People are usually preeeetty opinionated when it comes to first looks. The tradition is to wait until you walk down the aisle to see each other, but honestly there are so many reasons why first looks work.
I personally didn’t do a first look for my wedding, mainly because it was a brunch wedding and I would have had to wake up even earlier to get ready (and I’m not a morning person). But I know if we had an evening wedding I probably would have opted in.
Here are a few reasons why you should consider it!
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First looks aren’t about tradition: it’s about maximizing time on a chaotic day. Having a first look is a fail safe way to have TWO portrait times if something crazy were to happen with the timeline. What’s the first thing to get cut in a timeline? The portrait session between you and your boo. If you value photos and want variety, this is definitely the way to go.
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If you’re getting married during a time of year when it gets dark earlier, I HIGHLY recommend a first look. I’ve had it where the officiant went over the allotted ceremony time and it was pretty dark by the time we got to portraits. NOPE. You want to make sure you have the best lighting for photos of the two of you!
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You get to spend your whole day together. That’s the whole point right? Instead of spending 4-6 hours together, you get to spend closer to 8-10. It’s a win/win!
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Private time: A basically non-existent part of a traditional wedding timeline. Instead of rushing all the after ceremony photos to sneak a moment, you get to be together the whole time before the ceremony and have a private moment to yourselves.
One of my couples got married in November and their photos were incredibly important to them. I convinced them to do a first look because of the time of their ceremony and when the sun sets. I wanted to insure they had images of just the two of them. Jordyn told me later said she was so glad they ended up going with a first look because they were some of her favorite photos. I MEAN, COME ON! Sometimes it really is the way to go.
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