The first look. It’s a subject that people have lots of opinions on and will tell you that you HAVE to do or you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT do. As with most of the wedding advice I received, I smiled, nodded and then thought about it and decided what made sense for K and I. I can’t tell you whether or not you should do a first look (nor can anyone else) but I can tell you why we decided to do so.
One of the main reasons I wanted to do a first look is because I wanted to have a private moment with K and I. Our bridal party and my parents were nearby, but we had a few minutes just to take in each other’s presence and prepare for what was to come. It didn’t make me feel any less emotional walking down the aisle and K agrees. Having that time together (even just a few minutes) put me in the right frame of mind and I just continued to get more and more excited for the day.
Another huge reason I wanted to do a first look is that I wanted to take pictures with the bridal party before the wedding and not have to worry about keeping K and I separate. While it is definitely possible to do this, we had time with our respective gals and guys taking pictures and having fun and not having to worry about hiding me from K’s view. I highly recommend taking as many pictures as possible before the ceremony. Even with our first look pictures, we took so many family shots (and then some private shots with just K, the photographer and I) that we completely missed cocktail hour. We expected that we were going to miss it, but I can’t imagine not having taken those photos before hand. It would’ve put the whole evening off schedule.
As I mentioned, I also saw my parents beforehand and that really helped calm my nerves. I can’t say if a first look is right for you, but I wouldn’t have done it any other way and I’m so glad we did one!
If you’re married, did you do a first look? Why or why not?
I’ve been loving all of the photos you’ve been sharing, Courtney. You both look so happy!
We didn’t do a first look. Because I got ready at my parents’ house and my husband got ready at the hotel, it wasn’t difficult to keep us from seeing each other. Our photographers started with myself and my bridesmaids, and then went to the hotel to photograph the guys. Not doing a first look was the right choice for us since we wanted a very traditional ceremony, and wanted our first look of each other on our wedding day to be as my dad walked me down the aisle.
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running recently posted…2014 Leesburg 20k Recap
thanks kathryn! it was such a special day 🙂
Beautiful beautiful!!
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thank you so much 🙂
I actually have never heard of this. I thought not seeing each other before the wedding was the thing that everyone did. The old wise tale I heard was that it was bad luck(obviously I don’t believe that one). Like you said I guess it’s what your preference is. I don’t think it matters either way. You got some great photos by doing it this way. Congrats to the both of you!
Lacey@fairytalesandfitness recently posted…My Morning Run Contest
if you read any wedding magazines, websites, etc. nowadays there is a huge discussion on the first look and it’s becoming very very trendy. mainly for the photography options — lots of photographers even recommend doing it on their websites. thanks for the congrats, lacey!
You two are stunning. Beautiful photos!! Love you both 🙂
Mar @Mar on the Run recently posted…BlogFest: Inspiring Fitness
aw thanks friend! you are awesome — now that you are back, let’s get some hangouts on the calendar. i have some big career news that i want to share!
YES!!!! I like this plan. Dates on the calendar asap… and i have some things to share with you too 😉
Mar @ Mar on the Run recently posted…BlogFest: Inspiring Fitness
Beautiful photos! We did a first look too, mostly because we knew the wedding day was going to be hectic and we wanted to ensure that there would be at least a couple minutes of quiet for just the two of us (well, and the photographer) together.
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yeah, exactly. i’m so glad we did it! it’s not the right thing for everyone but it was right for us!
We did do first a first look and I have the series of photos framed together in our guest room. I just love them. One of the main reasons we did a first look was that we were going to see each other prior to the ceremony anyhow. My husband is Jewish, so we signed a Ketubah (a Jewish wedding contract) with just our families present prior to the ceremony.
