As you plan your wedding, I’m sure you’ve started to discuss the option of having a First Look. This is when you schedule time prior to walking down the aisle for you and your spouse to privately have a first look at each other and to have those genuine reactions photographed. Now the decision is to have a first look or to go with the tradition of seeing each other first when walking down the aisle. This is your wedding day so it is your choice on if you want a first look or not. I will support you in your decision and I will capture beautiful images either way!
But as a photographer I can easily say I think that having a first look is absolutely worth it! I will always recommend having a first look! I’d love to share a few of the MANY perks to having one!
– You and your spouse get MORE TIME TOGETHER on your wedding day. Not having a first look means that you see each other for the first time in front of everyone and you don’t get a private moment together to really see each other until evening time. You want to spend the best day of your life with the love of your life!
– You actually get to ATTEND and ENJOY your cocktail hour! Receiving lines aren’t very common anymore, so having a first look would allow you to socialize and celebrate with all your friends and family during your cocktail hour. If you decide to not do a first look, all of your portraits are taken after the ceremony. Which also means that your bridal party will have to skip cocktail hour to take photos.
– Your wedding day timeline suddenly becomes relaxed and stress free! Having a first look eliminates the need to cram a lot of photos into a tiny span of time. Having a first look allows your photos to be spread throughout the day, leaving time for breaks and wiggle room if something were to get off schedule. Not having a first look doesn’t leave you much wiggle room and you may feel rushed.
– You’ll get more images! Like I mentioned early, when you have a first look your photos are more spread out throughout the day instead of being condensed into a shorter amount of time. This allows your photographer more time for creativity, more posing and even time to travel to another location for pictures!
– It calms your nerves! Wedding days bring lots of jitters. Being able to see your fiancé before the ceremony can relieve a lot of those nervous feelings. Many people think that doing a first look can take away that moment of walking down the aisle. I’ve talked with a lot of Grooms and many of them have said that it enhanced the experience! (And many of them cried a second time!)
If you need even just one more reason why a first look is worth is, this is from a groom whose wedding I personally photographed:
“I am so glad Kayla and I did a first look. Your wedding is a really busy day – You’ve got all of your favorite people in one place, for one day, and you want to make the most of every moment. So, it is awesome to have a time where it is just you and your bride (and Bethany, of course). It allows the two of you to have time to soak it all in and really be present with each other. Apart from a first look, our wedding day was a whirlwind, but the first look created a time for us to stop and enjoy it all. Even though it’s not deemed ‘traditional’, I highly recommend doing a first look and we jokingly refer to it as the ‘new tradition’.”
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