Many brides will refuse to see the groom before the wedding, saying it’s bad luck. But do you know how this the tradition started? Well settle down, because it’s a bumpy ride.

Back in the day, when arranged marriages were custom, the betrothed couple wasn’t allowed to see each other before the wedding at all. But it wasn’t for romantic reasons, because weddings weren’t very romantic to begin with. In most cases, they symbolised a business deal between two families, and most fathers wanted nothing more for their daughter to marry a rich man who owned land or had lots of money.

Of course, the father’s greatest worry was that if the groom met the bride before the wedding and thought she wasn’t attractive, he’d call off the wedding. This would be pretty embarrassing and shameful for the bride and her family.

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 you know the pretty veil the bride wears? Its original purpose was also to keep the groom from finding out what the bride looked like until the last possible minute, when it was too late to back out of the “transaction”.

Thankfully, nowadays, we live in more pleasant times, where the bride and groom know damn well what the other one looks like before they get married. And while most brides still don’t want their groom to see them all done up before the wedding, it’s only because they believe it makes the day more exciting and memorable.

However, some couples feel they’ll be more relaxed if they see each other for just a few minutes before the ceremony – it’s totally up to you and your groom. Talk about it before the big day arrives and find out what makes the most sense for you.