There are 5 benefits/reasons why we highly recommend a “First Look”.

On the day of the wedding there is A LOT going on and sometimes it can get hectic trying to fit in every photo on the portrait list. Every wedding is different, but for the majority of brides and grooms it is important that they get a lot of photos with their family, bridal party and friends. This takes time. Typically your wedding venue/coordinator will only give you an hour after the ceremony to take all of your photos because the kitchen/caterer is on a schedule and is required to get food served by a certain time. An hour may seem like a long time, but keep in mind we have to take extended family photos, immediate family photos, wedding party photos and photos with the couple together. Especially with a big guest list (we consider 75+ guests big), so every minute counts. As professional wedding photographers, we’ve been very successful at managing our time efficiently and getting all the required photos, but sometimes it can be stressful on everyone making sure they’re there for photos on a time crunch. By having a “First Look” before the ceremony, gives us the opportunity to slow down the pace of the day and get our family, wedding party and couple photos beforehand. Less stress is a good thing for everyone!

Because we’ve taken the majority of our posed photos before the ceremony, this means you’ll have time to enjoy cocktail hour and actually mingle with guests! This also puts less pressure on you to greet every guest during the reception, which means you’ll have more time to party! It’s a win for everyone.

Probably our biggest advocate of having a “First Look” is for the sheer reason that we’ll have the opportunity to take more unique photos. Because we won’t have any time constraints, we can literally set our own schedule before the Ceremony and take photos wherever we want! You can choose a special place at the venue or even a unique location somewhere outside of the venue/church. If you, need ideas just let us know and we can help! 

This doesn’t go for everyone, but often we find that our couples prefer that the moment when they see each other for the first time to be private and intimate. This gives them the opportunity to not hold back any emotions and enjoy that moment alone or with who they choose.

Not only can you choose the exact location you want to do the first look, you can also cater it to your own unique personalities and what is special to you!