One of my favorite parts of meeting with a couple for the first time is talking about their first look on the wedding day! I love explaining to brides about the calmness, the moment, and the stillness that comes when the bride and groom opt to see each other before the wedding day. Grooms are normally the more hesitant ones and I love being able to explain and show them examples of how that moment allows them to be genuine and carefree as they are alone with their soon to be wife- but still doesn’t take away from the sudden emotions of the ceremony actually happening.
I believe wholeheartedly that choosing to see each other before the ceremony is the absolute best choice for every couple!
- It allows the couple to have an intimate time alone together without all their guests and family watching, they are free to be themselves and express themselves to each other privately, taking in the moment as the day stops for a short bit. Ask any married friend and they can tell you how the wedding day flys by.
- The stress and nervousness melts away. Calmness resonates through the couple as they get to spend time together, having fun taking fabulous pictures and goofing off with their wedding party.
- The groom has a more natural and genuine reaction when seeing his bride for the first time and the first look guarantees that his reaction will be captured. The ceremony still brings its own rush of emotions and seeing each other doesn’t change that. They are two completely different experiences with their own emotions. The realization that ‘this is it’ at the ceremony will not be changed by seeing each other.
- Pictures!! Having more time to take pictures is a huge reason to choose this option. All the pictures get taken before the ceremony. It allows for a rush free and relaxed atmosphere where creativity can flow. The reason you love my pictures and the images captured on wedding days is because most of my couples choose to see each other before and we are able to utilize the natural light that we adore so much and get fun, relaxed, creative, and fabulous pictures of you that we just cant get being rushed after the ceremony.
I am so blessed that my wonderful couples have chosen to do the first look and loved it so much they wanted to share with you why they made that decision!
KATHRYN & RYAN:
“We decided to do the First Look before the ceremony because we thought it would give us a chance not to be so rushed after the wedding with pictures, and we were right! Not only did we get all the pictures out of the way, we got to see one another all dressed up. My nerves were going crazy before I saw Ryan (to the point I thought I was going to burst out in tears for no good reason) and once we saw each other I felt like time stopped just for us. It was amazing, truly amazing!”
ERICA & FRED:
“Doing a first look was one of the first decisions I made in planning my wedding and I’m so happy I chose to do it! I knew I wanted to do a first look for two big reasons. The first was so that my husband and I could have a private moment together when seeing each other for the first time. I wanted to be able to hug, kiss, talk, laugh, and just take each other in which you can’t do if you’re seeing each other at the alter for the first time! I thought I wouldn’t be, but from the moment I woke up on the morning of our wedding day I was a nervous wreck! My stomach was in knots and I couldn’t eat a thing, I can’t imagine how terrible it would be feeling that way all day leading up to the ceremony! As soon as I saw my husband for the first time, all my worries were gone. The photo of my husband turning around and seeing me for the first time is one of my favorite images from the whole day! Meegan captured the look on his face perfectly. She also captured all of our emotion during the ceremony. Walking down the aisle surrounded by the people you love is a whole different feeling, both my husband and I cried tears of joy. The first look did not take anything away from our ceremony. The second reason I wanted to do a first look is because I value photography so much. I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to capture amazing photos of my husband and I and our wedding party, and not feel rushed. We were also able to get most of our family photos done before the ceremony which was great because after the ceremony we were able to enjoy our cocktail hour with our guests! It was so important for us to spend as much time with our friends and family as possible. Your wedding day goes by so quickly, value every moment you have!”
SARA & STEPHEN:
“When Meegan brought up the idea of a first look, I knew right away I wanted to do it. Initially I thought it was just a good idea so that our wedding guests would not have to wait forever at the reception while we finished pictures. And while this was wonderful, the best part of the first look was just the opportunity to have some alone time with Stephen. The day of our wedding was so incredibly busy and things were such a blur, but when I got to see Stephen, my nerves were calmed and I was able to focus on what was actually about to happen. It was such a blessing to see and be with the person I love the most on the day when I needed him the most! My favorite moments of the whole day were the few minutes Stephen and I had alone together right before the ceremony started. They are also some of my favorite pictures! Doing a first look definitely didn’t take anything away from Stephen seeing me walk down the aisle. If anything, I think it made it so much more special. I would definitely recommend a first look to anyone! ”
LAUREN & SETH:
“I knew that I wanted to do a first look before I was ever even engaged. I know from being behind the camera on a wedding day how important it is. I just had to convince Seth, which was easy, and my mom and grandma, which took some time, but they loved it in the end. The day of our wedding I was a wreck, a very stressed out wreck, up until the first look. For me it’s not necessarily the first look that was the best part, it was the after effects of it. How much less stressed I was. How I cried off an on throughout the ceremony, how the audience laughed when I had Seth pull out a hankie, how my mom still cried, how Seth held back tears, and most importantly how we actually got to enjoy and remember our ceremony because we weren’t stressed out. Curious about Seth’s side? I had to pry it out of him, but he said that he was glad we did, that it did change the ceremony some but for the better, that he liked being relaxed and not nervous. Our wedding and reception was outdoors, the ceremony was at 5, and the sun went down at 8, that gave us 3 hours total for the entire wedding, I couldn’t image losing an hour for pictures while guests waited, or even not getting the quantity of pictures that we got. So it really is worth it.”
LOVE IT!!! I love hearing my brides talk about their first look experience and how they wouldn’t change it for anything! =)
If you have chosen me to be your wedding photographer and have fallen in love with the images you see on my blog and website-please know they each did a first look and that is the only chance of creating your own fun, intimate, creative and fabulous portraits on your wedding day!
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