For Brides & Grooms: The First Look

During my wedding consultations, I have had so many couples and even mother of the brides to ask me what a First Look really is. As you are planning for your big day, there may be some aspects of the day that you may be completely unfamiliar with. The First Look is one of those things that I get asked about a lot. Today, I am going to share with you what a First Look is and the advantages of having one!

A first look is when the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony. Before you say, “I would never want to do that,” let me explain the details and advantages of having a first look. The first look can be a private, intimate moment for the bride and groom. No one is around during the first look except for the bride & groom and the photographer/videographer.

The groom is placed into position and eagerly awaits for the moment when he can see his bride for the first time. I usually have my brides to walk towards the groom and motion for him to turn around. When she does this, the groom turns around in amazement. During this time, the bride and groom spend time together before the busyness of the wedding day. It allows you to enjoy the moment and completely relax on your wedding day. Some couples may think that having a first look will spoil the exciting moment of the groom seeing the bride walk down the aisle but it does not. The grooms that have done a first look still had the same excitement & emotions when seeing the bride walk down the aisle!

Advantages of a first look:

It is an intimate moment between you two! When you have a first look, you will have that opportunity to hug & embrace and tell each other how great one looks (something you would not normally do when walking down the aisle). This is the time to breath and take in just how great you two look to each other. I have witnessed couples gleaming with excitement and even shedding tears because they were so happy during that moment.
More Pictures! My couples who have opted to have a first look have had 50% more bride and groom portraits than my couples who have opted out. The reason is, after the first look, I immediately photograph the bride and groom. I am able to spend anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour photographing the couple without being rushed. When you choose not to have a first look, all of your bride and groom photos will be photographed after the ceremony. The Wedding Day can be a long day and sometimes couples are so tired and eager to get to the reception, that they cut the time for their bride and groom portraits.
All of your portraits can all be taken before the ceremony. This allows you to leave the ceremony and immediately go straight into the reception without having to wait an hour or more for portraits being taking after the ceremony. I have had so many brides to tell me that they were so happy that they did a first look and got all their portraits out the way. As soon as the ceremony was over, they were ready to party!
The Bride & Groom can enjoy their cocktail hour. If you have a first look, you will have the opportunity to attend & enjoy your cocktail hour with family & friends! Think about the fun you can have at your own cocktail hour, as well as being photographed during your cocktail hour with guests.
Your nerves will be calm! The wedding day is a big moment for the bride & groom and it is completely normal to be nervous. I have had couples to feel 100% better after seeing each other during the first look. It brings about a sense of peace and makes the remainder of the day completely at ease.

At the end of the day, I have never had a couple to say that they wish they had NEVER done a first look. In fact, I have had more couples to come back and say that they wish they had done a First Look instead of opting out. I have even had grooms who were not so sure about the whole idea of having a first look to come back and tell me that they are so happy that they did it. The intimate moment between the bride & groom and the opportunity to be relaxed & at ease during the wedding, was all worth having a First Look.