Break with tradition...or not?

[WDWbride2007]

I was thinking of taking the formal pictures before the ceremony. It would be nice to get the posing out of the way before the festivities begin. On the other hand, I am afraid that I will regret losing the "reveal" moment at the WP. Thoughts anyone???

 

[Luvndisney]

I have been having the same thoughts. I really do not want to ruin the moment those doors open at the Wp. But Disney will do a "reveal" at the resort you are staying that is still very special. Many brides had them and they were just as emotional and helped them relax before the wedding. I don't know where you are staying, but imagine walking down the huge stairs at the GF and your husband to be standing there with his back to you waiting. The anticipation must be just as real in that moment. Give it some thought. You have some time.

 

[pezpam]

I thought about this for my (non-WDW) wedding and the photographer suggested a nice compromise. She and her assistant took care of all of my formal photos and all of my husband's formal photos before the ceremony and all of the formal photos of us as a couple after the ceremony. That way, we got a lot of the single and family photos out of the way, but didn't spoil *the moment*

 

[hmgolden]

We took pictures before hand, and for us it didn't spoil any thing. We got to have a more private moment when we first saw each other, got all the formal pictures out of the way, and were able to relax and as a result I think I enjoyed the ceremony more. Personally, my DH is my best friend, and I wanted to be able to spend as much time together on our wedding day as possible. It was a day I wanted to share with him, not tell him about later (and I wanted to attend my coctail hour ). The 'reveal' at the WP wasn't any less special either.

Its a very personal decision, and you'll get lots of pretty passionate responses on both sides. In the end, you and your FI need to decide what moments are most important to you.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I know of couples who have done this. It worked for them.

 

[Laurafoster]

I thought about doing this, like hmgolden said its not any less special although it may depend on which resort your having it at. Might be an idea to ring your EM and see what they suggest.

 

[Janet2k]

Break with tradition...or not? I was thinking of taking the formal pictures before the ceremony.

You're not breaking tradition. When my parents got married, all formal wedding portraits were done a week or two prior to the wedding: click here. As they say, everything old is new again.

No matter what you decide to do, I'm sure your portraits will turn out lovely (and I hope you'll be married as long as my parents have been -- they just celebrated 50 years of marriage).

 

[WDWbride2007]

What a lovely photo, Janet! Thanks for sharing that...I just adore wedding photos =)

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

Hey Barbie-

We chose not to do the photos with one another beforehand. It's the traditionalist in me... and the sense of that heightened drama. I knew I wanted the doors to the WP to open during Trumpet Voluntary by Clarke right as the full orchesta swelled.

Disney does the separate photos as much as possible before the wedding so that you aren't concerned with doing all of them afterwards. I think he has about 50 minutes of photos and I have about an hour and 15 before the wedding. We're using our time in the limo and access to the reception hal beforehand as our private time... boy, when FMIL found out she was going to the reception in the rented motor coach, she was really put out. She thought we were ALL in the limo. Considering the fact it will be one of the first times we've seen each other and been able to talk all day, I am not giving those few minutes of privacy up!

I have seen gorgeous photos (courtesy of the Knot) who the big reveal. It is as moving for you both as waiting. I think it is a matter of personal preference. Check some of the bios for photos. If you need directions how to do it, let me know

xoxo

 

[JonetteA]

We are going to do our photos early. Since we are cutting out the pre-reception, I wanted to enjoy everything with our family and friends...and be able to eat something. We are going to do picture early, and then as the bridal party gets there take pictures, and then after the ceremony a few more...until we are finally alone with Randy taking a few after shots of just us. Then we can chill on the way to the reception. I don't want to be a ball of stress I just want to enjoy it and have it be as relaxing as possible.

 

[cryssi]

We had to do most of our portraits before the ceremony, since it was at 7, and would be dark after. We did the "first look"...it was pretty cool. The photographers had DH standing with his back to me as I came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. We have a great photo sequence that shows it, and also the videographers were there.

I was against it at first, because I wanted to be traditional, but we had no choice b/c of the ceremony time. We did take some portraits of just us after while our guests were at the pre-reception. We ended up with a nice variety.

