5 Tricks to Keep from Crying Throughout Your Entire Ceremony

While a few tears of joy during your wedding day are perfectly normal, even to be expected, let's be honest: No one wants to be that bride who bawled her eyes out the entire time she stood at the altar (yeah, you know the one). This is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life, right? Plus, you just had your makeup done by a pro, and you're not trying to ruin that! And though we think it's extremely sweet to be overcome by emotion during the ceremony (it even prompts guests to get teary-eyed as well!), we asked a few newlyweds to share their top tips for holding back the floodgates so that you can (try to) keep your tears in check. Because nobody "gets it" better than a bride who's been there before.

1. Practice Reciting Your Vows

It's lovely to be surprised during the wedding with poetic professions of love from your soon-to-be-spouse, but real bride Annmarie* thought it was best to come prepared.

"The day before the wedding, my now-husband and I practiced reciting the traditional vows a couple of times with our minister. This made it much easier for both of us to hold it together on the day of. We weren't nervous in front of our guests and were able to focus more on each other as opposed to the words since we knew what to expect." *—Annmarie*

2. Do a First Look

Though superstition mandates that it's bad luck to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding (and vice versa), real bride Kelly* bucked superstition to calm her nerves.

"It makes all the nerves disappear, and you get the overwhelming emotions of seeing your husband for the first time out of the way so you don't cry a lot later." *—Kelly*

3. Think About Your Makeup

If you spent hours on your hair and makeup, you might want to remember that when your emotions are trying to get the best of you.

"As ridiculous as it sounds, my trick for whenever I felt the urge to cry and felt tears bubbling up was to think about my makeup and to say the word makeup over and over to myself! It worked too." *—Julia*

4. Reconsider the Music

This is a big one. We've all been to a wedding where the moment the song plays and the bride walks down the aisle, everyone starts bawling. Real bride April* advises choosing a song that won't make people cry.

"For me, music is a big emotional trigger so if you're walking down the aisle to a song that makes you weepy, you might want to reconsider. Try something more upbeat, like an elegant march theme, instead of a song that tugs at your heartstrings." *—April*

5. Keep Your Vows Lighthearted

We know you want to promise your partner the world, but real bride Mar* suggests to do just that, with a little bit of humor!

"My best tip is to write your own vows with a humorous twist; it worked for us! There was a moment during the ceremony when my eyes started to water and my mouth was shaking just a bit, but once we got to the funny part it was all laughs and all smiles!" *—Mar*