Let’s face it – your wedding is the best day of your life, but it’s also pretty stressful. I always recommend that my couples do a first look because it gives you a chance to have a private moment with your love, away from all the eyes on you at the ceremony. You get a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle and spend a little time together, to soak up the love and excitement.
I totally understand feeling like you want him to see you for the first time as you walk down the aisle – because what pretty much every bride wants is a reaction. But, imagine this: you’re up there in front of lots of people, and it can be hard to think about something other than the faces looking at you.
What I’ve found, is that a first look provides a “safer” space for the groom to get emotional – when it’s just the two of you (and your third wheel -me), crying is less stressful. And with a first look, after you see each other you can hug, kiss, twirl, get a good look at each other without having to be on a time crunch and feeling like you need to move on with the ceremony to be done on time. This is one of the only times during the wedding that you’ll actually get to be alone, without keeping anyone waiting.
Another benefit of doing a first look is you get to enjoy your cocktail hour! Yes, without the first look all of your pictures will be crammed into cocktail hour. You will need to get family pictures in, wedding party pictures and of course portraits of the bride and groom! When you have a first look we have a lot more time for pictures and it is not so rushed. Most of my couples have their first look, then we go into wedding party pictures and then bride and groom pictures. Some of my couples even decide to do family pictures before the ceremony as well, this way they really can have all of the cocktail hour to eat, drink and be married!
Needless to say, I love first looks. But this isn’t about me, so if you want to keep things traditional, that’s great! I’d never want my couples to feel like I’m pushing the first look on them, but I do want you to be informed! No pressure 🙂
