First Look

NikNik2013

I would love input from brides who are planning on, or have been to weddings where the bride and groom did their "first look" prior to the ceremony. I"m thinking about doing it, and having the photographer capture our special moment. Thanks!

AdeleDazeem

I'm not a fan of First Looks.  They feel extremely gimmick-y to me (like e-pics or maternity photos).  My husband and I didn't do one and I am extremely happy with my decision.  However, I am in the strict minority on here.  Almost every answer you'll get will be drippng with First Look love.

Whatever decision you chose, just make sure it's right for you and your fiance.

Happy Wedding!

JordynLeighx3

I'm with PP on this one. I feel like we take so much tradition out of weddings anymore and this is just one thing I feel should be kept. At least for me.

SB1512

FI and I will be doing a first look for a couple reasons.
1. Our ceremony and reception are in the same place so if we didn't do first looks we'd only have an hour for pictures whle the guests are at cocktail hour.  We both agreed this was not enough time and the way our venue is set up guests could gawk at us while we get photos done, which makes us sort of uncomfortable.

2.  We like the idea of having photos at two different places, so we'll do our first look somewhere and then photos at our venue after the ceremony. 

3.  Our wedding is going to be larger than we wanted (FI's family is traditional and italian so FMIL is inviting allllll the extended relatives).  We figured by doing a first look we will only use about 1/2 of cocktail hour to take remaining photos and then can come in and mingle with our guests so we can ultimately cut down on how long table visits take us leaving more time for us to spend with the friends and family we will actually know at the reception.

4. We both feel that seeing each other in private is way better than seeing each other for the first time in front of 200+ people.  Wedding day is sure to be filled with craziness and we are both looking forward to some alone time before the craziness starts.

HobokensFury

We did a first look because it was necessary due to our timeline.  I really loved our photos and it didn't ruin anything when walking down the aisle.

Sue-n-Kevin

We did a first look for many of the same reasons SB1512 mentioned.

- We had a very tight timeframe for the ceremony and reception that followed, both at the same historic village. We wanted to have about an hour or more for posed pictures with ourselvers, the bridal party, and both families. Inserting that between the ceremony and reception would have cut into the time we had available.

- The village had lovely gardens extending a comfortable walking distance from the chapel & banquet facility. Everyone drove to the picturesque area first, I got out and walked to the area where my hubby was waiting, we exchanged a private moment captured in pictures, then the family and bridal party joined us. We were then able to take tons of posed pictures with them.

- After the family/bridal party posed pics, my almost hubby and I walked through the venue grounds and had tons of posed pics taken near historic buildings, in various garden areas, etc, working our way toward the chapel.

- This did not diminish (for us) the specialness of walking down the aisle in the chapel. It actually made me more relaxed. It also meant that after the ceremony, we could exit with the bridal party first, then wait for the guests to exit the chapel and we could greet them, then they walked to the banquet facility to start the reception. We took a few, maybe 10, posed pics in the chapel with just us and our parents, then joined them.

We were lucky that the weather cooperated so all of this could occur on a lovel August afternoon/evening. Had the weather not cooperated, we would have had to find a way to do all this, or not have any posed outdoor pics and all indoors, which really would have sucked, LOL. But in our opinion it was worth it, because we were able to get a ton of pictures completed.

Our wedding guest list was small (under 80). My fiance's "immediate family" (siblings, neices, nephews) was around 25% or more of the guest list. All these people would have been delayed from getting to the reception by taking posed pics.

This was what worked for us, it's a pretty personal decision for many wedding couples, and you have to decide for yourselves. It's YOUR day to plan what works for you. We had no regrets and were happy with what we did.

NikNik2013

Thank you SO much for all the input! We are having a small wedding, approx 75 guests. Our ceremony and reception are in the same place, so I was concerned with timing everything and not having guests wait, but it is our day and I shouldn't make decisions to save time, or "make it easier"? IDK? Thanks again ladies!

AurorasEnvy

We did one for all the reasons PPs said.  I wouldn't change a thing, and it made our "schedule" for the day so much easier.

Maybone

We most likely will be doing this.  Again, as PP have stated, are ceremony/reception are in the same location, and it's not a very photogenic place, on the outside at least. I'd love to have posed photos by trees/flowers/water, but we'd be leaving our guests for awhile if we did this in between the two events. We thought if we did the outside pictures we wanted before, we could take as much time as we need. And we'd still have time for inside pictures after the ceremony, without leaving our guests for too long.

That being said, I very much would love for the first time my FH sees me to be when I come down the aisle, but this is a party for my guests, and leaving them for and hour plus would be inconsiderate! I think a first look moment would make up for this and would calm my nerves. Nothing makes me feel more secure and confident then my FH.