Over the past couple years this idea of doing a ‘first look’ on your wedding day seems to have become the new standard. The majority of my couples these days are opting to see each other before the ceremony and I couldn’t be happier about it! There are so many reasons why doing a first look is beneficial; very simply put it is a way to save your time line, give you PLENTY of relaxed time for pictures, and it gives you a little time to spend together on your wedding day. If a client is hesitant at all I have lots of reasons I can give them, but usually they’re interested in what my past clients have to say about the experience, so I thought I’d ask the experts! I asked two of my wonderful couples Emily and Justin and Marty and Tim if they would explain why they opted to do a first look. Everyone had different reasons for wanting to do a first look, which I love! Typically the groom is a little more hesitant than the bride about breaking tradition, so to all the brides-to-be out there, feel free to forward this post along to your hubby-to-be so he can see what Justin and Tim had to say first hand :0) Enjoy some of my most favorite ‘first look’ moments to date!
From Emily: “For me, the reason I wanted to do a first look was mainly to help ease my nerves! I was petrified to be up infront of all those people and I knew that the only person that could help me feel more at ease was Justin. I loved the fact that we were able to spend a few hours just me and him. The wedding day is such a whirlwind and you spend the whole time talking to people and thanking everyone for coming that you hardly even get to see your husband or wife. So, having the first look we were able to spend a few hours just the two of us (and Jessie :)) just to actually talk to each other! I loved the fact that we could have a conversation without every single member of our family and all of our friends listening and watching as we stood in front of the altar! A worry of mine was the Justin wouldn’t like my dress but since we were able to see each other before hand he was able to tell me that he loved it and how beautiful I looked. Talk about a confidence booster before walking down the aisle!”
From Justin: “I had never heard of a first look until Emily had suggested it to me. After learning more of what it was all about, I became more okay with the idea. Being more traditional, I was some what concerned as to how it would unfold. I wasn’t sure about seeing Emily before the wedding. I had always imagined the ceremony being the first time I saw my bride but after having the experience, I wouldn’t change a thing. The first look turned out to be a crucial part of our wedding day. It was a chance to add a personal touch on a day that gets lost in the craziness. Emily and I were able to spend a couple of hours without any family or friends around. It was great to be able to have a conversation and just be together, the two of us, for a little while.”From Marty: “I wanted a first look because I felt that it would open up a lot of our day and help eliminate the feeling of being rushed.There’s so much anxiety and anticipation that leads up to the ceremony, and I felt that after we were officially married I would rather be celebrating with family and friends then having to hurry off to take pictures by ourselves, making our guests wait around for us. Now that I’ve done the first look I can also add that being able to have a few quiet minutes with Tim before the ceremony really calmed my nerves. We were able to enjoy each other during our portraits, which I don’t think we would have been able to do if we were worrying about the timing of our reception and wanting to hurry back to our guests.”From Tim: “We had put so much time, money, and effort into planning our cocktail hour and reception that he wanted to be around to enjoy the celebration that we had worked so hard for, instead of letting everyone else enjoy it without us. We had a reception because we wanted to celebrate with our family and friends, so it only made sense that we would schedule our pictures in a way that allowed us to spend as much of the day with them as possible.”
Happy Thursday! :0)