Are you doing a first look?

We’re doing a first look. We’re getting married in the winter, and daylight after the ceremony is very limited, so we’re doing the vast majority of our pictures before the ceremony. My parents did their pictures before their ceremony in 1991- wasn’t even called a first look back then! - and my mom and photographer highly recommended it!

We are not doing a first look. It is very important to my FH and I that the first time we see each other that day is when I am walking down the aisle. On top of that, I don’t think we would be able to add in any time for a first look to our current day of timeline and there would not be anywhere for us to really be alone since we’re getting married in a small church. We wanted to do personal vows to each other, but not in front of everyone else, so we’re going to exchange letters the day of instead of having a first look to exchange our personal vows.

Nope nope nope. First look will be as i come down the aisle. Now prior to the ceremony I will have pictures with my bridesmaids and a first look with my dad but my FH wont see me until I walk down the aisle.

We aren't. We're getting married in a church and can only get there an hour before the ceremony. In that time we're going to try to squeeze in detail shots, getting dressed/ jewelry on, a first look with my bridesmaids/ MOB/ GMOB, a letter exchange between FH and I, and a first look with my dad. I also really want our "first look" to be as I'm walking down the aisle.

At first I was against a first look because I wanted the iconic shot of my husband seeing me for the first time as I walked down the aisle. Unfortunately we found out toward the beginning that our church had strict photography rules. The photographers would have to stay far back, so we were not going to be able to get good shots of him looking at me. Also my husband is introverted and I lean that way as well, so we started to think that a first look would be best for our situation. I’m really glad we did it, because the area the hotel gave us had this gorgeous oak tree that provided a great scene! Our photographers were well known for getting beautiful outdoor shots, so it was worth it! Also it allowed us to have a moment together and ease our nerves before having a bunch of eyes on us at the ceremony.

View Quoted Comment Oh wow, your parents were ahead of the times! that’s so great you had a close family member that could provide first-hand feedback

View Quoted Comment I think it’s sweet that you both want to see each other for the first time at the altar. So will you be staying separately the night before also?

View Quoted Comment I think first seeing each other at the ceremony is super sweet and romantic. And such a great timesaver to get all the photos with your bridesmaids out of the way beforehand! Out of curiosity, what made you decide to do it that way?

We're doing a first look! The sun is going to be setting during our ceremony, so we're getting some done beforehand with that light. Also, we want to be able to take some alone time during the cocktail hour to sit in the bridal suite, just us, and have a drink and some of our appetizers before doing the dancing and the dinner.

Plus, my fiancé has a huge family that his mom wants us to take a ton of photos with, so this will minimize how many post ceremony photos we have to take!

View Quoted Comment I wanted to make the day as streamlined as possible and we have an amazing venue where we get the actual keys to the building 9am Friday morning and keep them until 9am Sunday morning. So I decided I wanted to get as many pictures out of the way before the ceremony without doing a first look. So i have an hour scheduled with all my bridesmaids to get those pictures done followed by an hour for the groom with his groomsmen to get those done before guests even arrive. While one of us is getting pictures the other stays in their prep room. That way after the ceremony we have pictures with the 2 of us, the whole wedding party, and family left.

View Quoted Comment We will. It’s going to be hard since we live together and we sleep in the same bed each night, but it’s just one night so we’ll be okay. I’m going to stay with one of my cousins/bridesmaids the night before since we have to get up super early for hair and makeup and my FH will stay at our house.

We definitely are. We’re attached at the hip so we won’t be separating night before and we’re driving to the venue together day of but will separate to get ready. But then as soon as I’m ready we’re doing a first look so we can be together again lol. We want to spend as much time together as possible on our wedding day. I wanted to get ready with him but it will be nice to have that little surprise of him seeing me for the first time. Plus I’m excited to have that moment without everyone else

Yep. We discussed doing first look when I walked down the aisle but decided against it in the end. We're doing a first look for a couple reasons! 1) being able to spend more time together on our wedding day. If we didn't do a first look then I wouldn't see him until our ceremony at 5pm! And on our wedding day I wanted to get to be with him for more time. 2) Our wedding is in January, and while we're going to be in Puerto Rico, the sun still goes down earlier so we need more time to get some good outdoor shots! 3) personally written vows in private (just infront of immediate family) to get the nerves out. I speak incredibly fast when I'm nervous and didn't want to have to say my personal vows infront of more people than necessary.

We choose not to do a first look because we'd spent the night together, been together in the morning (decorating the venue with our family) and had already gotten legally married at a registry office 10 days prior. All these things really took the edge off our nerves so it was the perfect decision for us.

If we'd spent the night apart and were getting legally married at our wedding ceremony I think I would have liked to do a first look to reduce nerves!

We're doing a first look because then I have more special alone time with my FH. We have more time together, more time for pictures, and it takes the nerves down. I also think that the moment is very special with the two of you.

We absolutely are! I want to spend as much of the day with my FW as possible. The only time we're separating is getting ready, and we're even doing that in conjoined rooms. This goes against Jewish tradition; we're "supposed to" separate for at least 24 hours, but that would mean at least one of us couldn't go to the welcome party, at least one of us couldn't sleep in our bed the night before, etc. The day is about us, and who we are together, I want to experience every moment with her!

At first, FH didn't want a first look. Then when I showed him what the timeline would look like (ie: pictures, pictures and more pictures and missing a lot of the cocktail hour ) he quickly warmed up to it. LOLOL And seriously, we're older and this ain't our first rodeo.... AND we've lived together for 8 years. I just like the idea of getting a lot of the photos out of the way so we can spend more time with all the guests that are flying in to be with us on our special day.

We're not doing the normal first look. We are doing a blind first look with our immediate family to pray over us before the ceremony. We will both be blindfolded and my family will be around us as my little brother pray over us and our marriage. So ultimately he will see me the first time as I come down the aisle.

I'm not staying in our home the night before. I'll be staying at the hotel where the wedding is taking place.

View Quoted Comment Oh my gosh I loooooove this!! And wow, that is just going to build the suspense even more!

I wanted to do a first look so we could get more pictures out of the way before the ceremony, but it's really important to my fiancé that he sees me for the first time when I'm walking down the aisle. He hasn't asked for a ton during this whole process, so I want to honor his wishes for that. We are planning on both being together at home and sleeping in our bed the night before. We've lived together for 6 years, so there's not much point in separating, and I'd like to shower and get things together at home the morning of lol.