Weddingbee Blog

Although the ink has long since dried on the divorce papers of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, I still consider myself a fan of their show Newlyweds and was pretty sad when they announced their separation.

My favorite part of every Newlyweds episode was at the beginning credits when they show scenes from their wedding. More specifically, it was seeing the expression on Nick’s face as he sees Jessica for the first time that always tugged at my inner sappy romantic:

That smile! The tears in his eyes! His expression of pure amazement, happiness, and enchantment is one that could make all girls want to go get hitched right away just so they could see the expressions on their future husbands’ faces as they see each other for the first time that day.

Although we’re both very traditional people, Mr Peony and I are planning on seeing each other before the ceremony because we want to take pictures around the city before heading off to our venue. In order to make up for this, I want to set aside a special time and place where we can meet for the first time that day, all done up in our wedding clothes, with only our photographer present to capture that special moment. This will most likely occur at the hotel where the bridal party will get ready together.

Then the issue of our Chinese tea ceremony came up. Traditionally, the tea ceremony takes place at the groom’s house, but that would add another two hours or so (just to play it safe) to our schedule because he will be living in NJ at the time of our wedding….and frankly, we don’t want to pay the limo’s overtime fees. Mr Peony’s family prefers that we have the tea ceremony before the wedding so having it during cocktail hour or during the reception is out. So the best choice was to schedule the tea ceremony at the hotel before we head out to take pictures.

This essentially means that the first time we see each other will be right before the tea ceremony, when I will be wearing a traditional Chinese dress rather than my white wedding gown.

Now the question remains: can we have two seeing-each-other-for-the-first-time moments? Or will that be too much?

In addition, will my photographer be taking two different sets of getting-ready photos?

How did other brides with multiple dress changes manage these issues? Does anyone have any suggestions?