Why first looks are photographer recommended.

This article is for the soon to be brides that are deciding whether to do a ‘First Look’ or whether not to do a ‘First Look’. Ashley and I sat down together. I brought a full page of questions and she brought her answers.

[ Q ] : What is a ‘First Look’?
[ A ] : A first look is when a bride and groom gets to see each other for the first time prior to the wedding.

[ Q ] : When do you do a ‘First Look’ during the day? How do you schedule it?
[ A ] : I recommend doing it two hours prior to the ceremony with scheduling so that you can schedule bridal portraits and bridal party pictures after the first look and before the ceremony so it doesn’t take up time after the ceremony.

[ Q ] : Why do a ‘First Look’?
[ A ] : Do a first look so that it can be a more intimate viewing of each other instead in front of a big crowd, it also makes it so that you can set the stage if you have a less than ideal wedding venue.

[ Q ] : Who is apart of the ‘First Look’?
[ A ] : I try to make it only the bride, the groom and I. I don’t want the bridal party there, I don’t want the parents there. I want just us so I can get the groom’s real reaction because it’s hard to get a real reaction from him when other people are around.

[ Q ] : How do you do a ‘First Look’?
[ A ] : I position the groom in a spot with his back facing away and then I bring the bride down and I take pictures of the bride standing behind him and then I take pictures from behind the bride of the groom turning around and then I go next to them and I instruct the groom to turn around or I go behind the bride and tell him to turn around just depending on the angle that I’m hoping to get with that specific couple.

[ Q ] : Does a ‘First Look’ take away from the walking down the aisle?
[ A ] : No, I have never had a groom not react the second time when they’ve done a ‘First Look. It doesn’t take away from anything, it adds to it. He sees her in a different setting, with his family around, with his friends around. The ‘First Look’ just makes it so that we can kind of set the scene a little bit better.

[ Q ] : Why might a ‘First Look’ not be the choice for you?
[ A ] : A ‘First Look’ might not be the choice for you if you’re very very traditional, maybe like for very religious weddings, it’s probably not ideal because you definitely want to be seen first in the church. It might not be the ideal thing for you if you just don’t want to mess up your make up before the wedding [ LOL ]. Which is also why I recommend doing it two hours before so that you have time to fix your make up. Those are honestly the only reasons that I can think of. I highly recommend doing a ‘First Look’.

[ Q ] : How long does a ‘First Look’ take?
[ A ] : A ‘First Look’ generally only takes about 10 to 15 minutes. But, normally when the bride plans a ‘First Look’, she also plans having the bridal portraits done after, which are the romantic pictures of them. And then once you do those, you can also do the bridal party before the ceremony. So that it doesn’t take an hour and a half after the ceremony so your guests aren’t waiting for you. So it makes it nice to do it before so you can get all of those things done before and it takes up less of your time into your reception.

[ Q ] : Why do you most recommend doing a ‘First Look’?
[ A ] : I most recommend doing it because it’s always nice when you can have a photographer’s input on setting the stage on something. Your venue might not have that option, so you might have a less than ideal backdrop and I have to like, try to make it gorgeous for you. Whereas, with the first looks, we can go find something pretty, I can put you in front of it and we can get gorgeous pictures. I also recommend it because we can get a lot done before the wedding instead of making the guests wait forever. So it’s very helpful for that.

[ Q ] : Will a ‘First Look’ help with the pre wedding nerves?
[ A ] : I think so. In my opinion, it helps the groom because he generally, he sees his bride and then he calms down a little. I feel like the anticipation of seeing her is what causes the most anxiety for him because he’s waiting the whole day for her but he can’t see her all day and then he finally sees her and all of his anxiety goes away. So, I think that the ‘First Looks’ help with that a lot.

[ Q ] : Will a ‘First Look’ be more intimate?
[ A ] : Yes, if it goes according to plan, it’s as intimate as I can make it, because I really try to have it just be the bride, the groom and then me. I don’t like having anybody else there.

[ Q ] : What is the point of a ‘First Look’?
[ A ] : The point of a ‘First Look’ is to get that jaw dropping reaction from the groom. And, I mean, it’s not only the groom’s. Sometimes you will do a first look with the dad, like when the dad sees his daughter for the first time. It’s to get that reaction. It’s to get that jaw dropping reaction from whoever is seeing her for the first time.


Hopefully these questions + answers helped those soon to be brides make their decision whether to do a ‘First Look’ or whether not to do a ‘First Look’.

-Written by Olivia Arbogast

*** Small note I forgot to mention during the interview, First looks can be done with anyone, The first time the bridal party sees the bride is always adorable, the first time the dad sees his daughter in her dress is always so sweet, the first time the grandpa, grandma, aunt, uncle. It can be done with anyone of importance to the bride, to get those wonderful reactions. Seeing a bride in her dress is such an amazing thing, getting to experience it in a small intimate way that can be documented beautifully is such a great way to go about getting those perfect moments saved forever. ~Ashley