First of all, a little disclaimer: I am a wedding photographer, so this might be a little bit biased toward my perspective that photos are one of the most important aspects of your day! But just stick with me on this one, I think you’ll like what I have to say about the First Look…

After all of the planning and prepping for your wedding, you’ve most likely invested a pretty penny in making one of the most important days of your life everything you’ve dreamed it would be! One of the biggest (and most important, in my obviously biased opinion!) investments you make in your wedding is your wedding photographer. After all, once the day is done, you’ll only have pictures and memories to remember it by, so you might as well get the most out of it, right?

Of course there are so many important moments and photos taken throughout the day, but  images capturing you and your soon-to-be husband are sure to take the cake! (Pun not intended, but I’m keeping it!) The best way to have more portraits together is to do a First Look. There are so many advantages to this, and I believe it positively affects the entire rest of your day!

Reasons why to do a First Look:

More time together on your wedding day

First Looks typically take place about 3 hours before the actual ceremony time. That’s THREE whole hours more you’ll have to spend together than you would otherwise! First Looks provide intimate time alone for you and your fiancé to spend together – uninterrupted and not rushed! Instead of seeing each other and going straight into the ceremony, being whisked into back-to-back family, wedding party, and husband and wife portrait times and then off to the reception to celebrate with family and friends, you’ll actually have time to TALK to each other. He’ll get a chance to tell you what he thinks of you, your dress and how he’s feeling about the day. Sweet memories will be made, nerves will be calmed and you’ll have precious photos to capture it all.

More portraits!

It’s simple, really. More time together on your wedding day = more wedding day portraits! My couples who decide to do a First Look on their wedding day walk away with almost twice as many photos together compared to couples who don’t do a First Look. Let me just say that one more time: Couples who do a First Look get almost twice as many portraits!! That’s HUGE and definitely worth a repeat in my book! Another advantage is that with different settings and different light, you’ll have more variety in your Bride and Groom portraits.

Wedding party and family photos are done before the ceremony

Since you have already seen each other, that means that we can take the photos of your entire wedding party together before the ceremony! That’s more time together with all of your friends without feeling the pressure of getting through photos so everyone can go to cocktail hour. Family portraits can also be taken before the ceremony, so after the ceremony, your wedding party and family members can all go straight to cocktail hour and enjoy it with the rest of your family, friends and guests.

More portrait time during Golden Hour!

Yes, Golden Hour is a real thing, and it is pure magic! Golden Hour happens an hour before sunset and it is the best time of day for photos. With the perfect wedding photography timeline, you’ll end up hitting Golden Hour right after your ceremony. It only make sense to spend your first few moments as Husband and Wife taking portraits in the the prettiest light of the day! This softer golden light really does make a world of difference. With all of cocktail hour to go before heading back to celebrate with your guests, you’ll have time to slow down and take portraits together without feeling like everyone is waiting on you. You can also make time to join in on cocktail hour, sneak away for a few minutes together, or head on into the reception and get the party started!

“Everything I had heard pro-first look was spot on. It helped calm my nerves, and gave us a chance to talk, hug, and have a special, intimate moment that wasn’t in front of hundreds of people. We both still got emotional when we first saw each other at the ceremony, so we didn’t feel that it took away any of that special moment that people are worried about. Also, we got to take all of our pictures before the ceremony which gave us more time to relax and enjoy the reception!” -Avery Rea

“I always thought the first time we should see each other on our wedding day should be walking down the aisle because it’s sentimental and traditional. But in reality, the First Look provides a much more intimate and special moment for you and your groom. It was all about “us” and we got to relish in that moment of nervousness, turned excitement, turned tears of joy for as long as we wanted. Nobody was rushing us to a ceremony. We were just “us” in all our goofy nature and it’s priceless moment of time that we’ll cherish forever.  Afterwards we felt so much more calm and were able to actually enjoy the ceremony. I would highly recommend this to anyone on the fence.” – Courtney Joiner