First Looks For The Win!

First Looks, what are they?

The term ‘first look’ refers to the first time that the wedded couple to-be see each other in their wedding gear on their wedding day! This can either be the traditional ‘down the aisle’ moment or a set up, private moment earlier in the wedding day. This newer concept of the first look happening before the ceremony has become very popular for many reasons, which we as photographers are happy to lay out. 🙂

Gina and Matt’s First Look on a rooftop balcony in Chicago:

Whether or not you choose a private first look is a huge consideration to take into account when planning your wedding day timeline. Usually, when a first look is done a few hours before the ceremony ALL the ‘needed’ photos (bride and groom portraits, wedding party photos, family photos, etc.) of a wedding day can take place BEFORE the ceremony. So after the ceremony, all that is left to do is party with your people!

Sample wedding day timeline (usually means a later ceremony time):

With First Look
Getting Ready – 11:00am
First Look – 1:00pm
Bride & Groom Photos – 1:00-2:30
Bridal Party Photos – 2:30-3:00
Family Photos – 3-3:30
Ceremony – 4:00
Attend Cocktail Hour! – 5:00
Dinner, Dancing, Fun with guests! – 6 – onward

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A First Look with Megan and Nick at Belsolda Farm, Marquette:

If an aisle first look is chosen, then the ceremony usually has to be earlier in the day, with a few hours of time between ceremony and the reception so that the ‘needed photos’ can be done.

Without First Look
Getting Ready – 11:00am
Ceremony – 2:00pm
Family Photos – 3:00
Bridal Party Photos – 3:30-4:00
Bride and Groom Photos – 4-5:30
Catch the end of Cocktail hour? – 5:45
Dinner, Dancing, Fun with guests! – 6 – onward

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One downside of this type of day is that all of your guests need to wait around (for hours sometimes) after the wedding until you can rejoin them for dinner. This is obviously where cocktail hour comes in handy, so your guests can start to snack, drink, and mingle while waiting for you… but the sad part is that you’re not there with them! Cocktail hour is the time when brides and groom can truly spend the MOST time talking with their guests, since the rest of the day is such a blur (and the reception, with loud music and dancing isn’t always conducive to having conversations and catching up with the guests you don’t see often). With a private first look, you can still have a cocktail hour but actually ATTEND it and see all of the people who traveled from near and far to be with you on your special day!!

A First Look with Kevin and Bree in McCarty’s Cove, Marquette:

Other Positives of a First Look?

Privacy! Just you and your lover seeing each other for the first time on your wedding day. No one around to ‘ooh and ah’ or make note of who is crying and who is not (which can put pressure on the groom especially). Just a beautiful location and the person you are vowing to spend eternity with (and some photographers creeping from a distance ;P).

Also, most ceremony locations are not built with the thought of proper or flattering light in mind. More often than not when the bride comes down the aisle, the chances of there being perfect light on both the groom’s and bride’s face is quite slim. Of course we always do our very best with what we’re given to work with, but sometimes the lighting in churches especially is quite harsh during this special moment. :/

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But don’t just take our word for it! Here’s a beautiful testimonial from a past bride, Jennifer:

“When I originally heard about doing a first look, before we were even engaged, I told Alex we would never do that because I was scared he wouldn’t have any emotion when I walked down the aisle. However, after we got engaged, I saw some cute first look photos on Instagram and read a few articles on it, and decided it was something that we should do because it would be too stressful to try to avoid each other all morning and afternoon.”

Here’s Jen peeking out at Alex before their first look:

“I told myself I wouldn’t cry, so that I wouldn’t mess up my makeup, but as soon as he started crying, I did too. It was probably the most vulnerable and emotional I have ever seen him, and it was so nice to have that moment in privacy with just us and the photographers and videographers so that he could be himself. I feel like if we hadn’t done the first look, he wouldn’t have let his emotions come out because there would be so many people watching and he would feel like he needed to “man up” a little bit more. After the first look was over, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders.”

“Because we did the first look, we were able to drive together to the church. We were also able to get all of the group photos out of the way, which was probably the one and only stressful thing of the whole day because well… you know how family members are with those. We were also able to do a few photos with just me and Alex at a different location. Before the ceremony started, Alex and I got to hangout and eat snacks together. Being able to hangout with my best friend before the ceremony was relaxing for both of us. And he still ended up crying when I walked down the aisle anyway, so I didn’t even have to lose that moment by doing the first look.”

^ We find that this is usually the case! If the groom is the type that will cry on the aisle, he WILL cry on the aisle regardless of if he has seen you already or not! 😀 Here’s Alex during the aisle moment, where the lighting was okay, but not necessarily perfect. 🙂

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All of this being said, if you’re someone who really values the idea of the ‘authentic’ moment on the aisle, then go for it! Your wedding day should be whatever YOU want it to be after all 🙂

Did you have a first look or see each other for the first time on the aisle? Let us know in the comments if you’re happy that you chose what you did!