When we first heard about “First Looks,” we weren’t really sure what to think. Why would the Bride and Groom want to see each other before the wedding ceremony? That breaks a HUGE tradition! Well, after shooting our first one – our minds were blown – and we highly recommend one on your wedding day. Here’s 5 reasons why you need to do a first look on your wedding day.

1. You Won’t Waste Time Hiding From One Another

No, seriously.

• We won’t have to hold a piece of paper to our face everytime you want to sneak out to use the bathroom.
• We won’t shove your groom into a tiny room to avoid seeing you, and you won’t waste precious hours avoiding seeing the one person you are going to spend the rest of your life with.

Trust us, we have literally done both of those things to keep the suspense for that aisle moment.

Your wedding day is fleeting. Why wait until 4pm to finally get the party started? If you do a first look, you will get to spend the entire day together.

2. You Will Have Time Alone Together

Instead of having your groom wait in a small room before the ceremony, imagine meeting him in a private place – no on-lookers, no distractions. Just your man standing there waiting for you to walk up and tap his shoulder.

He will turn around and finally get the First Look at his stunning bride! He will embrace you, cry (maybe, some guys don’t), twirl you around, and be blown away by your mezmorizing beauty as you ask him what he thinks. That moment, is one you don’t want to miss. And the best part is, it will all discreetly be captured on camera.

It is the one portion of the day that you will spend alone together before the wedding ends. Be present.

3. You Will Calm Your Nerves

Wedding days are stressful, no matter how meticulously planned they are.

Before the ceremony, the groom usually waits in a small room for his que from the wedding coordinator. When he finally enters the ceremony, all eyes are on him. Everybody is waiting to see his face as he sees his bride for the first time. That is a lot of pressure. Especially if everyone expects him to cry, and he doesn’t like to publicly show his emotions.

In that moment, everything becomes very real, and nerve wrecking.

A First Look will allow the two of you to have fun, relax and calm the butterflies swirling about your stomachs.

So when you walk down the aisle towards the man of your dreams, he will look excited, not nervous! You are his best friend, his confidant, and his soon to be wife. He won’t be able to stop the tears as he realizes he gets to spend the rest of his life with such a beautiful person inside and out.

And if he doesn’t cry, that’s ok too!

Not every man shows their emotion on their face during the ceremony, just trust that he is ready as you are.

4. The Guests Won’t Have To Wait

This is one of the main reasons we love First Looks! When the bride and groom do all the family, bridal and romantic portraits before the ceremony, they get to attend cocktail hour with their guests. A First Look allows you to relax and not worry about whether your guests are missing you or not.

When you opt out of a First Look, you will have to miss cocktail hour for portraits.

And who wants to do that?! You paid for snacks and alcohol to be available at your wedding, so you want to be able to enjoy them. Especially if you normally get hungry around that time of day. There is nothing worse than a hangry bride!

5. You Will Get More Portraits

A First Look adds a huge cushion to your timeline and you will get about forty percent more portraits than couples who opt out. We strongly suggest our fall and winter brides to consider this option though because they will most likely run out of natural light after their ceremony.

Lastly, the bride’s makeup will remain in tact with a First Look. Often times it will need to be touched up after all the crying during the ceremony, which can take up to 15 minutes, further delaying your guests.

Although we absolutely love when couples opt to do a First Look, we never pressure our couples into doing them. On your wedding day, there are no rules, choose to do what makes you happy!

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