It’s the beginning of the year, hollahhhh! This means a lot of couples whose weddings are coming up are starting to hash out what their wedding day timelines are going to look like.

One aspect that’s often discussed is whether or not to do a First Look. The obvious first step is to consider…

What is a First Look anyway?

The First Look is the moment you and your partner see each other for the first time. Back in the dizzy, this was most commonly done as the bride was walking down the aisle at the start of the ceremony, but as wedding photography and couples’ needs evolved over the years, the need to have portraits done beforehand so you could actually enjoy your big day without feeling more rushed than you already are began to emerge.

The Pros Of A First Look

• Your makeup (that you’ve likely spent hours and a chunk of change on) will be fresh to death. No sweaty stains or smearing lines here. Same goes for the hair. Goodbye limp curls and fly-aways!
• The moment can be MEGA intimate, a shared moment just between you two without the eyes of 150 other people. It’s not any less special just because it’s not the start of the ceremony. I’d even go as far as to say it’s more so.
• You can get all of your portraits done beforehand and then RELAX and ENJOY your ceremony, cocktail hour and reception with minimal interruptions or pull-aways.
• IF your schedule runs behind (which happens at about 90% of weddings), you do end up having the extra time at the start of cocktail hour to get any remaining images done.

The Cons Of A First Look

• There are no cons….Just kidding. The wedding day has a lot to do with your vision and if your vision involves the more traditional aspect of not seeing each other until that aisle walk, then yeah, a First Look may not be for you.

“I still don’t want to do a First Look…now what?”

You can still make the portraits for your wedding day a success with careful planning. Honestly, the best way to run the timeline without a First Look is to have a hefty sized gap of time in between your ceremony and reception. This is particularly true for those who are getting married at a church earlier in the day with an evening reception to follow. Daylight and length of time no longer become an issue.

Another scenario in which the no-First-Look isn’t really an issue is if you have no bridal party since less time is required for portraits.

If you’re having the typical ceremony-followed-by-cocktail-hour-followed-by-reception scenario and a bridal party, then you’ll want to do part of your portraits pre-ceremony. Ex: bride and bridesmaids portraits, bride and her immediate family, groom and groomsmen portraits, groom and his immediate family. However, you’ll have to be comfortable with the idea of missing a large portion of your cocktail hour (if not all of it) to finish your portraits of bridal party together, family together, and the photos of you two as a couple. You’ll also need to be aware that (depending on the season) you may have to do your photos with artificial light (i.e. flash). AND if you run behind schedule, you may not get as much variety in your portraits as you were hoping for.

Whatever you decide, if you’re confident in your wedding photographer and his/her abilities, then you can sleep easy. And if you haven’t found your photographer yet, let’s chat!