8 Reasons To Do a First Look – Virginia Wedding Photographer – FYI Friday

To do a first look, or to not do a first look. This can be a hot topic when it comes to wedding planning. In case you aren’t aware, a first look is where the couple chooses to see each other on their wedding day, before the ceremony. Enter gasps here. While this is growing more and more popular with couples, there are still plenty of couples on the fence. It’s my job to educate my couples and make sure they are prepared to make the right decision. I’ve never had a couple regret doing a first look. Sadly, I have had the opposite. Morgan & Austin‘s first look has been one of my favorites. These two wrote each other notes and read them with their backs to one another! Austin came up with a great idea when he thought of that! I’m here to give you 8 (yes EIGHT) reasons to do a first look. That’s a lot of reasons!

1. Relaxed Timeline

Wedding days can be hectic to say the least. Even a wedding that goes smooth is going to feel a little crazy. There is just SO much to pack into one day! It kinda reminds me of going to Busch Gardens or Disney World. You have 8-10 hours to do 4958739485734 things. With a first look, we can do all of the bridal party photos prior to the ceremony. Sometimes we even get in the family photos! It is much easier to play around with the schedule that happens before the ceremony than the schedule that happens after the ceremony. This means that after the ceremony we will have a few more bride and groom portraits, maybe the family portraits and then you are free to mingle! With an extra tight timeline it can be very easy to get thrown off. 5 minutes here and there adds up!

2. Combating Mother Nature

I don’t even know how many weddings I have shot when the weather is beautiful before and then turns into a rainy evening. If you do a first look you could possibly ensure that you have some great portraits of the two of you before the bad weather hits. On a rainy wedding day it is very likely that we are going to be going in and out at every opportunity to sneak in some outdoor/uncovered photos. The more opportunities we have to do that the better! Trust me, I’ve had my fair share of rainy wedding days. Lets just say Mother Nature was NOT on my side for 2015.

3. More Portraits

If you are reading my blog then I’m going to go ahead and assume photography, moreso the portraits of the two of you, rank pretty high on the importance scale. Choosing to do a first look means that you add another entire block of time for JUST bride and groom portraits! For a late spring or summer wedding that could mean three windows of portrait time. First look, a few right after the ceremony and then a few more at sunset. For fall and winter brides that means you have two, possibly three. With an earlier sunset during the fall, winter and early spring…daylight is a hot commodity. There is a strong chance that without a first look you could end up with only ONE 15-20 minute window of time for portraits. You’ll learn just from your engagement session how crazy that sounds. That’s our warm up time! Couples who choose to do a first look end up with significantly more photos of just the two of them.

4. Calms Nerves

Those moments leading up to the ceremony can make you both a little anxious. Who better to help calm you than the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with?!?! That person that knows you like no one else, that more often than not can calm you and bring you a sense of peace like no other. Wedding day nerves are a very real thing. Spending some time with your person (hey there all you Grey’s Anatomy fans!) beforehand helps put those nerves at ease.

5. Alone Time

One of the biggest reasons I hear couples say they don’t want to do a first look is because they want that big moment at the alter. Which I get. But guess what usually ends up happening? Remember reason number 4? Those pesky nerves? They tend to keep our minds racing, especially during the first part of the ceremony. Not to mention, when grooms are standing in front of 100-200 people they tend to get a little stoic. When its just the two of you, both of you are so much more comfortable. That first reaction to him seeing you is much more intimate and emotional. Not to mention you have the time to enjoy it. If your first look is at the altar there is no time to truly embrace each other and savor that feeling. There is usually a lot more concentration to not mess anything up. You now have an audience, and a schedule to maintain…not a lot of time for those real emotions to come through.

6. Plan Ceremony Around Sunset

Light is everything in photography. If you have the opportunity to get married at sunset, TAKE IT! So many gorgeous glowy photos that you have seen on Pinterest or in bridal magazines, look that way because of the lighting. The time of day. Doing a first look gives you the freedom to hold off for either a sunset ceremony or a ceremony about an hour before sunset. Again, you probably don’t walk around and judge light all the time. Don’t worry, I do. Again, it’s my job to make sure you’re educated on these things so you can make the best decision for you!

7. Spend More of Your Day Together

Lets say your ceremony is at 5:30pm. Chances are you have been up since about 7 or 8am. If you choose not to do a first look that is SO much of your wedding day that you are spending apart! The first look cuts down on some of that separated time. More time for you guys to really feel like the day is about YOU. Have some champagne together, relax and just be with your best friend a little longer. Actually, if you are one of my couples and you are reading this, lets make this champagne thing happen. I’m seeing exploding corks, fizzy bubbles, adorable champagne flutes and cute straws (can’t mess up the lipstick!)

8. Don’t Let Traditions Stand in Your Way

Do you know WHY not seeing each other before your ceremony became a tradition? It started when arranged marriages were the big thing. You couldn’t see each other so that in the off case that you did and you didn’t like what you saw…you couldn’t bail. Sounds silly right? Definitely doesn’t sound very romantic. It also started before they were photographing weddings. Times have changed. Not only do we get to pick who we spend the rest of our life with, but we get to photograph it. Document those memories. So lets make sure we get as many of the two of you as we can! There are tons of silly wedding traditions that you can change and this should definitely be one of them!

If you enjoyed reading 8 Reasons Why You Should Do a First Look, you may want to check out another FYI Friday here and here!

be silly. be honest. be kind.