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We're debating if we should do first look pictures or not. I like the tradition of not seeing each other until I walk down the aisle (in our case, walk into the courthouse) but I also like that we wouldn't have to be rushed for pictures. Any advice? If you did first look pictures do you feel you missed out on anything? How did you do it? Where?
We're doing most of our pictures before the ceremony .. We're definitely doing first look photos ..
I'm on the fence about t hem as well. I think we're leaning towards not doing it, though since FI wants it to be traditional.
I never thought I was going to cave and do First Look photos - - the more I thought about them and the time they take and relaxing/visiting with family and friends and enjoying the day we will have spent months putting together - - - they seemed 100% ideal. We're doing them and I can't wait!!! I think Mrs Cowboy Boot posted a really great blog as to why they did one - it helped me understand how much I will be thankful I made the decision to do them too!!!!
I'm hoping that commenting on this will bump this thread up so that more bee's see it during the post-a-thon. I could really use the advice!
YES! We're doing it and we went through the same thought process as you... my mom was having a hard time with it too but I have seemed to convice her (also I told her she could watch from the balcony! haha)
Seeing photos from my photogs site of the first look definitely helped too-- these are amazing and thought I'd share--- I get teary eyed and excited everytime I see them! Can't wait till we do ours!
We did not do first look photos and we don't regret it at all. It was great having that first moment be as I was walking down the aisle. For us having the photos after the ceremony was okay because of the location. The ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception were all in the same general location. So guests were able to go inside grab a cocktail and then come back out and ooh and ahh as the formal pictures were taken. Also, we really wanted only limited number of formal shots so we only took about an hour to get through them all.
I'm not married yet, but here's why doing pictures BEFORE (first look) will work for me:
1. I'm going to be totally nervous and I'm a total CRIER! I can just see myself bawling my way down the aisle in front of 200 people and having terrible photos of me just losing it! A first look will totally take away some of my nerves so that by the time I walk down the aisle I will be much more calm and composed!
2. We're having a Friday night wedding...and by the time the ceremony is over, it will be dark out. In order to get any outside shots we'll need to do it beforehand.
3. Enjoying cocktail hour!!!!!! :)
@Habibah14 I love those pictures, especially the first one! We are having a 4pm ceremony with a dinner reception after, in a different location. The more I think about it, the more it seems first shot pictures would work best
We are not doing first look photos. I want the photo of the look on his face as the door opens and I head down the aisle. The one time I might catch a tear in this big guys eye the entire day....I want proof later =) Blackmail maybe
aren't they gorgeous!! We can't wait to do ours!
It sounds like it makes the most sense with your ceremony times and reception location being different-- PLUS you get to enjoy cocktail hour, take some of the edge off and instead of losing something walking down the aisle I see it as getting 2 different exciting moments because seeing eachother first is so intimate and then walking down the aisle will still be another rush of emotions-- so you get two! :)
We did a first look and it worked out really well! He was standing alone in the room that was set up for our ceremony. I came in, we smiled a lot at each other and then we went outside and took some fun urban pictures in our wedding attire. People were yelling congratulations from their cars and I was carrying our bouquet. It was just fun. Then we went back inside and hung out in separate rooms until the ceremony.
It calmed my nerves and was very special and relaxed. I liked the intimacy of it. We both still teared up when I walked down the aisle so it didn't take away from that at all. It's an emotionally charged moment when you walk into that room with friends and family around, no matter whether you've already seen each other or not. I highly recommend it!
I'm so glad to hear all of these positive stories! There is a park with a waterfall about 10minutes from the ceremony but 20minutes from the reception so this may be the perfect fit to use it for great pictures! Or my sisters university would be good for pictures too. So many options!
We're definitely doing a first look. I want that special moment, when my FI first sees me, to be just between us (and our photog, but I'm going to ignore her :) ). Plus, I think it gives you a lot more flexibility in the kinds of pictures you can get together, since you have more time. And--I love cocktail hour. No way I'm missing that at my own wedding!
We are doing a first look also. Our reasons:
We want to take our time and take care of all the formal pics before hand.
Cocktail hour with our guests- we are having a large wedding and want as much time as we can to see everyone.
Plus, I like that it's an intimate moment before all of the festivities.
hope that helps a bit...
We didn't do it, and I loved walking down the aisle seeing my honey there and the look on his face! We never even considered it.
Habibah, what is your photographer's name? Good work! Beautiful! We are thinking of the before ceremony too. DAy light photography is so much better. Why not make it intimate?
All of you have been so helpful with your experiences & opinions! FI and I have decided we want first look pictures we just have to decide where to do them. It throws our current day of time line off so we will have to re do that soon.
i always think that first look pictures are so cute! i was considering doing them just because we don't have a lot of time at all in between the ceremony and the reception to take pictures, but in the end FI didn't want to break tradition.
@Melybee--- Our photographer is Raw Photo Design www.rawphotodesign.com Eric Langois. He is AMAZING and wonderful to work with. He's doing our wedding and my boudoir ;)~ You can check my bio/profile to see our e-pics. We were crazy happy with them! If you like him let him know Sarah and Justin sent you :) He does the whole tri-state area and new england but also travels.
