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I do not want to see Mr. Strawberry before the wedding. I don’t want to have a little moment between us before I walk down the aisle. I realize it is a very sweet moment captured on film and all, but I want the first time I see him to be when I walk down the aisle. Every single one of my vendors and now my parents are trying to convince me otherwise. I realize that it is a whole lot more convenient for everyone involved. But dear god, this is something that is actually important to me. I DON’T WANT TO DO IT.
I don’t want to be the bitchy bride that makes everyone wait at the reception while Mr. Strawberry and I take pictures, so we are getting as many out of the way as possible beforehand with the rest of the bridal party and then we are also taking day after pictures. For brides who didn’t see their groom till they walked down the aisle, how did you accomplish making everything flow as smoothly as possible? I’m at the end of my rope!! 
I feel exactly the same as you! Luckily, here in NC it’s pretty traditional not to see the groom first. So we will do as you said and have as many pics before the wedding with family and then the formals after. We are hoping it will only be an extra 20 minutes or so. We are getting married on Saturday so I’ll keep you posted! Stand your ground!! I agree with you!
I felt exactly the same way! Yes, it totally “makes sense” to take pictures beforehand but I just DIDN’T WANT TO!!!! But yeah, it worked out just fine for us, because we didn’t want a huge number of posed shots anyway. If you can get your bride + bridesmaids and groom + groomsmen photos out of the way pre-ceremony, I think you should be okay timewise hopefully! Good luck!!
Call it a blessing in disguise for us. The latest we could book the church was noon. The earliest my parents would allow a reception was four. At first we hated the idea of 3 hours of downtime between, then realized, nothing we can do and might as well get picture crazy for the downtime with the wedding party!
i did the same thing - i posed for pics alone and with family before the ceremony and so did husband - and then just my husband and i posed together after the ceremony - we figured that we would get plenty of family shots at the party with both of us and - to be honest - the posed formal shots look so forced compared to candids anyway we chose almost all candids for our album!! but the posed shots of only the two of us took 30 mins! stand your ground…
I’m with you Miss Strawberry. Yes, pictures are important to capture the day, but as is the experience… If you want to experience the first time Mr Strawberry sees you all decked out be when you walk down the aisle, don’t let others try to change your mind. Holy. Run. On. Sentence 
Miss Strawberry, you are too cute! 
I think this is sweet!! My sister says you can tell how a marriage will do by the look on the groom’s face when the bride walks down the aisle - I think NOT seeing them before makes this 10x better!
I would love to not see each other before the wedding, but I think it will be impossible. Oh well, I hope it works out for you.
Stress to everyone that this is really very important to you and a big part of what you’re looking forward to at you once-in-a-lifetime wedding, darnit!
And stick to your guns!! You deserve this moment. Get your fiance to back you up! Don’t cave because it’s inconvienent to someone else. That’s not a good enough reason.
I didnt see Mr Butterscotch and our day still flowed perfectly. Stick to your guns on this one. I think it was one of the best choices we made. I agree with HamiHarri its about an experience not the photos.
Amen, Strawberry! My photog is trying to convince me otherwise, but I’m just staying firm.
I’m with you and the other lovely ladies on this one! We’re basically doing the same thing as you…getting as much done on our own beforehand and then doing pictures together after the ceremony. Our photographer even offered to do some pictures the next day if we run out of time (provided we want to get all done up again). We’re not really interested in that last option, but the first hour of our reception is a cocktail hour anyway and I’m sure we will have to miss it to get pics done. It will be worth it though…my fiance was as firm as I was on it all: no seeing each other before the ceremony!! Good luck!
We waited until the walk up the aisle and BOY WAS IT WORTH IT!! First, we have that great experience (now memory), and second, we got great photos of that moment, too. So either way you get great photos. We had 2 photographers, one with the men and one with the ladies, so post-ceremony we just took the pictures with both of us (with the fam, the bridal party, etc.)
Don’t sacrifice if this is so important to you. The point is to experience your wedding day, not a photo op.
Hubby and I didn’t see each other before the ceremony, and it was perfect! We got all of the pictures that we could take w/o each other out of the way before the ceremony. We only needed about 15-20 minutes after the ceremony for the rest. I wouldn’t have had it any other way!
As you can see you’re not alone. I won’t be seeing FI until I walk down the aisle either. I was prepared to have to fight w/ the photog on this one, but he said that most of his clients don’t want to see each other before. I was thankful that he understood. I say hold your ground. It’s YOUR day!!!
I’m doing the same thing that Moi did. We’ll have as many photos as possible before the ceremony (2 photogs) and my groom and I will take our couple photos while our guests enjoy an open bar at the reception. Yeah, it’s a bummer not to be able to spend time with your guests at the reception, but that’s what the dinner and dancing and after-party are for!
Holy moly. I had the same dilemma and my MOTHER was biggest roadblock. She called me old fashioned and stubborn, but dammit, it’s how I wanted it.
We did our family photos separately before the wedding. After the ceremony, we did a big group photo and then scooted off for about 30-45 minutes to do photos together.
I don’t think anyone minded that we didn’t eat nibblies with our guests for the majority of the reception. People + food = happy.
Good luck!
I am the same as you. he sees me at the church when i go down the aisle!!!
We just reduced the number of pictures we wanted. And in the end - all we really bought were the complete bridal party pics and complete family pics, so it worked out great!
Hee! I’m in the exact opposite situation. We want to take all of our pics ahead of time, and I keep getting people lecturing me on how much more special the moment will be, and how it’s bad luck. It’s the same grief I got when people found out that FI knows what my dress looks like and *gasp* has seen pictures of me in it.
Stand your ground - it’s your wedding, do whatever makes you feel comfortable and works for you as a couple.
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Mrs. Strawberry, Seattle Age and Occupation: 25, Radio DJ, Advertising Sales, Day of Wedding Coordinator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Engineer Engagement Date: 07/04/2006 Wedding Date: September 1, 2007 Venue: Lake Union Cafe, Seattle About Me: I'm a Navy brat that has lived all over the world. I love reality shows that are in poor taste, going to new restaurants, and trying to be crafty. Emphasis on trying!
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