5 Reasons It’s Totally Worth Doing a First Look on Your Wedding Day

If you aren’t sure what a first look is, check out our post on it here.

When it comes to your wedding, you want to be 100% sure of every decision you make, big and small. 

When to see each other for the first time looking your absolute best is a huge part of this, so the decision to do a first look is no different.

It will more than likely end up being one of the most memorable, special parts of the day when you look back on it!

With all the planning you’ve done, every moment should feel unforgettable.

Read on to find out why couples choose to make this intimate way of seeing each other before the ceremony part of their day! You won’t regret it if you do too.

1. You’ll Get More Portraits

You’re investing a lot into your wedding photography. With a first look, you’ll receive MORE portraits of the two of you. 

Having digital images is wonderful, but having a printed keepsake that tells your wedding day’s visual story is priceless!

With more portraits, you have more options for sharing effortlessly with family and friends! These are also the images you will decorate your first home with! Put them on a canvas, on a floating shelf, everywhere in between. Trust us, you’ll want them accessible somewhere other than the digital world too! With a first look, you make the most out of this large investment and get the most bang for your buck. 

2. You Get to Enjoy the Surprise Privately

When you don’t opt for a first look, you’ll come down the aisle and see each other for the first time. 

Nerves will be running high. 

You can’t tell each other how amazing you look.  

You can’t embrace or even speak to each other! 

You’ll have to wait until 30 minutes later when the ceremony is over, and after 30 minutes of the ceremony, the reaction isn’t the same as the initial first glance.

When you do a first look, you’ll get to have an intimate moment on your wedding day with each other. What you don’t realize is these moments will be few and far between on the big day! 

You’ll appreciate the time together and love having those first moments of seeing each other captured. Embrace. Kiss. Gush. You’ll be thankful you did.

3. A First Look Extends Your Day by Almost 3 Hours

First Looks allow you to extend your wedding day! Who doesn’t want the most unforgettable day of your life lasting a little longer? All that money you spent, time you spent planning, and looking better than you ever have before? Make that last as long as possible, please!

Normally, your wedding day would start when you come down the aisle. Then, the ceremony would end, you would rush through portraits so that you’re not late for the introductions, and then it’s reception time. The traditional route equals rush, rush, rush.

With a first look, your wedding day gets extended by almost 3 hours! Instead of being rushed for your wedding party portrait, you get to enjoy them and have fun hanging out with your best friends on your wedding day. Hello, cocktail hour! 

Typically, the whole first half of our client’s wedding albums are filled with images just from this the time together before the ceremony. It’s worth it to have your photos taken while you’re feeling fresh and excited!

4. It’s Your Only Alone Time

First Looks allow you to be together and alone on your wedding day- it won’t happen any other time that day!

As husband and wife, who have also photographed countless weddings, we know how it goes! When we saw each other on our wedding day, not only was it intimate, but it was also our only time to be alone the whole day! 

We cried and laughed and cried some more, and then that put us in the perfect mood for our portraits. 

Normally, if you got the traditional route, portraits are a little rushed after the family formals. It can be hard to get back into that “lovey-dovey” mode, especially with family around! 

When you have just shared your first look, you’re ready to love on each other, and we always capture super sweet images between our couples during those moments!

5. It Diminishes Your Nerves

Maybe the biggest plus of the first look, you get rid of your nerves!  

You have never experienced a wedding day before. That’s not your fault, you have never been a bride or groom before! Because of that, you don’t understand how nerve-wracking it can be! It’s perfectly normal to feel jitters before the ceremony, and seeing your honey before will really help with that!  

We have heard from so many couples, who initially weren’t fans of the first look, that afterward, they were so much more relaxed and ready for the ceremony! 

The Verdict on The First Look

Doing a first look at your wedding can be such a special experience. The two of you will have incredible moments and portraits to look back on. Add this special moment into your timeline- we promise when you look back on your unforgettable day, you will not regret it!