For those of you who know me know that I am such a fan of first looks! If you aren’t familiar with what a first look is, it is when a couple opts to see one another before the ceremony. I know some of you might be asking yourselves, “What?!?! Why in the world would we want to see each other before the ceremony?” Well I’m glad you asked! There are a few reasons why you may want to consider sneaking a peek early instead of taking the traditional route of waiting until the walk down the aisle***.
1. Time. By having a first look, you will have more time for the intimate and creative photos that you have been looking forward to and you won’t have to worry about rushing to the next part of your day. You can savor the moment by relaxing with your wedding party and your spouse before the day really kicks into high gear. Also, by doing these photos before the ceremony, you will be able to join your guests a lot sooner for the reception.
2. Creative places. When you opt for the traditional route, you’ll only have a small window of time to get those photos with your spouse and your wedding party after the ceremony. This may not be ideal if your venue or the area around the venue is less than picturesque. When you have a first look, you can plan it to where you have your photos with lovely scenery at your favorite place (that may be halfway across town) and you can still make it to the venue comfortably with enough time before your ceremony.
For Angela and Nelson’s Brooklyn wedding, we were able to take a lot of creative portraits around DUMBO and some of the famous landmarks there before heading to the ceremony and reception site, which was about 20 minutes away.
3. Alone time with one another. This moment will realistically be the only time that day you two will truly be able to have a few private, uninterrupted moments together. The first time he sees you, he’ll be able to see you up close, to embrace you, talk to you; you’ll be able to bask in the moment together. Seeing that this would be one of the most important days your lives, your nerves will probably be getting the best of you. This will give you the opportunity to slow down and relax a little bit.
4. Capturing the moment. Although the first time you see each other won’t be with you coming down the aisle, you will still be able to have that first moment of seeing one another captured. There is nothing quite like seeing a groom waiting with anticipation for his bride to walk up behind him and tap him on the shoulder. When he turns around and admires her beauty face to face—*swoon*.
5. Fresh faces. With a first look, you all will look super fresh for your photos! Ladies, your hair will be in place, your make up will be on point, smudge-free and tear-stained-free.
***=First looks are not something that you have to do–it’s totally your choice on your wedding day if you’d like to go that route 🙂