And if you think everyone has opinions on weddings… just wait until kids! Seriously.
oh cool! i love ceremony’s with lots of rich tradition and it sounds like yours had just that! i have heard that the opinions on raising children are insane… 🙂
Love the photo of you holding hands-so sweet. It’s been 19 years for me but we did have a private moment together first as well and it was perfect. I was so nervous and it helped put it into perspective. Thanks for sharing
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner recently posted…Do you Metronome? Should you?
thanks for reading! i also really really love that picture of us holding hands. our photographer was pretty amazing 🙂
AHH tears!!! This is so great!!!! We are definitely doing a first look- I feel like I need that time that is just the 2 of us. My friends are vehemently for or against it so I’m like you- smiles and nods all around! haha
Lindsay T recently posted…Wednesday Workout: Fitness Favs
Thanks Lindsay — I think you will be glad that you did your first look 🙂
First look pictures always make me emotional!! So beautiful. <3
We didn't do one only because it was apparently some kind of tradition where we got married that the groom stand with his back to the bride while she started coming down the aisle and then turned around to see me…so it was kind of like a first look, but not really because it was during the ceremony. It was pretty cool though. 🙂
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That’s really, really cool! I’m all about interesting traditions!
I LOVE THESE PICS! So beautiful…we did not do a first look because our wedding was very small and it didn’t take us too long to do our pictures afterward; this is a cool idea, though, especially when the bridal party is large and lots of family.
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Yeah, it really helped us save time — it was great!
I love these pictures! We didn’t do a first look, and I loved the moment of surprise for us seeing each other, but I like and understand both ways!
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Thanks so much Erin 🙂
As a photographer, I ADORE a first look. Such a special moment & it leaves so much more time for pictures… who doesn’t want more pictures!?!?!?!
Rebecca Jo recently posted…Extreme Weight Loss left me sad…
Yes, it was a great move on the photography front 🙂
I really wish I would have known about this newer tradition at the time of our wedding. I was nervous and it was clearly written all over my face in our pictures.
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oh, I bet they were still gorgeous!
I loved the first look pics! I did not know that is what you called it, but Ronald and Kristen took pics before the wedding also as you know and I thought it was very wise and it did kind of give them that ” special” time together be fore all the crazy! Thanks for sharing, love you guys! Aunt Fran
Yes, I was really really glad that we did our first look 🙂 We love you too!
I love these photos! So gorgeous!
We did the same thing for our wedding. We wanted to spend as much time as possible with our guests without having to do photos after everything started. Plus, like you said, that intimate moment was so amazing to have. I wouldn’t have done it any differently!
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thanks friend! it was such a nice moment to share and it took away any nerves that I’d had 🙂
Aw, I love your pictures! Just from being in different bridal parties, I have appreciated taking a ton of pictures beforehand so we can just go crazy and celebrate afterwards. It’s so funny to me how strongly people feel about it though. To each their own, ya know?
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So sweet!! You definitely need to do what is right for you. We didn’t have a first look per se, but we did in a way. We had a photo taken of each of us on the opposite side of a door that was open so we could hold hands and talk before the ceremony. I thought it was great even though we didn’t actually SEE each other, we were still able to get the nerves out by talking around the door which was fun and made an AWESOME picture!
Sue @ This Mama Runs for Cupcakes recently posted…Wonder Mom Wedesday Link up: Back to School
that sounds awesome and the wedding i was in a few weeks ago actually did the same thing! really cute 🙂
I love that people are doing these first looks now. I think I would want too also.
Abby @ BackAtSquareZero recently posted…Summer 2014 Bucket List – Update
i loved doing a first look!
I love your beautiful pictures! I especially love the picture of you tapping K on the shoulder! So sweet.
Joseph (my son) and Julie didn’t do first look photos, but the photographer took separate pictures of the Joseph with the groomsmen, and Julie with the bridesmaids before the wedding. There was a 1.5 hour delay between the end of the wedding and the reception for us to have pictures taken and drive to the reception venue. The guests were able to stop by their houses or hotels (or hit a bar) in their spare time. We didn’t want to miss cocktail hour! 🙂
Debbie @ Deb Runs recently posted…Five Things I Love About Being An Older Runner
having that delay really is helpful for knocking out pictures. we had everything in one location so while we did miss cocktail hour they brought us the yummy food we missed 🙂
LOVE the pictures!! You look gorgeous!! We decided not to do a first look. It is very common in German to do so, but growing up I always saw in movies that the bride and groom saw each other for the first time when they walked down the aisle and I LOVED this!
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