How a First Look Can Elevate Your Wedding Day
If there’s one wedding day decision I’ll happily talk about over and over again, it’s doing a first look! I’ve made no secret of how much I love them, and it’s actually the #1 thing I tell my husband, Jon, I would change about our own wedding day. Not because you have to see each other before the ceremony to have an amazing wedding day, but because a first look can give you something that’s surprisingly hard to find once the day gets going: time alone together!
What Is A First Look?
A first look is exactly what it sounds like! Instead of waiting until the ceremony to see each other for the first time, you plan a private moment together beforehand. Usually, I’ll get one of you into place and then have the other walk up behind them for the big reveal. From there, I step back and let you have your moment together while I photograph everything as it naturally happens.
And when I say private, I really do mean private! There doesn’t need to be a crowd of people standing around watching or any pressure to have a certain reaction. It’s simply a chance for the two of you to see each other, hug, laugh, cry, talk, and take in the fact that you’re actually getting MARRIED!
Why Consider a First Look?
Wedding mornings are exciting, but there’s usually a whole lot happening at once. You’re getting ready, people are coming and going, vendors are arriving, and suddenly the ceremony you’ve been planning for months is right around the corner. A first look gives you a reason to stop for a few minutes and just be together before the rest of the day takes off.
It can also help calm some of those pre-ceremony nerves! I’ve seen so many couples visibly relax once they finally get to see each other. Instead of spending the entire morning apart waiting for the ceremony, you get to see your favorite person, have a few minutes together, and head into the rest of the day as a team.
From a wedding photography and timeline perspective, a first look also gives us SO much more flexibility. Once you’ve seen each other, we can typically take your couple portraits and wedding party photos before the ceremony. Depending on your timeline, we may even be able to knock out some or all of your family portraits too! That means there’s much less we need to accomplish afterward and you can spend more of cocktail hour or your reception actually celebrating with everyone you invited.
And one of my favorite parts? A first look gives us more opportunities for portraits without making it feel like you’re spending your entire wedding day taking photos. We can take some earlier in the day while you’re fresh and excited, then sneak back out later for a few more when the light is beautiful. You get plenty of variety in your wedding gallery while still having time to actually experience your wedding day!
But What About Seeing Each Other At The Ceremony?
This is probably the biggest concern I hear from couples who love the idea of a first look but also love the tradition of seeing each other for the first time at the ceremony. Will seeing each other beforehand make walking down the aisle feel less special?
In my experience, nope!
Those are two completely different moments. A first look is quiet and private. Walking down the aisle is the moment when everything becomes REAL. Your family and friends are there, the music is playing, and you’re about to actually marry each other! I’ve photographed plenty of couples who shared an emotional first look earlier in the day and still had another emotional reaction when they saw each other at the ceremony.
But if you’ve always pictured waiting until the aisle to see each other, that matters too! I’ll never tell you that you have to do a first look just because it makes the photography timeline easier. We can build a wedding day timeline that works either way. The most important thing is choosing the experience that feels right for the two of you.
Is A First Look Right For Your Wedding Day?
If having some quiet time together, calming your nerves, getting more portraits done before the ceremony, and spending more time with your guests afterward all sound pretty great, a first look might be perfect for you! It’s one of my favorite ways to create a relaxed wedding photography timeline without making the day feel like one long photoshoot.
At the end of the day, though, there’s no one “right” way to plan your wedding. Talk it over together and think about how you want your day to feel, not just what you think you’re supposed to do. Whether you see each other privately before the ceremony or wait for that walk down the aisle, I want you to look back at your wedding photos and remember how much you loved actually living those moments together!
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