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Nervous Brides – Practice & Visualize

Do you dream about tripping and falling on your face as you walk down the aisle? You are not alone.

It’s human nature to think about the worst thing that could happen during the most important day of our life. The trip down the aisle (no pun intended) is the most nervous part of the wedding for the Bride. Brides walk down the aisle with varying degrees of composure or elan. 

The Processional is the focus of a lot of anxiety in the months preceding the wedding. Often, but not always, the Bride has an escort to help her navigate down the aisle. The escort might be her father or another male relative; or her father and her mother. The Bride might be escorted down the aisle by both her dads: her natural father and her stepfather, or accompanied halfway down the aisle by one dad and the rest of the way by the other. I have seen the Bride and Groom process down the aisle together.

Most brides know how to walk. The problem comes in trying to match your steps to the music selected as the Processional. Don’t. Walk slowly and normally. (The emphasis is on SLOWLY. Nervousness will tend to speed you up! Resist the temptation. Walk slowly and normally down the aisle.)

Few Brides do the “hesitation step” well. Most often it looks awkward and contrived. If you do try it, pay attention to what it says it is: It’s a hesitation step. It doesn’t look good when you do it fast. It also doesn’t look good when you take big steps between “hesitations.” If you feel you must do the “hesitation step,” be prepared for a long processional, and do it slowly, taking small steps.

Most of us do not have experience walking in a big dress. The wedding gown shouldn’t be dragging on the floor in the front as the Bride walks. We recommend you practice walking in the dress; not just standing. If the aisle is carpeted, practice walking on carpet to see if the front of the dress in fact will clear the carpet and not drag. Also practice wearing your wedding shoes (just as important, especially if it’s a different heel then what you’re used to). Stand up straight! There may be a train to negotiate. If you haven’t already, assign someone to spread your train out behind you as you are about to start down the aisle. Also assign one of your bridesmaids to straighten the train once you’ve arrived at your destination.

One reason to have your escort on your left is so that he won’t have to step on or over your train in order to reach his seat on the Bride’s side of the aisle.

Your Groom will approach and offer you his arm on your right side.

If you have steps to climb as part of your processional, pay close attention to your dress and your hands. You have several things to do and think about, but if you don’t pick up your dress when you climb stairs, you may stumble. In the swirling nervousness of the moment, it’s a detail that can be easily forgotten – please don’t!  The problem is that you run out of hands. If you are the Bride, you are carrying flowers in one hand and the Groom has just arrived to offer you his arm. You take his arm. Unless you put the flowers in the same hand that is linked to the Groom’s arm, you won’t be able to pick up your dress.

Don’t worry too much about doing this in high style. You most often will have your back to the guests as you climb stairs. They can’t see in which hand you have flowers or just how you manage to grab the dress (and accompanying slips, etc.) to pick it up. 

So as in all things that we want to do well on our special day – vows, that first dance – practice and visualize with the music that you will be processing to. It will help add that extra edge of confidence to get you past (some of) your nerves on your wedding day.

Photo courtesy of a new StrictlyWeddings.com partner – Bride Associates - DFW’s largest wedding coordination firm