The tradition comes from rather grim origins.
Do you ever stop to wonder why and how some of the traditions and superstitions surrounding weddings came to be?
Like why does the bride stand on the left? Or why do the couple save a layer of cake in their freezer for a year?
One of the more peculiar ones is the lengths that the bride and groom go to, to avoid seeing each other on the day of their wedding and even the night before.
Many people think it's to increase the 'surprise factor' when the groom sees the bride for the first time.
While that might be the main reason for it today (and it's a great tradition), that wasn't always the case.
In fact the reason why this tradition begun actually comes from a rather grim place.
According to bridalguide.com the reason dates way back to the time when arranged marriages were still very common.
Back then weddings were less about love and more like a business deal between two families.
And the reason behind the groom not seeing his bride until the 'I do's', can be put down to the father of the bride.
It was the fear of the bride's father that if the groom saw the bride before the wedding and decided he wasn't interested, he may call off the wedding entirely. This would in turn cause great shame to the bride and her family and ruin the business deal.
Therefore, it became tradition that the bride and groom were only allowed to meet at the wedding ceremony so that the groom did not have the opportunity to change his mind.
And that veil the bride wears? It was designed to hide the bride's face until literally the last moments before the nuptials, when was too late to back out...
Romantic isn't it.
Thankfully today the tradition has taken on that more familiar romantic modern twist.
Most brides still don’t want their groom to see them all done up before the wedding because they just want to see the look on their future partner's face, when they gracefully waltz down the isle.
We certainly prefer the modern way.
