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A video of a bride who chose to forego posing with a "soft smile"—a technique often used to produce a more flattering smile in wedding photos—has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted on July 6 by the bride, TikTok user Alisa Vandercruyssen (@alisamariev), and had 2.5 million views at the time of writing. A message overlaid on the clip says: "Focused on having fun at my wedding and not how I look in pics."
A caption shared with the post reads: "I did not practice my soft smile," and the footage shows different shots of the bride smiling and laughing in various ways while celebrating on her wedding day.
The latest post follows a record year of weddings in the U.S., with 2.6 million couples reported to have got hitched in 2022, according to The Knot, a wedding planning website.
With personalization being a key element, couples continued to rely heavily on professionals such as photographers to help turn their vision for the wedding into reality, according to The Knot's survey of nearly 12,000 U.S. couples.
Photos were a priority, especially for younger couples. Capturing the day in photos and videos was found to be the most important aspect of the wedding for more than three-quarters (83 percent) of Gen Z couples—those born from around 1996 to 2012—who tied the knot in 2022.
Couples from Gen Z were also more likely to provide some type of photography for guests during the reception (such as a polaroid camera or selfie station) than any other generation.
"Post-wedding, you're likely to see Gen Z couples posting both the silly and sweet moments on their social media feeds," the survey said.
Several TikTokers praised the bride in the latest post.
User @beomgyu.food said: "Girl you look pretty and so happy and those are perfect photos."
User @lilbugxx wrote: "Ok but these are amazing, you can tell that you weren't worried about anything other than being in the moment, love that for you."
User spook.bby added: "Ok if my wedding pics don't turn out like this, I DON'T WANT IT, so much genuine joy and love!"
User localBakugoenthusiast chimed in saying: "I love this so much better though like I can tell you had fun."
Quite Vexing noted: "This shows your (and his) genuine happiness, thrill, and enjoyment of a momentous occasion! you both look amazing (especially in the outtakes!)."
Cassie said: "A lot of these are lovely, you look great and you're glowing with joy which makes them great!"
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About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more