Three Reasons Having a First Look May Be Right For You

Traditionally, couples wait until the Bride walks down the aisle for the ceremony to see each other on their wedding day. However, there's a wedding trend that's becoming more and more popular these days... That's couples choosing to have a first look.

Schedule a consultation with Leyre Photography.

What's a "first look"?

A first look is simply a time during the wedding day when a Bride and Groom choose to see each other for the first time. The couples dedicated a window of time prior to the ceremony to soak in this sweet moment together in a more private, intimate setting, outside of the public eye. Before we share our top three reasons why a first look may be right for you, please note that when it comes to your wedding day, the ball's in your court! As photographers, we'll admit to being a little biased when it comes to prioritizing photography. (;P). We want to make sure there's plenty of time to capture everything our couples want on their wedding day. But this post isn't about what you should or should not do; it's simply giving you a little food-for-thought as you plan out your perfect wedding day timeline.

During the planning process with our couples, the idea of having a first look always comes up. For this reason, we wanted to share three benefits to having a first look so you can make the best decision, and see if having a first look on your wedding day might be right for you.

Top Three Reasons Having a First Look May Be Right For You

Having a first look on your wedding day may be right for you if...

You could use some help to calm anxiety/nerves on the wedding day

Depending on personality type and factors leading up to the wedding, it's not uncommon for Brides and/or Grooms to feel a little nervous, especially right before the ceremony. For some, it's exciting. For others, it feels overwhelming, maybe even downright stressful. For some Brides, it can also feel intimidating to walk down the aisle, especially if you're the type that gets anxious easily in front of a crowd.

For many of our Brides who chose to have a first look, having that special time together with just their Groom, before anyone else sees her, was priceless. One Bride, in particular, shared that the first look made walking down the aisle easier because it felt more like they were doing it together, as opposed to feeling like it was just about her. We've also talked to some of our Grooms to get their opinion of a first look. Several of them shared that because they have a harder time opening up in front of a crowd while in the "spotlight", having a first look made it easier for them to express their emotions when they first saw their beautiful bride.

A first look allows you to focus more on the moment with your partner, without the stress of a ceremony starting and all eyes fixed on you. This time not only allows for a beautiful photo-op, but it provides you the space to connect with your partner and possibly feel more at ease to further enjoy the rest of the day.

You really want to be sure to prioritize photography

As photographers, we want you to have plenty of opportunities for amazing pictures on your wedding day. That's why you hired us, right?! After all, your photos are what you have to always look back on to remember such a special time! Regardless of choosing to have a first look or not, we do our best to make sure our couples walk away with amazing wedding photos.

Having a first look can provide extra, intentional time for portraits of you and your honey. Let's say you're planning a 5:00 PM ceremony and the sun sets at 6:00 PM. Between the ceremony, family photos, and bridal party photos, you run the risk of cutting bridal portraits time short. In our experience, this can cause a bit of stress for our couples, as they anticipate getting the photos they want with any available natural light. A first look just gives you a back-up slot for Bride and Groom portraits, which can be helpful if unexpected delays or changes arise during the rest of the event, or when working with changing-factors such as weather and lighting.

Schedule a consultation with Leyre Photography.

You need a little help being more present throughout the remainder of the wedding

Having a first look, where you can prioritize at least some of your bridal portraits, allows more flexibility to get the most desired photos out of the way so you can be more present with guests, family, and friends. It can be difficult to engage with the people you love the most when you're worried about getting every photo out of the way. Let's face it- you've been waiting for this day your whole life and you want to enjoy it with important people in your life! One thing you can trust when working with us at Leyre Photography is that we truly try to go above and beyond to make sure this happens. If that means having a first look to make the process a little smoother, we're for it.

A first look does help prioritize portraits, ease aisle-jitters, and helps some couples focus on enjoying the rest of the ceremony, photos, and after-party. All reasons why we aren't surprised that we're seeing more and more couples opting for the first look on their wedding day. If you're the type that feels like you'll be worrying so much about all the attention being on you for the ceremony, then maybe a first look is a great option. You can still get your partner's priceless reaction but in a more low-key, personal setting.

Ultimately, when you're considering anything and everything about your wedding day, we encourage you to consider what's most important to you. If that means waiting until that anticipated aisle-moment, we will happily support you and work together to create a timeline that best serves you on your big day!