I wanted to write down some of my thoughts around having a first look. I did a first look at my own wedding and loved it, and I wanted to share some of the reasons that I like it from a photographer’s point of view. Ultimately, it comes down to what you want from your day and what traditions you want to hold and how you want to experience the most special day of your life!
However, I did want to share some of the reasons I love first looks, if you are on the fence about having one! The reasons why I think you should have a first look are because it creates a more intimate moment for you two, gives you more time to spend with your guests, creates better pictures, and eases nerves.
1. A first look allows you to have a more intimate moment.
First off, it provides a much more intimate moment to share with each other while seeing each other for the first time. You have spent so much time getting ready and picking out a dress, and it allows your fiance to be able to compliment you. I have seen so many grooms who can’t stop complimenting the bride and saying how pretty their dress is. That is something you cannot do while seeing each other for the first time down the aisle. At the ceremony, you have to be a bit more quiet and cannot talk to each other extensively.
A first look is also shared just between you two (and probably your photographer and videographer!) and you don’t have the pressure of 100+ people staring at you while your emotions are high and you are trying to soak in the moment. Furthermore, the rest of your whole day will be surrounded by people, you won’t have another chance to have an uninterrupted moment with just the two of you. For these reasons, I really enjoy how intimate this moment can be at first look rather than at the ceremony.
2. A first look lets you spend more time with your guests.
The second reason I love first looks is because it adds more time back into your day after the ceremony. Why is this important, you might ask? I have seen many couples that do not enjoy having to go back outside and spend 30 minutes to an hour taking couples' pictures, wedding party pictures, and family pictures when all of their guests are waiting, and the whole wedding party and bride and groom are hungry and wanting to sit down.
Most of the time it is a much more enjoyable experience if you can get all of the wedding party and bride and groom pictures out of the way before the ceremony, while there is nothing that you are missing going on, and you aren’t tired of standing in your heels yet. That way after the ceremony, the pastor can make an announcement for the family to stay at the altar, you can take all of the family pictures and then be done completely with photos and ready to eat with your guests and not have to worry about anything other than celebrating with your loved ones for the rest of the evening.
3. A first look produces better photos.
The third reason I prefer first looks comes from a photographer's perspective. I find that it is much easier to get good pictures of the groom seeing the bride when it is a first look rather than at the aisle. During the ceremony, there is very little space to stand to be able to capture both the groom seeing the bride and the bride walking down the aisle, and very little time to turn around multiple times to get both as well. Having a second shooter helps with this significantly; however, with a second shooter, you run into the same problem of available space to get the angles that you need for both shooters and trying not to stand in the view of any of the guests or wedding party.
During a first look, that problem is gone, there is plenty of room to stand wherever is needed in order to get the right shot of both people, and with a second shooter (which is included for free in all of our packages), it is even easier to get the shots needed. This allows the main shooter at the ceremony to focus on getting the shot of the bride walking down the aisle, and for the second shooter to be more out of the way, and focusing on getting guests’ reactions or mom and dad’s reactions to you walking down the aisle, allowing you to have the best of both options.
4. Having a first look calms nerves
The last reason is something that I can speak about from personal experience, which is that the first look calms down your nerves before the ceremony! I get nervous about speaking in front of lots of people and the thought of having to say my vows in front of everyone was making me super nervous. As soon as I saw Zack though all of my nerves were completely gone. I got to hug him and talk to him and I was just put at ease. The tension of waiting all day not being able to see your favorite person was just taken all away and I was so happy and at peace. This is definitely different for everyone; I have talked with brides who are just so excited and had no nerves at all, so this may not apply to everyone, but it was something that was totally real for me!
Common Objections:
Some of the most common objections to having a first look are because a couple wants to adhere to tradition or that the groom wants the first time he sees the bride to be down the aisle.
I completely understand wanting to hold traditions and that is a completely valid reason not to do a first look! If you choose to do it this way you can still do a first touch to calm nerves a bit and be able to talk to your fiance, and we can at least get the separate wedding party pictures (bride with her bridesmaids and groom with his groomsmen) and bridal pictures done ahead of time. However, some people do not like the stress of trying not to be seen by their fiance, possibly by accident through a window or something like that.
At the end of the day though it is all about what you want! There is no problem with wanting to see each other for the first time walking down the aisle. I have talked with couples that treasured that moment and felt that it was much more special to wait until that moment to see each other. No matter what you choose, we want to be able to capture your day and help you remember those moments for years to come. Reach out today if you want to chat more about what that would look like!
