Help me surprise my honey with a (funny) first look!
January 26, 2017 8:24 PM   Subscribe

My fiancé and I are getting married on April 1st of this year. During the traditional "first look" (the first time that he'll see me in my wedding dress), I'd like to surprise him in some way.

As a twist on the sentimental first look where the bride quietly approaches her groom from behind and places her hand on his shoulder in order to signal that he should turn around (I think this is mostly staged by the photographer), I'd like to try something a bit more on the lighthearted/creative/humorous/surprising side. I am open to most ideas, but have a few caveats I must consider:

1. I will be wearing a princessy-type wedding dress. (It can be bustled, so movement shouldn't be a big issue.)
2. My hair and make-up will be done, so I can't do anything that has the potential to smudge or muss those.

The love of my life has a fabulous sense of humor and will definitely go along with whatever I do. Since the day is pretty action packed, it may be difficult to stage anything too elaborate, but I'm willing to try just about anything. Our photographer has an adventurous spirit (we shot our engagement photos during the throes of a very busy state fair) and will be open to shooting anything.

Thanks, AskMe!
posted by WaspEnterprises to Grab Bag (24 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Weird timing, somebody on Facebook just shared a video of a bride dressed as a T-rex into their feed.
posted by willnot at 8:28 PM on January 26, 2017 [39 favorites]


Best answer: Groucho glasses?
posted by Betelgeuse at 8:35 PM on January 26, 2017 [7 favorites]


Hold fake arms to touch him on the shoulder?
posted by littlewater at 8:44 PM on January 26, 2017 [7 favorites]


Best answer: Dude, you need wings, that are hidden and just expand at just the right moment. PHLAW!
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 8:57 PM on January 26, 2017 [24 favorites]


Get a stuffed or plastic toy of his favorite character and make it look silly.
posted by brujita at 9:03 PM on January 26, 2017


Due to the date in question, could you hold up a sign saying "April Fool"?
posted by Prof Iterole at 9:06 PM on January 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


You could have it so he approaches you and you turn around. They make plastic googly eyes big enough to put over your actual eyes, you can hold them in without the adhesive if you squint a little, and I think your makeup would do okay.
posted by jameaterblues at 9:28 PM on January 26, 2017 [10 favorites]


Announce your entrance with a clown horn! And please oh please wear a clown nose for just a moment?
posted by juliplease at 9:31 PM on January 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


You could inhale helium from a balloon just before the tap and as soon as he sees you ask, "aren't I beautiful?"

If you want something visual, you could get some lace that matches your dress and a pillow and strap on a baby bump
posted by Mchelly at 9:35 PM on January 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


water pistol or nerf gun hold up?
posted by freethefeet at 9:36 PM on January 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Groucho glasses?

That'd be a classic approach so to the clown nose. Also along those lines or in addition, a bouqet that squirts water?

Princess Leia clip on hair buns? A veil that you lift up to reveal another veil, veils all the way down really?
posted by mark k at 9:36 PM on January 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Light sabers. Toss him a spare.
posted by amtho at 9:40 PM on January 26, 2017 [6 favorites]


Best answer: An old friend, long since lost touch, was a standup. When her sister married she brought a bag of groucho glasses. After the wedding party photo was done, she asked everyone to hold on while she grabbed the glasses, and gave each a pair. The photographer then took a second photo of the whole group in the glasses... her sister has the photos framed side by side.

I think you could do a one-two like this, and surprise him for the second photo, to make a matched set. I like lots of the goofy ideas here for picture 2.
posted by chapps at 9:52 PM on January 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


There's always the old "tap him on the wrong shoulder" gag. Get the photographer to capture him looking over his right shoulder where you tapped him, and being confused because you are actually standing just behind his left shoulder instead.
posted by lollusc at 9:58 PM on January 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


willnot that is the best. I knew the future mr feet was the one when I showed him videos of T-rexes (that I had found on metafilter) and he said "where can we get these?" and bought two costumes. I went to send this link to my sister and she had already sent it to us both! We're not doing a first look but heheheheheh I wish we were (and that he hadn't seen this video)
posted by freethefeet at 10:02 PM on January 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Send the wrong bride for the first tap, then you sneak up behind him (from the direction he was originally facing) and tap his shoulder again.
posted by teremala at 10:06 PM on January 26, 2017 [4 favorites]


Dress your brother/sister/best man in your dress or a version of it. Have him/her do the "first look".
posted by Toddles at 10:38 PM on January 26, 2017 [7 favorites]


Funny teeth mouthpiece is simple and might actually surprise. Lipstick can be reapplied.
posted by vunder at 10:59 PM on January 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Body double. Obviously doubles your dress cost, though.
posted by dowcrag at 4:11 AM on January 27, 2017


Classic googley spring eye glasses. Even better if he turns around and you aren't facing him yet. "Dramatic chipmunk" turn around with those eyeballs flying.
posted by Crystalinne at 4:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


Billy Bob Teeth.
posted by bondcliff at 6:20 AM on January 27, 2017


T-Rex?
posted by Constant Reader at 6:40 AM on January 27, 2017


Best answer: I had a masked ball wedding, and one of my oldest friends brought Groucho glasses in lieu of a mask. Naturally, I made sure to borrow them for a photo op, and that turned out to be one of my absolute favorite photos of the whole event, so I third/fourth/fifth the Grouch glasses idea. Simple, classic, and hilarious.

And i love the helium voice idea too.
posted by gateau at 10:02 AM on January 27, 2017


tl;dr: height

Will you be right behind him as he turns around, or will he be at the front of the hall/church and turn to see you at the rear of it? This could work either way.

Ingredients:
- stepstool or small stepladder, as tall as you're comfortable on
- large piece of fabric, similar to the skirt of your dress
- friends to wrap/unwrap/steady you

Dry-run this in advance. Climb up to the step where you're comfortable, and where you're comically taller than you usually are. Drape the large matching fabric around you and the ladder, with its bottom edge on the floor covering the ladder bottom, and with a friend standing behind you to hold it together. Aim for it to look like it's the actual skirt of your dress, maybe gathering it at your waist. When he turns around, he'll see his giant bride. Then you can descend the ladder and go to meet him.

Obviously, that elaborate version is easier to set up surreptitiously from a distance. But if you're going to be tapping him on the shoulder, you could forgo the skirt extension and just have a small (18-inch?) stool that someone pops in behind him. You step up and tap. Then when he turns, he'll be gazing lovingly into ... not your face.
posted by NumberSix at 7:42 PM on January 28, 2017


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