Wedding Photography and Videography Forum

First Look??

My photographer brought up the idea of doing the "First Look". I cannot decided what to do. What are your thoughts?

Re: First Look??

  • There is a great post on the "Wedding Recap and Withdrawal" board here about this.

    I would ask you FI what he wants- does he want to see you for the first time walking down the aisle? If my FI wanted this, I would not do First Look. I would like to do these pictures, but we may have to skip them because our wedding is earlier in the day.

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  • This is a pretty common question.  Some recent threads:

    http://forums.theknot.com/discussion/1013767/are-you-sure-you-don-t-want-a-first-look-are-you-suuuuure#latest

    http://forums.theknot.com/discussion/105816/first-look-love-or-hate-it#latest

    Personally, I did a first look and loved it.  For me, I knew spending time with H before the ceremony would keep me calmer/less nervous.  We spent the night before together and went out for breakfast before heading our separate ways to get ready.  We also did all of our family formals before the ceremony, which allowed us time to mingle during cocktail hour.  I'm very glad we did things the way we did, but it's not for everybody.
  • I am glad we did, no regrets. Better photos, no gap, fun time spent together on our wedding day.
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • I am trying to talk my FI into a first look session. Even though a lot of photographers have apprentices or a "second shooter" they bring along, (sometimes at an extra cost) the thought of missing the look on his face when he sees me for the first time breaks my heart. I've heard a few ways it can be done.... bride and groom, the entire wedding party + formal pictures with the family before hand so the cocktail hour is mingle time; just the bride and groom, and all their formals; and bride and groom with immediate family with the rest of traditional photos to follow the ceremony. We are both very close to his mom, and I'm trying to convince him that having that little intimate moment will be worthwhile. It will give us a little time to be with each other and get rid of some of the jitters, and it will also be a moment we can share together without the whole family looking on to see "did he tear up? you watch her face and I'll watch his"
  • I am so excited to be doing a first look with my FI! I always "knew" that I didn't want my FH seeing me until I came down the aisle. My girlfriend did a first look and she said that it was her favorite part of her wedding day. She said that it completely relaxed her and that it was the perfect time for them to collectively gather their thoughts before the big day.
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  • I'm still on the fence about if I wil do a First look with my Fiance but I'm considering having him and our 7 year old daughter (She will be 8 at the wedding), do a first look. I think that would be a sweet Daddy/daughter moment.
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  • We are planning on doing a first look.  I expect to be fairly emotional on the wedding day and would prefer that to be a moment shared between FH and I rather than me blubbering down the isle for all to see.  I look forward to the private moment together as it may be one of very few on the wedding day.  It's also a great way to get a good chunk of the pictures done before the ceremony so we can avoid the 3 hour gap between ceremony and reception that seems to have become so popular.
  • First look Pros: 1) More time to shoot the two of you and more photos to pick from! 2) Less rush. You are more likely to have a good relaxed shoot and not have photos where you look stressed for time. 3) You have time to hug and kiss with just the two of you (AND photographer to get that emotional reaction). So its more intimate.

    Waiting till ceremony Pros: 1) Its tradition. 2) You want to share that first emotional reaction with your guests as they experience it too. 3) May make the entire ceremony feel more real/emotional which I guess could be a bad thing if you cry and get your makeup everywhere.

  • We are not doing a first look. We are old school. To save time during the cocktail hour for photos of just us, we are taking photos of the guys and girls seprate before the ceremony (me and the bridesmaids, him with the groomsmen, etc). I'm doing photos with my parents and me ahead of time too, etc.

    I'm also telling certain family member way before the ceremony that they need to stick around after the ceremony for a quick group family photo. At my brothers wedding, they spent 15-20 mins trying to find special family members that ran for the bar/bathroom/car after the ceremony.

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