This is a HUGE question, I get from most of my brides! What is a “First Look” and why should I should I have one?

A “First Look” is when you and your soon-to-be husband see each other before the ceremony. I know, I know, you are immediately turned off. And if you are a more traditional bride, you may have decided to stop reading, but hang on for the “why”.

I had similar reservations about having a “First Look” too. Does it take away the emotional from the aisle walk? They say it’s bad luck to see each other before the ceremony, so why would I plan it? Well, we did a “First Look” and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world! The morning of the wedding, you get so wrapped up in getting ready, people wanting to see you, that calling or even texting your groom is out of the question. I generally missed seeing my groom the morning of, so when the “First Look” came, I was excited to not only see him, but have a few moments without everyone around. And those memories and pictures are some that I cherish the most.

So why a “First Look” :

1. You get to have a private moment with each other, without all of your guests looking at you. You get to tell each other, I Love You the last time as fiancees and get ready to say, I Love You as husband and wife. yay!
2. It makes the wedding day a little bit less stressful. Adding in extra time for the “First Look”, allows more time for portraits with just the two of you!
3. Also, that extra time, allows you to get to your cocktail hour/reception and visit with your guests sooner. No one, especially guests, likes to wait an hour plus for the bride and groom to arrive. We didn’t have a cocktail hour, but we still ended up later to the reception than we wanted. We pulled up to the reception, and my dad was literally about to get his car to come find us! Could you imagine if we haven’t done a “First Look”, how long portraits would have taken?!

And what about the aisle walk, well I cried at the “First Look” and I balled down the aisle. Seeing my groom before the ceremony, allowed me to be more excited about our marriage and seeing him waiting for me at the end of the aisle, made me cry tears of pure joy.

I would never recommend something that I didn’t do as a bride so here are a few images from our “First Look” (Photo Credit: Currie FitzHugh Photography)

The Ask Anything Series is for YOU! If you have a question, been pondering about something, send me an email at dianagordon.photography@gmail.com and it could be the next Ask Anything blog post.