3 Reasons to add a First Look to Your Wedding!

I know some of y’all are weary about breaking ‘tradition’ but hear me out.

Adding a first look to your wedding has easily become one of the most beneficial modern additions to a wedding day. Tradition has it that typically a couple would see each other as they walked down the aisle, however nowadays, seeing one another BEFORE the ceremony has become really popular. I often tell people that if they want the work they see in my portfolio, I need time, and a good amount of it. First looks impact this greatly. Not convinced? Here are 3 major points on why I love them:

1) YOU GET TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH YOUR BOO

You get to spend time, JUST the two of you. Yes it’s a beautiful moment seeing each other for the first time down the aisle, and it will still be magical trust me. But you’ll also look around and you don’t even get to talk much during the ceremony! At least with a first look, you get to see each other and enjoy the moment privately. Trust me you’ll be pulled left and right by your guests because they wanna congratulate you and spend time with you all day!

First looks are almost ALWAYS more emotional and meaningful than seeing each other down the aisle (afraid you’ll miss that “epic moment” down the aisle? I’d say 99% of my couples STILL got choked up walking down the aisle even though they saw one another…music & having people present = all the feels.)

2) NOT RUSHED = BETTER PHOTOS

Adding a first look helps SO MUCH with the wedding timeline. If you want to see the break down of a sample wedding timeline with the first look added, I wrote an article about it HERE. The actual first look is about 5-10 mins followed by your couple portraits making it 45 mins to an hour, wedding party portraits take about 30-45 mins and immediate family portraits take about 30-45 mins. All depending on the party size too. Sadly, we can’t do all of this effectively during one hour of cocktail hour. And cocktail hour is usually at night, therefore giving you night time photos instead of the beautiful photos during the day. So if we are able to do a first look, we can then do the couple portraits, wedding party/family portraits BEFORE the ceremony and won’t have to worry about those later.

It also allows you to enjoy time with your friends during cocktail hour because we aren’t scrambling for photos. Bring on the apps and drinks and go mingle!

3) NO STRESS OR ANXIETY!

Having a first look takes the stress away from trying to cram everything after the wedding ceremony. You will be able to enjoy your guests during cocktail hour or hide away and eat! This is also perfect if you wanna meet before the ceremony to ease your anxiety/nerves or share an intimate moment like read your vows privately. Or surprise your fiance and bring out a guitar and sing to one another.

BOTTOM LINE

In all, I won’t force any of my couples to do a first look, because I didn’t even have one myself for my wedding day! Instead, we had a ‘first touch’ which I talk about in another blog post here. If you are thinking about a first look, it really does make things run very smoothly and I’d be sad if you didn’t at least consider it. If you’re ready to take a step forward and add in a first look, just message me and we can start the process!

Here are some more tips for your wedding that you may find helpful!

Important Wedding Details List to Have for Your Photographer

What to Put on Your Wedding Website

Family Formals – 4 Tips to Make Them Run Smoothly