We didn't do a first look and I'm pretty sure I still wouldn't if I could go back. I loved that my husband didn't get to see me in my dress till I walked down the aisle.
On the other hand, I think it can be a great way to calm down your nerves. I was pretty nervous that morning, but when all us girls got to the church I got to see my husband for a few seconds which completely calmed me down. So he didn't get to see me in the dress, but we both had a chance to get our nerves under control.
If you plan ahead of time what shots you want to get before you head to the reception, you can do post-ceremony pictures easily. Or do first-look, and then you don't have to worry about making people wait on you. Whatever you do, you will have wonderful memories!
We did have a first look. I walked around a corner while our photographer was taking pictures of him. It really is great because you aren't going to have alone time much if it all during the wedding and reception and this actually gives you a mostly private time (except for the photographer) for the two of you two be together before all the craziness. I don't really remember much about walking down the aisle toward my husband, I do remember being together during the first look though. It didn't take away from the magic of walking down the aisle though. There is something about walking toward your husband to be that can't be matched.
never even considered the idea of doing this-- but the pics are sooo sweet. Think FH and I might have to talk about this idea..
I want a first look, but FI doesn't. I haven't really pushed it yet, but I think I will. My arguments are that we are having an evening ceremony, and I want some pictures in the light. I think it will ease my nerves too. I get blotchy when I'm nervous! :)
We want a first look because we're going to want to be able to hug and kiss and talk when we first see each other. I am excited about the idea of a romantic moment between us, which we wouldn't be able to have if the first time we saw each other was in the church during the ceremony. Plus, the photos just turn out AMAZING!
@Lindsay: I totally get blotchy when I am nervous too!!! I am really hoping to avoid that on the wedding day!
We're doing a first look because the ceremony and reception are both going to be in his grandparents' backyard. All of the pictures except family pictures will be done ahead of time.
we're doing first look pics - but our ceremony/reception are literally separated by a pair french doors (ceremony is on the garden deck of the building we are having the reception in) and we really do NOT want to make people wait - so our ceremony is at 5:30 - reception starts at 6 - pictures will start at 2 p.m.
since we are legally married - it's not a HUGE deal about the whole "seeing the bride before the ceremony" thing - however we are DEF. doing the first look thing cuz I TOTALLY want pics of his face when he sees how I look! :D
While I love the idea of being traditional and not having my FI see me before I walk down the isle towards him, we are doing the first look idea for two reasons. First, I have seen some of the most amazing photos taken during the first look that would not have been able to have been done after the ceremony in limited time. Second, I recently attended a wedding where we traveled quite far to attend, and while the cocktail hour was lovely, the bride and groom missed the entire thing as they were having photos done and went immediately to a seated formal dinner. The first time I actually got to speak to my friend (the bride) was after dinner at nearly 10PM. For our wedding, we want to be sure to be able to socialize with our guests during the cocktail/ aperitivo.
We did a first look (no pictures yet) and it was amazing. I loved being by ourselves and havign that moment. DH wasn't thrilled with the idea at first, but came around and LOVED it. He cried the minute he saw me...and we still had that special moment walking down the aisle (I cried the WHOLE way!). For us it worked and was amazing!
I'm still not sure if I want to do this! A huge part of me does for a couple reasons. 1. Because I know I'm going to cry during the ceremony so the pictures will be before 'ugly cry face' and my make up will be fresh. And 2. It will give us plenty of time to just enjoy the cocktail hour instead of rushing to get all of the shots in an hour. But I'm still traditional about this. Its just that my FI has horrible eye sight, he'll be squinting to see me until I'm damn near in his face so the whole watching me walk down the aisle part is lost on us. Not that he won't see me when I finally get there but its not the same!
We're doing a first look because I love that moment just between the bride and groom. Also, we only have 4 hours for the ceremony + reception and we're saving money by skipping the cocktail hour. It's just more economical to do the first look while everything is being set up at the venue.
ALSO, makeup artists and photographers sometimes recommend doing a first look so that you have a lot of good photos of you in fresh makeup.
We didn't do one but I wish we had. I think mainly because the weather turned bad during our ceremony and we were unable to get any pictures of us together outside. They are all church pictures which I didn't want.
We're doing first look because the majority of our photos will be before the wedding too. I'm excited. I can't wait for him to see me.
We did first look for the sheer fact that we dont want to make our guets (majority from out of town) wander around for four hours between the ceremony and reception.
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there are pros and cons to both. sometimes I wish we had. but then others I'm glad we did it the traditional way!
@Habibah14: I love the first picture where he's rubbing his hands in anticipation! I cannot WAIT for our first look :)
we really want to do first look. I never thought of the photog actually taking pictures of it OMG those are so pretty @Baileyh:
@jaylovessteez Thank0you!!! We had so much fun doing them and it was so intimate to be able to kiss and cuddle him when i saw him for the first time...as upposed to the ceremony whre your like "heeyyyyyy" :)
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