First look!

My FH and I are doing an aisle first look. He is traditional and doesn't want to do a first look before the ceremony, which I am totally on board with. We are getting married in December so to manage the light we are getting married earlier in the afternoon at 2pm to still have time for pics afterwards.

We are doing a first look before the wedding. He got a custom suit made, and I’m not going to see it before the wedding day, so we’ll be a surprise to just each other during that first look. We are just going to do that intimate moment with each other and my mom (who is a photographer but not the photographer for our wedding) is going to take some pictures of us. It works for us because it creates a special moment for just us, but I think whatever you’re comfortable with is the way to go! Our whole wedding is incredibly non traditional, but if one or both of you wants more traditional that aisle look might be more your style.

We're doing the first look before the wedding for the reasons you listed. The light will be meh by the time we're done getting married and my one condition of having a wedding was that I NEEDED good photos. We also only have a 4ish hour reception and didn't really want to waste an hour of that taking photos. It's also a late start time and we decided to not let everyone starve until 7:30. It doesn't really bother me all that much because neither of us are super emotional so I don't expect any grand reaction from my FH.

I think it ultimately depends on what you want. Is it important he see you before or do you prefer that he see you walking down the aisle. I think first looks are cute but I prefer my FH seeing me coming down the aisle and being surprised so regardless of the time frame. It ultimately boils down which you prefer and then if you are fine either way then I would not do it to stick to the timeline.

We're having a late wedding in July (7pm), so I wanted to do a first look for the sake of photos and not wasting event time. However, my Fiance doesn't want to do a first look and I'm respecting his wishes. We're going to do as many photos as possible before the ceremony and then start our portrait session with the photos that are only the 2 of us (because those are the ones that matter the most to me) before bringing all of the family members in. The wedding isn't until July, so I'm hoping my Fiance will change his mind before then. I also know I'm going to want to hug him when I first see him and you can't exactly do that when it's during the ceremony

Our first look was one of the best moments of the day. After all the chaos of getting ready, everyone but our photographer slipped away and let us have that time to cry, laugh, kiss, and share our thoughts before the ceremony and even more chaos. We still got pictures with family before the ceremony which freed up so much time for pics after for those shots we wanted on the beach. Do what is best for you, but I can't recommend a first look enough.

View Quoted Comment

I'm in the same boat! I was always traditional, but we're paying our photographer so much and pictures are so important to us that I wanted to do a first look. We're getting married in December so it's dark by 5 & we don't want to have to have a super early wedding ceremony. However, my fiancee is dead set on not doing one and staying traditional.

View Quoted Comment

The things we do for the people we love

We weren't going to do it as we are having a more traditional wedding, but we decided to do it! Doing the first look will allow us to a) have a moment just the two of us before the wedding, and b) allow for us to take 90% of the pictures before the wedding. Doing so, we will have more time with our guests during the wedding and will only need to take a few more after the wedding. I am so excited to do a receiving line and hang out with our guests during the cocktail hour! It just depends on what is most important to you for the big day!

Good luck!

I got married last month (Nov 9, 2019) and we decided to do a first look. The main reason we did it was because our ceremony was at 5:30pm, and by that time it was already dark.

We are definitely not doing a first look. For us, the tradition and the ceremony are more important than the “photo op”
To me, it leaves out our family and doesn’t let them share in our joy.

What does your fiance want to do? Has that been considered?

My fiance was very adamant on not having one and only seeing me when I walked down the aisle. I didn't care either way but his input was just as important as my own in the entire planning process. It was our wedding. Not just mine.

First question is first, do the two of you WANT to do a first look? If one of you feels strongly either way, honor that. If not consider.....

1. think about your full timeline. Ex: if you do NOT do a first look, then you can do bride + maids photos and groom + men photos, but could not do full wedding party before the ceremony

2. Do you want to keep the dress a surprise? Are there family members not in the wedding party who will be seeing you before the ceremony? Will there be a place to take family photos before the ceremony where other guests will not be arriving?

My husband and I did not do a first look and before the ceremony we have photos from: getting ready, bride + maids, groom + men, bride and dad first look and after the ceremony: family photos, full wedding party, couple portraits. All post-ceremony photos were done during the cocktail hour but did NOT feel rushed at all! Having a list of family photos you would like ahead of time, and making sure family knows to stick around for photos will be helpful

No matter what you decide, the vendors you have chosen will know how to work with your schedule so the day is just how you envision it!

I did first look beforehand and I'm happy I did because logistically it gave me more time to do other things

I did a first look and it was honestly one of my favorite parts of the day. I loved having that time alone with my H right before we made it official. We were able to cry and kiss and spend some private time together. The pictures from that are my favorite pictures, and he still had a great look going down the aisle. Also, not sure if this is a factor for you, but one of the reasons I did it was because a friend told me she did it so she could also make the moment walking down the aisle a special moment with her dad. She could enjoy the walk down with her dad more not being as stressed about seeing her H for the first time.

We did first look photos before the ceremony. I felt they were important and my husband was indifferent. We have beautiful, emotional photos from our first look moments as well as when I walked down the aisle to him. We had two photographers to capture each of our reactions in each setting.


We also snuck away for a few moments during dinner to have more romantic sunset photos taken in the ‘golden hour’ light. And did take a few more fun yet still romantic couples photos during part of cocktail hour (before the sun started setting).
If you’re concerned about the light and are both ok with doing first look photos before the ceremony I think you should. That way you are guaranteed to have those photos with the two of you. The more people you involve in post ceremony poses photos the easier it is to fall behind and never get those couples photos later in the day. Also, my photographer asks each couple at their album reveal what their favorite part of the day was. Most couples who do a pre ceremony first look say that that first look was their favorite part of the day.

We are not doing a first look bc I want his first look to be me walking down the aisle to him as well as my first look walking towards him..


We are getting married nov.. 3pm ceremony reception to follow - we are in New England so sunlight/sunset will give us a nice variety of pictures — I think it’s mainly on if you want to do a first look shot or not.. I am going to have one with my dad

Do the first look!!!!!! I loved the photos from it and husband cried. Hes super A type and I didn't expect that. It also allows you to take photos at different locations. We took photos on the beach front estate we rented for first look (these photos looked like we were Tuscany due to the style of the house) followed by sunset beach photos during cocktail hour. BUT if you want the big WOW factor by having him see you as you walk down the aisle that could be nice too. It just means your photos after the ceremony will be extremely rushed.

I talked to my fiance about doing a first look because he gets panic attacks and alot of anxiety in large groups of people including family. So i asked if it was something he wanted to do to help calm him some but he said "as much as i would love that i want to wait untill i see you walk down the aisle for the 1st time. I feel like if i saw you before it would ruin the full affect i would get if i didn't see you." So we are not doing a 1st look but are writing notes to each other the day of to calm our nerves before the acual ceremony takes place instead.

We are not doing a first look at FH's request. What time is your ceremony? If it's later in the day (5pm onward) you might not have enough light to get decent outdoor photo's of the two of you. We are having an evening ceremony in late June so day light is not something we are worried about. You might want to consider a first look if your ceremony is late afternoon or early evening.