Anyway, with the "first look" it was still special, and he was still a little misty-eyed when I exited the coach and came down the aisle (maybe it was allergies...LOL)

 

[JoD]

I agree with hmgolden. We did our pictures before the ceremony and it was so special to both of us to be alone when we saw each other for the first time. Our EM helped to make it very special for us.
We planned the pictures first so that we could spend every moment at our Wedding, we didn't want to miss one second of the pre-reception or the reception.
It was the best decision we made.

 

[glass slipper girl]

I had a non-Disney wedding but we took all of our photos before hand including those of us together and of the entire wedding party. It worked out so well and actually 4 of my 6 bridesmaids were unmarried at the time and all 4 chose to do the same thing because of how well it worked out. They did a special "reveal" moment for us too. Our photographer set me up in the bride's room as if I had just had a portrait done, hair perfect, dress arranged just so, flowers held, posed sort of thing. They had DH close his eyes and come in to the room. They had no one in there but the photographer and the two of us. They brought him in to the room and told him to open his eyes. He instantly got tears in his eyes and kept saying "Wow....oh gosh...wow..." The photographer and assistant were both in the room and got pics of each of us at that moment and they are so special. As soon as they took the pics they slipped out and left us alone for a few minutes and that was so amazing. He just stood there looking at me for a second and then told me how beautiful I looked and ende dup saying some amazingly sweet things that I will treasure forever. DH has said that seeing me for the first time that way, with us having private time was fantastic for him and that it didn't dimish the rush that he felt when they opened the doors to the church and my father and I started down the aisle.

It helped to calm my nerves, it gave us a great memory and it made our reception flow smoother (we were having a seated dinner and got married at a time where we didn't want people waiting for us before they could eat).

Do what you feel is best for you and your day but know that if you decide to do your photos before hand, that it doesn't have to be any less special for you or for DH.

CONGRATS!

 

[melmel]

Joe walked down the aisle with me, so what we did was spent the whole day appart until just before the wedding. Randy positioned Joe with his back to us, then he positioned me and told Joe when to turn around. It was PERFECT. I don't have the pictures of it yet, but it was exactly what I wanted. It was better then having him see me the first time at the alter because this gave us about 10 mins or so of us time, very private, that Randy got all of on camera. I'm dying to see the pics, but given the choice I'd vote for this way hands down. It was a wonderful moment, and I'm sooo glad we had it. Just make sure you tell your EM the plan, Jennifer was great about keeping Joe away from the doors until Randy got everything set up. The other really good thing about this was as soon as everyone left me I got very very nervous, and as soon as I saw Joe I was fine, I'm very very happy we went this route.

Hope this helps.

Melissa

 

[WDWbride2007]

Thanks for the responses. I love hearing about everyone's experiences. I am actually leaning toward taking the photos before the ceremony. After reading your stories, it seems so romantic to have some alone time before the festivities. It seems that you don't get much quiet time on your wedding day with all of the activity. It would be nice to take a moment to hold each other and breathe before being bombarded by friends and family. We'll see what DF has to say about it...=)

 

[WDWAurora]

I'm a traditionalist, so I couldn't do ALL of them before (non-WDW wedding). We did all of the separate ones before (except me with the groomsmen, we apparently forgot, but that was a GREAT shot!!) and then after the ceremony did pictures. We were done really quickly because not many shots were left.

I know a lot of people like the reveal, but the very idea would freak me out. I have to know everything that is going on all the time, and when it came to my wedding, surprises just were not acceptable. But that's me-completely anal.

 

[faeriegrl]

I am so glad we did not see each other before the wedding. The moment I saw Frank when the doors opened, everything was at ease. I think seeing each other (for us) would have ruined that special moment. It was like the world stopped.

Brittany

 

[Codie]

I was thinking of taking the formal pictures before the ceremony. It would be nice to get the posing out of the way before the festivities begin. On the other hand, I am afraid that I will regret losing the "reveal" moment at the WP. Thoughts anyone???

I took lots of pics with my wedding party and my fdh before the wedding...Randy captured the "revealing" moment as he came into the lobby. Of course, my fdh picked my dress and came over once i had makeup and hair done to bring me stomach medicine, so there wasn't much of a surprise anyway!