The Top 5 Reasons to Have a First Look at Your Wedding

Photography by Frances Beatty Photography

There’s no question about it, there are loads of decisions to make for your wedding and it can be tough to know where to start; one of these is whether or not to have a first look, so we’re here to help you out by giving you the Top 5 Reasons TO have a first look at your wedding. There’s really no right or wrong answer to this question, but here are some of the things you may not have thought about that could help you make the right decision for you.

1. Privacy -

The first time you see your favourite person, your partner, the love of your life, can be a very emotional moment, and for some people that makes it a moment they don’t want to have in front of a crowd of people. Having a first look allows you to share that emotional moment in privacy with less eyes on you. It’s typically just you two and your photographer(s). You can cry it out before standing in front of your friends and family.

2. More time with your favourite person -

It can come as a shock to people that you do not get to spend a load of time with your new spouse on your wedding day. Unless you are eloping, you have a lot of people wanting to spend some time with you and celebrate with you, which means that your attention is divided. You get very little time alone with your new spouse. If you have a first look, you get to spend a little more time with your partner before you start sharing your day with family and friends. A++

First look at Georgian Bay Club wedding by Frances Beatty Photography

3. All (or most) formal photography can take place before the ceremony -

Once you two have seen each other, why not jump into wedding party photos and family photos? If you have the opportunity to get all or most of your formal photos done before the ceremony, that leaves all of your people a little more time to relax once the ceremony is finished. Which leads us to point number 4….

4. More time at cocktail hour -

If all or most of your formal photos are completed before the ceremony, you get to actually be there for cocktail hour!! Imagine that! You get to enjoy the party that you’ve created! Eat the hors d'oeuvres and drink the signature cocktails, mingle with your loved ones.

5. Calm your jitters -

The moments leading up to your ceremony are full of heightened emotions. If you’re about to marry someone, chances are they are the one that calms you down when you’re the most worked up. They are your person. The one you want in your best moments and in your worst. Seeing them during a first look can help calm your jitters, plus you get to share those excited moments with them! (I know I definitely loved seeing my husband before our ceremony for this reason. I wanted to share my excitement with him and hug the shit out of him before we walked down the aisle. He’s my person)