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Wedding Customs & Traditions Forum
Vgalz
member
Being seen by everyone before the wedding
My fiance and I are getting married on a ship in April 2015. Before that, we will be staying at a hotel that is directly across the street from the dock. It is a 4 minute walk (if even that!) and it is not possible to get any closer to the ship with a car, because the dock is on the other side of a park without any vehicle access. I've inserted a photo of the route at the bottom of this message to show what I mean.
The bride can board the ship 15-20 minutes before the rest of the guests, but I expect that most if not all of my guests will already be waiting on the dock for their time to board, since this is a wedding you can't run late to - if you're not on board when the ship leaves the dock, you're not making it to the wedding! This means that I expect to be seen by most of the guests prior to the ceremony. Is this considered a faux pas? I never really thought of how the bride magically appears at the ceremony without being seen, though I've never seen one before the ceremony! Do you guys have any suggestions for the best way to handle this? Or is this not a big deal at all?
Side note: My fiance and I are doing first looks and photography with the wedding party prior to leaving for the ship, so these are not concerns about him seeing me before the ceremony - just the rest of the guests!
Side note: My fiance and I are doing first looks and photography with the wedding party prior to leaving for the ship, so these are not concerns about him seeing me before the ceremony - just the rest of the guests!
Thanks all!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Being seen by everyone before the wedding
I got married on cruise ship. I had hair & makeup done before boarding with everyone, so they all saw that (even FI), but nobody saw me in my dress. Then I quickly got dressed on the ship before the ceremony (I had about 1/2 hour to get dressed). At my sisters wedding, several people came late while she was preparing to walk down aisle, so many of her guests saw her before the wedding. Yeah, it may ruin the wow factor when walking in, but you'll be more focused on your FI than the guests reaction anyway.
If you are really concerned, you could show up earlier, get down near the boat, then have someone hold other guests back off the dock until after you are able to board. You may have a few people see you from a distance, but that's not the same as seeing all the detail up close. Or even bring a sheet or something that you could use to conceal your dress.
I had a friend who mingled with guests before her ceremony. I'll admit that I was like, "Whoa, why is she out here?" at first, but it was totally fine. I still cried when she walked down the aisle.
She told me later it was actually unplanned, and she was upset at first, but she ended up really liking it. It helped her to relax a bit, and she said she felt less anxious about walking down the aisle knowing everyone had already seen her. Because of that she was more focused on her groom than on her own anxiety about having everyone stare at her.
So it's just personal preference, but it's fine however you do it.