When it comes to the wedding day most often grooms want to have their first reaction, to their bride, be when they come down the aisle. More recently however brides and grooms have been opting to do an alternative to this called the "first look." It is a preplanned meeting of the bride and groom at a location where just the two of them and the photographer meet. Typically we hide the bride and position the groom for her approach, then at the moment of their choosing allow him to have his first look... just the two of them. (I am typically hiding in the bushes or some "unseen" place, allowing it to truly be their moment)
There are multiple pros to the first look, below are my top three:
1) A More Intimate Experience
Because it is just the two of you, you are able to embrace, say how much you love each other, how beautiful she looks; knowing that you are the only ones witnessing and cherishing this moment... together. When she approaches down the aisle you have to wait until her dad or whomever she has chosen, gives her away to you to even embrace. If you do a traditional first look down the aisle, you will only be able to whisper during prayer or mouth your feelings as the ceremony is taking place. By having a first look before the ceremony, you can let all your emotions out, in the comfort of the two of you and let each other know how much you really feel. It is such an awesome moment to witness as a photographer because you capture true, raw emotion and those are some of the bride and grooms most cherished pictures. In addition, I will go right into shooting some of the couple’s pictures (right after the first look) which leads to amazing emotion filled moments between them that are candid and real.
To see more of their wedding day click here.
2) Less Stress Leading Up to Walking Down the Aisle
Most brides and grooms are worried about holding themselves together during the ceremony, by having the first look it alleviates the stress that will have built up prior to walking down the aisle and him seeing you for the first time. I know with my own wedding that I did it traditional and not being an emotional or nervous person, I got butterflies in my stomach the moment I started to walk down the aisle. All these thoughts rush through your head, and I remember thinking... this is it... oh... my... goodness! And don't recall at all what happened after that, not the look my husband gave me, what else was going on, I just remember my nerves. Had I opted for the first look I would have been able to let all that stress out in the beautiful embrace that every couple gives each other right after the first look and all my worries would have gone away. Then not only would I have been able to remember that moment, but I also would have been able to enjoy walking down the aisle and seeing his reaction to me that much more.
To see more of their wedding day click here.
3) More Pictures
The most important pictures of the whole day, the ones you will frame on your wall, put in your album, make your thank you notes with, or put on your Christmas card... are the ones of you! So by having the first look before the ceremony, allows us time to get more pictures of the two of you. Because we are able to get pictures right after the first look, during cocktail hour, and a couple more randomly through the evening; you will have a variety of great pictures to choose from after the wedding is over.
To see more of their wedding day click here.
Hopefully this little tip will help you in planning out your family pictures for your wedding! Has anyone reading this had a good or bad experience during their family pictures on their wedding day? Comment below! 
