On the wedding day, a First Look is when couples choose to see one another in private before the ceremony. This is becoming more popular each year, but many couples still ask me about it and if I see it a lot. While most of our weddings are more traditional where the couple will not see one another before the ceremony, less than half of our weddings will involve this first look!

Typically, the formal photographs of the families, wedding party and the couple alone will take place during the cocktail hour just before the reception. Couples who choose a different option may do so because they would like to have all the formal photographs done before the ceremony. Some of our brides will say, “Get them done and out of the way!” This will allow the couple to participate in their cocktail hour with their guests. Some feel it removes some of the pressure of photos on the wedding day and they can relax more after the ceremony!

Another reason our couples may choose to have a First Look is because they’d like their photos to be in the daylight! If the ceremony ends as the sun is fading away, the photos may end up being indoors, depending on the venue. To do all the group photos beforehand allows them to be outside in the daylight, which is important to many of our couples.

The moment the couples first see one another during the First Look is usually photographed without posing it and without an audience around! A private setting works out great where one can be waiting for the other. Take a look at this First Look of Allison and Kevin who saw one another in the Herb Garden at Old Sturbridge Village. They are so cute!!!

Many of our couples are more traditional and want that moment of seeing one another as they walk down the aisle! They won’t do a First Look, but they will still get all the formal images – only this way they will truly already be husband and wife!