3 Benefits of a First Look

Are you on the fence about a first look? It’s easy with all the planning that goes into a wedding to not know what the best move is. Often family members will put pressure on the couple to forgo the first look just because they want to see the couple see each other for the first time. And while weddings do a lot of catering to the guests, at the end of the day what matters is the people getting married. I’ve photographed weddings with first looks and weddings without and let me start by saying both are beautiful. But if you’re a couple that’s on the fence there are a few things I’ve witnessed that might just sway you to give the first look a go!

Let’s start with the obvious…

First looks allow you and your partner a private moment.

Even though weddings are all about the couple they often don’t have a lot of scheduled time for privacy. You have all your family in town, all of your friends, some of whom you probably haven’t seen in a while. It’s so normal to bounce around your whole reception or spend it dancing your heart out on the dance floor. Scheduling in a first look or even just some time to be alone as a couple can give you an opportunity to honor the commitment you are making and really celebrate this milestone together.

First looks give you more time to enjoy your actual wedding.

You may be thinking “how is that possible, a first look is an extra thing to do. How could it save time?” Well, a first look allows for more of the pre-wedding time to be used by the photographer. Look, there are only so many getting ready photos a photographer can take and these often aren’t the most cherished of the album. When couples choose to wait to see each other until their ceremony it means there can be some dead time where you may be paying for your photographer, but they don’t have a lot to capture before the ceremony. It also means that almost all the portraits then must be done after the ceremony during a break, cocktail hour or the start of the reception. This means the couple still have all the “work” or family photos and couple’s portraits still to go. By doing a first look this can double as the couple’s photos and allows for family photos and the wedding party’s photos to all be done before the ceremony. The work then is over so as soon as you are pronounced married you get to go celebrate with all your people. Or if you still want more photos, you can still take that cocktail hour time slot and slip away for more couple’s photos.

First looks capture emotion.

Many people worry that their partner won’t show as much emotion during the ceremony if there is already a first look, like the surprise will be ruined. Often, its the opposite. Giving couples a chance to privately take each other in allows them to be freer with their emotions because there isn’t a crowd and then the actual ceremony really isn’t affected because YOU ARE STILL GETTING MARRIED and that carries a ton of emotion with it. Case and point I wept through my entire wedding day. I cried during my first look, I cried walking down the aisle and even after having a first look my partner cried before even seeing me when the music changed to start our ceremony. A person doesn’t enjoy a movie less because they saw the trailer, they usually get even more stoked to see what’s coming.

So remember there is no right or wrong choice. If you skip the first look you will still have an emotion filled day with your partner, with lots of beautiful photos to remember it all by and you will have the rest of your lives to be alone together. But if you do have a first look you are sure to capture something really special that is just yours and I think every wedding needs a moment like that.