious tradition because it makes their job harder. Brides and grooms who follow this tradition are making their photographers have to take a lot of important photos in a short period of time.

Here’s what I mean.

One of the least favorite and most stressful parts of a wedding photographer’s day is taking family formal portraits. Depending on family size, it can easily take an hour to 90 minutes. Taking them after the ceremony puts added pressure on the photographer.

Before one photo can be snapped, the guests need to have left and the family and members of the wedding party need to get together and get organized. The photographer is under pressure to get these photos done quickly yet professionally, knowing that the guests are waiting for the wedding reception to start.

In addition, this leaves no time for photos of the bride, groom and wedding party immediately after the ceremony. These often turn out to be among the best photos a photographer will shoot.

Let’s look at what happens when couples do not abide by this wedding superstition.

Most likely these couples will opt for a more modern tradition called the “first look” or the “reveal.” This is where a bride and groom will see each other before the ceremony in a private moment that’s meant to be special to them. They likely will be more relaxed and less stressed at the start of the ceremony.

After the first look, the family formals can take place. This takes a lot of stress off the photographer, who has more time to get these pictures taken before the ceremony. The photographer also has time to take photos in the short period of time between the ceremony and reception, when the couple can be photographed for the first time as husband and wife.

This is the time many couples and photographers like to travel to a nearby park and get some lovely outdoor portraits. It’s also a time when the wedding party gets in on the action for some fun photos.

After the brief photo session, the bride and groom can get to the reception and enjoy cocktail hour with their guests, who haven’t been waiting too long for them to arrive.

Seeing each other before the wedding is a win-win for everyone – especially the photographer who will be a lot happier and thankful for the wisdom of his or her clients.