Afraid of looking like a blubbering idiot when you are saying your vows of eternal love to your spouse?  You are not alone.  There is a way to keep from crying without appearing to be an emotionless zombie.

We have all seen the bride or the groom who were overcome with emotion, or alcohol, and began weeping uncontrollably during the ceremony.  Actually, I see the groom cry more often than the bride.  That is one of the last things I tell the groom before the ceremony begins.  We have also seen brides or grooms faint during the wedding ceremony.  Perhaps you have seen it on TV.  But nobody wants to be seen fainting on the wedding video.

There is a simple answer.  In one word, “breathe.”  I tell the couples that if they feel they are going to “tear up” then they should slow down, take a deep breath and then proceed.  What happens is that as we begin to “tear up” our chest gets tense, we get a knot in our throat, we stop breathing and we begin to cry to release the tension.  Slow down, breathe, and proceed.  The same advice for feeling “light headed.”  It also helps to not lock your knees.

One other piece of advice is to avoid alcohol.  Alcohol can make a person feel more emotional and less inhibited.  It can cause some people to feel sick in their stomach.  Believe me, you don’t want someone in your wedding party to throw up during your well planned, beautiful wedding ceremony.  I have seen it more than once.  So don’t serve alcohol before the ceremony, or at least limit it.  You will be glad you did.

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