Now that we’ve captured your bridal details and you are all dressed and ready to go, it’s time to see your future hubby! Your first look is an amazing part of your wedding day. It’s a romantic addition to your wedding that not only adds to the experience, but also reduces stress! Brides are sometimes hesitant about this new tradition, but once they learn all the benefits of doing a first look, it starts to make sense why so many couples choose to do them these days! Here’s an explanation of how it works and the benefit of doing one!

How it works. Once both the bride and groom are all dressed and ready to go, we’ll make our way to the first look location. At this point I will have already scouted out a location that will provide the best light and setting for the first look. We’ll first take the groom to the location and set him up facing away from the direction the bride will be coming from. Then we’ll get the bride and have her walk towards the groom. At this point you can either have the groom turn around as she is halfway to him, so he can watch her walk towards him, or the bride can come up to the groom and tap him on the shoulder. My second shooter and I will capture this whole process from two angles so we can get the bride and groom’s priceless reactions as they see each other for the first time! We then give them a few minutes to themselves to relish in the moment before rolling into portraits!


Why it’s worth it. Branden and I didn’t do a first look on our wedding day. Not because we didn’t want to, we just didn’t know it was an option! If we could do it over again, we would definitely do one! There are so many benefits to a first look.

• Added portrait time. After the ceremony, there’s generally an hour before the bride and groom need to be at the reception for their introduction. After doing family formals and wedding party pictures, we are often only left with 10 minutes for portraits of the bride and groom. These are the most important pictures from your wedding day. These are the pictures that you are going to hang all over your house. So only having 10 minutes to capture these shots will really limit the quality and quantity of pictures we’ll be able to get. Doing a first look allows us to have plenty of time to ensure we get plenty of great pictures of the bride and groom! This allows you to get much more out of your photography investment! And we won’t have the added stress of getting to the reception on time. We’ll be able to relax and enjoy the portrait time!
• Genuine reaction. When the groom sees the bride walking down the aisle for the first time, he is just in awe of his brides beauty. But he can’t tell her how amazing she looks or even hug her until after the ceremony. Plus, there’s the added pressure of all of your friends and family watching your reactions. Doing a first look allows you to do whatever you want when you see each other! You can hug, kiss, cry- whatever you want! You can have a genuine reaction to seeing each other without the added pressure of everyone watching your reactions. You are able to just completely take in the moment at your own pace!
• Time alone. Couples often don’t realize that you never get to be alone with each other during the wedding day. Doing a first look allows you to have intimate alone time together before the festivities of the day begin.
• Gets rid of the nerves. Seeing each other before the ceremony will help to get rid of all those nerves you have leading up to the ceremony. Being able to spend that time together will allow you to be so much more relaxed and ready for the ceremony!

I hope this post helps educate couples on what a first look is and why it could be a wonderful addition to your wedding day!

Other posts from Wedding Day Breakdown series

Bridal Details & Getting Ready

Ceremony & Family Formals

Wedding Party and Bride & Groom Portraits

The Reception