Why you should do a First Look on your Wedding Day

A FIRST LOOK MIGHT BE JUST RIGHT FOR YOU

A first look is a great way to kick off your wedding day; and help cut the nerves that come with the stress of your big day.

It’s one of the most highly debated topics that a bride and groom will come across: Should we do a first look? There are many reasons to want, or not want, a first look on your wedding day. Here, we take a dive into why a first look may be a great choice, and a great way to kick off your wedding day with a bang.

GET RID OF YOUR NERVES

Let’s face it, you’ve done a LOT of planning for this day. You want everything to go perfectly, and chances are, your stress levels are going to be rather high. You’ve just finished getting ready, and you are preparing for the rest of your day. You haven’t seen your soon-to-be spouse at all, maybe briefly in the morning before you both went your separate ways and started to prepare for the day. At this point, you might be thinking that this isn’t how you’d ideally spend the best day of your life with your significant other.

By implementing a first look, you are sure to get an intimate moment, alone, before all of the planned events for the day begin. You get to be together, something many people overlook when scheduling their wedding. A huge part of your day should be for you as a couple, enjoying the day TOGETHER as one unit. Shake off the nerves, maybe even read vows, and tap your soon-to-be husband on the shoulder for an incredible first-look wedding experience.

SPEND TIME WITH ONE ANOTHER

When you sit down and start figuring out your schedule for the day, you usually end up leaving out one key element: spending time together. In fact, usually the only time you get together for your wedding is while taking portraits, standing at the altar or dancing in front of large groups of people, or at the end of the night when you head home with one another. The day passes you by and you realize you may not have said much to your spouse throughout the day, because you’ve been so caught up in everything else, and that is NORMAL! A first look can change all of that.

Pick your favorite location close to your venue, or your favorite view at your venue, to see each other for the first time before the wedding. While it isn’t the traditional first look as the bride walks down the aisle, sometimes it can have a lot more meaning. Oftentimes, grooms can hold back their true emotions when amongst large groups of people, so you can use the time alone to get a more intimate, raw reaction from your groom. This is also a great time for videographers, as they can often mic-up the bride and groom to help capture the moment as it unfolds, and it gives significantly more footage. You’ll walk away with some beautiful, emotional photos and thank yourself for giving just a little bit of time to spend with the one you love most.

GET GREAT PHOTOS

Yes, I’m a wedding photographer and filmmaker so you know I had to throw this part out there. While it may not be the best time of day (light-wise), it does provide for some beautiful photos of the two of you on your wedding day, virtually stress-free. You don’t have Aunt Nancy hanging over your shoulder with the flip phone from 2004, and Uncle Joey is nowhere to be found to do the jig he’s been doing for decades. Bringing a vow book and having that intimate time to read one another your vows, or perhaps a letter if you want your vows to be saved for the ceremony, can make for sweet moments between the two of you that you will surely remember as part of your big day. Your wedding will go by in a blur, so it is important to have great photos and video to help relive your day over and over.