Should We Have A First Look On Our Wedding Day?

Pros and cons to having a first look on your wedding day

This blog post will cover what a first look is and why you may or may not want to consider having one on your wedding day.

While I love a First Look timeline, I realize that it isn’t for every couple and made sure to include both pros and cons of this wedding day tradition.

What is a First Look?

A First look is a non-traditional approach to seeing your significant other for the first time on your wedding day. It occurs before your ceremony and is a special, quiet moment shared between just the two of you (and your photographer). Some of the best photos of the entire day are taken during this time!

The Cons:

First looks aren’t traditional. While a father walking his daughter down the aisle is a sweet moment for a bride today, this wasn’t always the case. In history, arranged marriages were common and a father’s presence walking his daughter down the aisle was a way to prevent the groom from running off. A walk down the aisle with a veil was used to prevent a groom from seeing his bride until the very last minute, and prevented him from backing out of the arrangement/political transaction. This tradition dates back to the 1500s.It is thought that having a first look causes you to miss out on the dramatic effect and suspense that a traditional walk down the aisle adds to a wedding day. While some may call this suspense “wedding day jitters”, others call it a wonderful emotion that they don’t want to miss out on. Because a first look takes place much earlier than your ceremony, you will need to start getting ready earlier, by as much as a few hours. The Pros: A First Look is a romantic addition to a wedding day. It is an intimate moment between you and your significant other and may be the only alone time you have the rest of the day! Because wedding days tend to go by super fast, taking this time to be alone with each other allows you to be in the moment and really take in the best day of your lives! A First Look helps reduce wedding day stress! By having a first look, you are able to get rid of any wedding day jitters without all of your guests watching you! Brides love to see their groom’s REACTION when he sees her for the first time. A first look allows your groom to see you in private, without all of your wedding guests watching his reaction. You are able to walk up to your groom, say his name or tap him on the shoulder, and have him turn around to see you for the first time. You are free to hug, kiss, and twirl around to show him your dress. He is able to tell you how absolutely beautiful you look…(And wipe away a few tears). And guess what? He will totally give you the same reaction when you walk down the aisle! Because the nerves of seeing you for the first time are gone, he is free to express his true emotions. First looks make for a great wedding day timeline! It allows you to save time by taking most of your photos before the ceremony. After your first look, you can go right into bridal party photos and then bride and groom portraits. The only thing you will have to photograph after your ceremony are family photos! Which means after your ceremony, everyone can get to the party that much sooner! A first look extends your wedding day! It allows you more time to take photos together and as a result, you receive more photos of the two of you than if you had done a traditional walk down the aisle. This makes the most of the investment you made in hiring a photographer. And there you have it. My list of First Look pros and cons! I hope this helped you decide what is best for you as a couple and inspired you to start thinking about the timeline for your wedding day! 90% of my wedding couples have a First Look on their wedding day and LOVE IT!