First look?

No we're not. I don't want to take the moment away from him seeing me coming down the isle toward him as his first look. It's what he wants too. I don't tell anyone else what to do, I just am not a fan of them.

Honestly my wife didnt want to do a first look. But we talked with the photographer and as I had told her, you get the special alone time some couples dont have at the wedding. It's just you two. My wife cried when she saw me. I know she wouldn't have at the altar and we wouldn't have been able to say anything before. It was really a sweet moment. And I think totally worth it

We are doing a first look! My FH is very traditional and wanted to see me first when I walked down the aisle. But because our ceremony is 5:30pm in November, it will be dark by the time we get around to pictures AND we wanted to join our guest during cocktail hour, so we will be doing a first look!

I debated this a ton, but my fiancee and I decided to save that special moment until I walk down the aisle. It is important to him and I feel that it makes it all that more special. However, i'm not against it by any means, and if he felt differently, I would be happy to do a first look. It really just depends on the two of you.

We did one. It didn’t make walking down the aisle any less special and we both bawled as I walked down!

No. I have never, not once, seen "first look" photos that I liked. They all look staged and awkward to me!

My FH doesn't want to do a first look. We will be doing first looks with our parents though. My Photographer has the day planned out where we will get all of our photos before the ceremony. And then during cocktail hour we will do a few shots of just us and our entire wedding party. We will make it to the cocktail hour before it is over. Everything is taking place at the same venue. We booked our photographer for the entire day and she has reassured me that we will not be crunched on time or feel pressured in any way. I love working with her. She is quite amazing!

Though I understand why a lot of people do first looks, my FH and I agreed against it. I want everyone to be a part of our reactions for when we first see each other. I’m also doing photos with my family and his photos with his family beforehand so it saves time during the cocktail hour. We are going to do a first
touch though so we can speak to each other beforehand and my photographer is going to capture my dad’s first look at me

I’m super excited for our first look!

Besides obvious timeline advantages (being able to attend cocktail hour, as wedding day always flies by & also taking photos when it’s just the two of you, without all other people shuffling around), I really want us to have a private moment together before we become wife & husband. I want him to have plenty of time to tell me how beautiful I am, to really see my dress & all other details, and same for me. So we can fully soak it all in, in peace when it’s just two of us. I know we will both cry at our first look & cry again during our vows, so there will be plenty of crying captured in photos either way 😆
No first look also reminds me too much of its origins of arranged marriages when groom & bride would see each other for the first time at the altar. And I don’t like participating in traditions I really don’t support lol.

We did a first look for the reasons you mentioned, as well as the bonus of being able to spend the majority of the day together. If we had skipped a first look, there would have been no time for any intimate moments with my husband. It would have been go-go-go all day long from the ceremony until the end of the reception. it was so nice to actually get to see him.

We will be doing a first look. I like the timeline benefits because I feel like cocktail hour is always the best part of the wedding and would like to mingle with a lot of our guests then so we can relax for most of dinner then catch up with who we didn’t see yet. I’m also hoping that will get some of my jitters out of the way so that I’m not crying at the altar.

We didn't and REALLY wish we would have.

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That's my exact predicament! Our ceremony is at 5:30pm in January. Therefore, we wouldn't have any outside photos in the daylight.

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Originally he said he wants to wait to see me for the first time when I walk down the aisle. Then after we talked with our photographer and benefits of a first look and the timeline, we're both kind of torn. We're paying for our wedding ourselves and do not want to miss out on the cocktail hour. I also don't want photos to feel rushed, which makes me lean more towards doing the first look.

We’re doing a first look and reading our “vows” before the ceremony with the photographer and then our wedding party will join us for photos. I always thought it was a bit rude when the whole wedding party would be taking photos during cocktail hour while everyone else is to amuse themselves. I want to see everyone at the cocktail hour, so photos will take place before guests arrive. I’m also a VERY emotional person and I know I will ugly cry during our own vows, so I want to read them to each other in private to capture the emotion, and so the photographer can capture our faces. And so I can fix my make up before people see me 🤣

The first look is so trendy now. I personally would prefer not to . I would want to experience the whole walking down and him seeing me first at the ceremony. Theres no wrong to it just all personal preference.

We are doing an alternative “secret meeting” before I have my h/m or dress on. We are going to sneak away from our families and parties to meet for 10 minutes of hugs and kisses. No photographer. Just our special time to calm our nerves before the craziness begins.
We also have plans for photos and the cocktail hour. All photos except couple photos will be done before the wedding. So after ceremony photos won’t take long. We’re going to have an after party following the formal reception. We’ll go to local spots to dance and celebrate with our friends. It’ll be more fun for us than a cocktail hour with our parents, aunts, uncles, etc.

I loved our first look. I knew I wanted to do one because I wanted time alone with him, and to be able to hug him and talk to him, get his reaction to my dress in the moment, etc. To me the scheduling thing was just a side bonus. We both still cried when I walked down the aisle...I could barely keep it together getting ready to walk in, and now that I've seen the pro pictures, I can really tell how emotional he was too. And this was after we'd spent nearly an hour together taking pictures...I think the aisle is magical regardless

We have chosen not to do a first look. My FH wants the first time he see's me to be when I'm walking down the aisle.

We did one, and it was one of the best decisions we made for our day! It was absolutely a huge time saver - that's true. You get more time to enjoy your cocktail hour, for sure. For us, one of the biggest perks, though - it totally lowered our anxiety. Our photographer had told us a story once about a couple he shot that didn't do first looks, and the groom passed out at the altar from his nerves. So instead of sweating nervous bullets through his suit, my husband was like "yeah, that sounds like a good idea." lol. But it was just a natural fit for our timeline, it helped cut the nerves, and they turned out to be some of our favorite pictures. And 100% honesty here, it did NOT ruin that initial moment when he sees you "for the first time" as the doors open and you start your walk. He still got emotional, the guests still got emotional, dad still cried a little - it was more about the moment, not just "the look."

First looks aren't for everyone, and that's cool, but we did them, and 100% do NOT regret it! (Also, did one with dad too. That was a tear jerker lol)