Why You Should Include a First Look in Your Wedding Photography (and 5 Reasons Not To👀)

Getting married? Make sure to schedule a first look before your wedding! Here’s why👇 

If you’re planning a wedding right now, you may be considering including a first look before your ceremony. This is a trend that photographers and videographers alike are LOVING! Whether you set aside a separate day to have your first look photoshoot (which includes the first look as well as creative storytelling portraits, often called Bridals or Formals) or you want to stage your first look sometime before your ceremony on your wedding day, having a first look is going to be your best play for these reasons:

✨ A less stressful wedding day!✨ 

Wedding days go by FAST, and I know you want to spend as much time as you can actually partying with those who came to celebrate with you! A cocktail hour can only entertain your guests for so long before they start wondering where the stars of the show went 🤍
Getting bridals (also known as a formal photoshoot) done before your wedding lets us cut down on the formal wedding day photos at your venue, and you can get back to partying with your friends and family at your reception!

✨ Stunning locations to show you off✨

It’s important to capture photos of you & your venue, but can you imagine how incredible your walls will look with printed photos of you and your love celebrating together in a beautiful location? I help you chose spots specifically to convey the beauty and the mood of your relationship because THAT’S what we’re capturing. 

Really immortalizing the love you and yours share, the actual feel of your relationship, the moments that tell your story - representing your relationship in photos takes time and creativity and that creativity is why you hired me 😘

✨ More creative space to showcase your love✨

Chances are you hired me for my creative eye. I (and every other photographer) have worked very hard to learn how to capture the most authentic moments that I see being shared between you and your partner. My goal is to tell your story in my photos. The soft touches, the small moments, the mood you share when you’re together, the excitement you feel about your wedding. This is what I capture during a formal shoot. But in the middle of your wedding day, it can be much more difficult to settle into the rhythm and comfort needed to convey that emotion. 

Getting in front of a camera can feel uncomfortable at first, so it’s extra important to set aside time that’s dedicated solely to capturing this romantic time in your life, unhindered by the stress and pace of a wedding day.

✨These are the photos you print✨

I’ll say it again for those in the back: ✨These are the photos you print!✨ Most likely, the stunning scenes of your love are what you’ll have hanging in your home, not the photos of your ceremony. Both are important, but trust me when I say that the artistic photos that formal sessions allow us wedding photographers to capture are what will be hanging in your entryway. 

✨Calm your nerves before the aisle✨

Girlfriend, this is one of the biggest days of your life. It is natural to feel nervous! For my grooms out there: there’s so much pressure on you too! Have you seen those tiktoks that say things like “if he doesn’t cry I’m gonna be mad"? Um, excuse me??! You can’t conjure such powerful emotion on command, and sometimes you’re too stressed or too nervous or anxious or even just too excited to get teary at your bride walking down the aisle to you. Staging a private first look for just you and your fiancé allows you both the space and time to celebrate in anticipation together, and get those nerves out of the way!

To be clear; this doesn’t detract from the moment in the aisle at all! I’ve seen couples get emotional even when had their first look separately.

✨Test run your hair and makeup✨

I don’t know about you but I get so nervous when someone else does my makeup. I want to look like myself on my wedding day, and you definitely need the right makeup artist for that! Scheduling a first look or bridal photoshoot before your wedding day is going to give you a perfect opportunity to test run you bridal look before you commit to it for your wedding day. If you notice anything you don’t love, you can tell your HMUA (hair and makeup artist) with plenty of time to make changes so that you look and feel your best on your big day!

✨Another adventure with your love✨

Because literally why not!? I’ve done these shoots at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Saint George, Moab, the Oregon coastline, Idaho, sand dunes, etc. You can go somewhere super cool and bring along a photographer to capture not only your first look, but also a gorgeous location.

✨Allow yourself and your soon to be spouse some privacy✨

Some people (like my own lovely groom) don’t enjoy very public displays of affection or emotion. A first look allows you to fully feel, express, and be in your emotions together without having to stand in front of all your friends and family while you do so.

✨You’re having a religious ceremony✨

In Utah, there are a lot of LDS (Latter Day Saints, or Mormon) temple ceremonies, which are very private, and photographers and videographers aren’t allowed to accompany them. This means that there isn’t a first look at all unless it’s scheduled apart from the wedding and reception. Catholic weddings are a great classic example of a first look down the aisle, but often, photographers aren’t allowed in various parts of the cathedral either, so the first look may not be documented well.

While I think it’s usually the right way to go, there are reasons you might want to skip the first look and take a more traditional route.

🙅‍♀️You’re a traditionalist🙅‍♀️

If you just love doing things the traditional way, the first look is a big one! Remember it’s absolutely fine to do exactly what YOU want with your wedding, even if that’s just sticking to the traditions you love.

🙅‍♀️You want to include your guests in the moment🙅‍♀️

This is the exact opposite of privacy, but for those of us who are a little more on the extroverted side, including your friends and family in the emotional moment can be very special!

🙅‍♀️You want your wedding photos to be taken when you’re officially married🙅‍♀️

Honestly, I get it! If this is something that’s important to you, then you do you! If you’ll be looking at your bridal portraits thinking “Yeah, but we weren’t actually married yet,” then maybe you’re someone who wants to wait until after the ceremony to take your wedding day and formal portraits.

🙅‍♀️Schedule conflicts🙅‍♀️

If you don’t want to allot a whole other day to a first look and formal photoshoot, you can simply do your first look sometime before the ceremony. However, your day will have to start much earlier as you’ll need time to finish photos and freshen up before you get everything started. I’d schedule a whole hour and a half for setting up, staging, capturing the moment, then fixing hair and makeup before the ceremony starts. If you don’t have a place aside from the altar to do the first look, you’ll want to make it even earlier to make sure there aren’t any guests who got there early.

🙅‍♀️It’s not within your budget🙅‍♀️

Adding an entire photoshoot to your wedding package truly is what I recommend for the most creative, storytelling, and emotional images possible. However, sometimes that just isn’t in your budget and that’s okay. Remember that keeping the first look for the wedding aisle is gorgeous, timeless, and traditional!

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