Your wedding is approaching and you’ve booked your photographer and he asks you a very important question. “Would you like to do a first look”? I know we ask every single bride! The responses range from what the heck is that to no thank you.  Before you say no, wether it be because you don’t know or because you think its crazy for your groom to see you before the wedding hear your photographer out. We would like to say that we don’t push for one or the other we just like all of our couples to know their options are and address the benefits of either decision.

So it comes down to PICTURES or TRADITION…

What is more important? Most brides dream of their perfect wedding day and what it will be like. From the flowers to the dress, down to the veil. They’ve been dreaming of this moment since they were a little girl playing pretend in front of their mirror with a pillow case over their head. Then when you finally get blessed with your prince charming and are engaged you meet us, the creatives. We have one job, to uniquely and creatively capture your wedding with images and motion pictures that resemble what your day was truly like. To be creative we need TIME and plenty of it. The Sistine Chapel wasn’t created in 15 minutes and although we don’t need all the time that was needed for the Sistine Chapel we do need time. We aren’t magicians and we cannot create something out of nothing. We capture and work with what is real and present on your wedding day and nothing more. To best capture your wedding day and story we need to be set up for success. Although the first look isn’t the only option it is definitely one of the best options we recommend.

What is a “First Look”?

A first look is a rising trend that many brides are opting to do for many reasons explained below. A “First Look” is when the bride and groom have an intimate moment prior to the ceremony and see each other for the first time.

Here are some reasons why we love first looks and recommend them. This is our opinion and our opinion only. I’m sure that many photographers would agree with us but it is your duty to choose what is most important to you and your photographers job to fulfill those desires.

• Spend more time with your soon to be spouse!

On average couples that do the first look spend 1-2 more hours together than couples that don’t do the “First Look” on their wedding day.  They are able to take in all the emotions of the day in together.

• The FIRST LOOK is almost always more emotional than the traditional first look walking down the aisle. 

• Your cocktail is only an hour

The average cocktail is ONLY an hour . During this time instead of relaxing and taking in that you are now Mr + Mrs. you are rushing through formals, wedding party pictures to be able to have a few pictures together. Hands down when you do a first look you allow for a smoother timeline and allow your photographer to get more images!!! You’re not a professional bride and its our job to tell you this. This, for most, is your first or second wedding and for us its our 70th plus so we are happy to help your wedding day be that much more perfect from bloopers that we witnessed in previous weddings. You have no idea how many times the majority of the cocktail hour is eaten by formals and wedding party pictures. The last wedding we did in which the bride and groom waited to see each other until the ceremony, the portrait session was the most chaotic, mad-dash we’ve ever been involved in.  They literally got 2 portraits.  The sun was setting and was going to get very cold, and we hadn’t shot barely any bridal party or family photos either.   And when this is the case, the bride/groom portraits always take one for the team.  Family and bridal party photos always take longer because of the amount of people to herd.Which unless you are okay with family members complaining about not getting a picture or you’re okay with going to your reception later, it leaves for little to no time for your photo session with your spouse. When doing a “First Look” we normally schedule 1-2 hours for your first look, bride and groom session, wedding party pictures. Leaving only formals for after the ceremony and you a little time to take a breather and enjoy some of your appetizers during the cocktail hour.

• You have an evening ceremony and it may be dark for when we shoot all your photos

• Art isn’t created in 15 minutes

Stephanie and I want to be your  artist.  Although we are excellent at working under pressure and meeting deadlines, frantic, stressed out subjects don’t photo well.  It breaks my heart to deliver a package of wedding photos knowing that there are hardly any bride/groom portraits.  That is what the WHOLE DAY is about.  You 2.  No one else. Please note that we respect which ever route you decide to go but understand that  we can’t capture an hour of portraits in 10 minutes.  It simply doesn’t work that way.  You need to set us up for success, so that your photos can be all they can be.

• Don’t let hiccups that are inevitable in your day to affect your images!

All in all, we all know that as much planning as there is that goes into a wedding, any wedding planner or other wedding vendor will tell you that there are hiccups throughout the day. Wouldn’t it be awesome to know that your images would suffer because of it. We had a wedding this May where the ceremony started 3 hours late due to weather. Had she not opted for the first look, she would not have had any wedding images. By the time the late ceremony ended it was dark and it just just wouldn’t have happened. Because they did a first look, not only were their images magical, her wedding was published in Munaluchi’s Bridal print Fall/Winter Edition 2015 . (available to purchase November 24, 2015) and we love hearing from the bride that unless reminded she would never be able to remember the delays of the days and the stress she was under because she was able to have time alone with her soon to be husband and instead of stressing about the wedding starting late, they were able to keep each other calm and comfort each other and have a great old time taking pictures of what mattered most, the two of them! Click HERE to see their wedding.

So what will you choose Pictures or Tradition?