For many couples, the ‘first look’ is a huge highlight of the wedding day. The reactions are magical when a wedding couple is ridiculously in love, and setting eyes on each other for the first time! Especially during winter months, when sunset is early, a first look helps to ensure amazing portraits are captured during daylight hours. It is also useful when time is tight later in the day, the venue has a variety of scenic backgrounds, or there are multiple locations involved.
The first look can be private and intimate, reserved for the nearly-weds only. Or family and friends can be invited to participate in a more elaborate sneak peek. Or, if you prefer to remain traditional, you can wait until the ceremony to see each other. No matter how you do it, we’ll be there to capture that very first breathtaking moment!
Here are a few more tips to ensure the first look is a success:
- Make sure that you are running on time or are early. If you are rushed, you may feel stressed! Going into the first look, we want you to be relaxed. It is important to be able to take a deep breath, and to really absorb the moment.
- If you plan on doing pictures with the family after the first look, make sure they are also early/on-time. Consider telling everyone to arrive 15 minutes too early :) But tell one family member on each side the real time, so when you have not yet arrived, they understand why.
- Give the wedding party (especially bridesmaids) an earlier time to be ready than necessary, as well as the hair/makeup artists.
- From tips 1-3, you may have gotten the idea that being ready early (or at least on-time) will have a very positive impact on your photographs. It starts the day off right!
For a longer look at the first look, check out our full gallery of first look wedding photos.