The reveal. The first look. The special moment when the bride and groom see each other before they legally tie the knot. The groom in a dapper suit waiting patiently for the beautiful bride to appear before his eyes. More and more couples are now defying tradition and making the most of the time before the ceremony to share their loving thoughts with each other, to hug and to cry and simply to spend some quality alone time before celebrating with friends and family and forgetting all the details leading up to the big day.

You can get your photographer to capture this magical moment or you can tell them to bugger off so that you can both soak in the emotions with no one in sight. You’ll probably feel a lot calmer and stress free when you do eventually walk down that aisle because you’ve expressed your love in private or had time to be left speechless and cried enough (remember to allow some time for your make up touch up!), so that all you care about is appreciating the moment.

An extra perk is that this way, you’ll have all the couple shots  out of the way, leaving the post-ceremony time to take photos and party with guests! Just make sure whatever you decide on, to follow tradition or not, is one that’ll make you both happy. It is your day. It only happens once. 

Excitement, tears + laughter.

Anxiety, awe-struck, love.

 Thrill, happiness.