First Look photos or Ceremony first look

I personally skipped the first look and soooo glad I did. I feel that with the first look I wouldn’t get the reaction I got when he seen me walking in. Instead of first look you can do a first touch

We are also not doing a first look. FH really wanted the first time he saw me in my dress to be walking down the aisle to him. So we opted against it in order to preserve the specialness of that moment. If neither you or FH care whether you see eachother prior to the ceremony though, then it would make sense to do pics prior to the ceremony just for schedules sake.

I loved seeing my husband’s reaction as I walked down the aisle as opposed to a first look. It was just a bit more special to us.

My ceremony is at 5:30 and we ARE doing a first look! Mostly because then we have good natural light for portraits. I would hate to do 100% of our portraits inside under not natural lighting, plus then we have plenty of time to do all of the family pictures (My FH has a pretty big family)

Honestly, the pictures are super important to me, so a first look allows us to have more time for them, and they will definitely look nicer than if we tried to squish them in during cocktail hour, plus with my wedding in March, the sun will be almost set by the time the ceremony is over.

We're doing a first look for a few reasons. I honestly think that my FH will have a more genuine reaction to seeing me for the first time without everyone else in the room. To me, the intimacy of that moment will mean more to me than waiting until walking down the isle just for tradition's sake. We also want to enjoy our cocktail hour and take the majority of our pictures without feeling rushed.

I was very much against the idea of a first look because I wanted all the emotions of walking down the aisle and seeing each other for the first time. Sadly though, if I did that, I would only have one hour for photos and I do not want to spend a fortune on photography only to be disappointed that we didn't actually get many photos.

FH and I decided in the end that we will do a first look so we get more photos in, but something I have realised I like about it is that we will be very nervous and it'll be nice to get the nerves out of our system in a more intimate setting where it is just us, not a room full of people.

I've attended weddings that did one or the other. With pictures done before the ceremony, the couple is able to go straight to the reception and spend time with guests.

I have a friend who married a couple years ago and was insistent on all photos after with no first look (she drew the line at the tapping the shoulder shot) and a very late ceremony/reception. Her fiance didn't care either way but the photographer suggested photos before the ceremony which she later said was the best idea ever because not only did it give them more time to spend with guests and calming nerves before the ceremony, it didn't take away any magic down the aisle. She now recommends it to everyone.

We will be doing a first look. We're paying way too much for professional photography to not have time for all the photos we want (I'd hate to have to rush through them during cocktail hour). We also want to be able to enjoy our cocktail hour and not scramble to fit in our photos.

We opted for first look and I’m so glad we did. Seeing his reaction without anyone around was so worth it. We also go to spend that time alone together before the wedding. He still cried when the music played and I walked down the aisle.

We're doing a first look for a couple of reasons:

1. To get most of the photos out of the way before the ceremony so we can spend as much of the cocktail hour as we can with our guests (and eat all the good appetizers we picked out lol) - everyone says the day just flies by, so we want to spend as much time with our guests as we can,

2. To help calm our nerves before the ceremony (we both don't like being in the spotlight - we'd be anxious to look or act a certain way in front of a crowd), and

3. Because we know FH probably isn't going to have that "tears of happiness" moment anyway, and if he does, I want to be in that picture with him! I don't want to leave it up to chance for my photographer (and luckily we have a second shooter) capture both me walking down the aisle and his reaction.

I will always say do a first look! A lot of people say they don't do them because they want that first look down the aisle to be special. It's going to be special no matter what so a first look won't take away from that and it takes so much pressure off the ceremony. If you really want it to be a bit different, don't do your first look with your flowers of veil, and then you can add them in when you walk down the aisle. Not only does a first look help get a lot more pictures, it will also help calm your nerves before the ceremony and it gives you a few moments alone together. I was at a wedding once where the bride and groom didn't do a first look and they spent half of their reception taking pictures and got very limited time with their guests. That's definitely not something I want to do.

We thought we would do a first look if we had the time, but we ran out of time! Someone from the bridal party was running late which pushed the getting ready photos out by quite a bit which resulted in the ceremony running 20 minutes late. I say plan for a first look but unless you have plenty of spare time before the ceremony, have a back up plan! The back up plan I'm talking about is of course getting your photographer to take photos of both you and your partner as you walk down the isle, to capture the "first look" moment even if you have to skip the first look on the day.

My ceremony is at 6:30 but I’m doing my first look around 5:30 around sunset time. If the first look is very important to you and if you have a beautiful place to do it. Do it! Make any penny you spend on worth its value. Lol weddings are so expensive!

I love first looks 😍

Thank you all for the replies. Looks like first look wins lol. I’ve had a first look set since we booked our photographer. We decided to do it for many of the reasons most you mentioned 1) time 2) getting the nerves out the 3) we want to give each other our vows during this time (I don’t want to do it in front of people) 4) private time with each other 5) more cocktail & reception time. I’ll definitely try the no veil and no flowers love that idea. Kind of have a little extra for later.

One cool thing I saw years ago was a bride that did a first look in a different dress than she actually wore for her ceremony so they still kind of got both things

You could do one of you still in your getting ready outfit to at least get some jitters out and he gets to see what you'll look like without the full picture spoiled.

We decided on first look photos but either way I don't think you can go wrong. Just personal preference i would say

I was having the exact same dilemma. Our ceremony also starts at 6pm. I had this vision where he got emotional seeing me walk down the aisle for the first time. But the thing is, my FH is not really emotional and we'd love a special moment before the ceremony starts so we decided on a First Look to have more time to mingle with guests and to get photos done quicker. I'm glad we chose this option.

We are doing both. My FH and I have agreed on a first look without a look. So we will get to hold each other's hand and talk to each other but not actually see the other until the ceremony. The goal is to find a corner of the building where we can get pictures but not see each other.

We are doing a first look. Our wedding is at 4pm and we want to make sure we get plenty of pictures with natural light. We are also both VERY nervous for everyone to be looking at us when I walk down the aisle so I really want my FH to see me before everyone else. I think we will really be able to calm each others nerves.