Should you do a first look for your wedding? Take this first look quiz to find out!
As a photographer for 20 years, shooting my first wedding in 2005... I can tell you all the highs and lows of the wedding industry for the past two decades. I can tell you the trends that have come and gone. And one thing I can tell you is that First Look's are not a trend - but a new way of doing your wedding day timeline. There is no right or wrong here - but different scenarios that work for variations of weddings and people. I do not push my couples to do a first look, but rather explain to them the differences. I encourage every couple to read this blog and decide for themselves, if this is the right choice for them.
Wait -- What is a "first look"? A "first look" is a special, private moment during a wedding day when the bride and groom see each other for the first time before the ceremony. Unlike the traditional approach where the couple waits until the walk down the aisle, a first look is typically arranged in a quiet, picturesque setting—often captured by a photographer—to create an intimate and emotional experience. This allows the couple to share a few quiet moments together, ease any pre-ceremony nerves, and often results in genuine, heartfelt reactions that are beautifully documented. Many couples choose a first look to make the most of their day and enjoy more time together before the festivities begin. But there are so many more reasons to consider - or not consider - doing a first look!
So get out a pen and paper, and make two columns. In one column you will write YES FIRST LOOK, and the second column you'll write NO FIRST LOOK. As you read through the points below, you'll know which side to put that check mark. Now, let us begin. Enjoy some first look photos throughout this quiz as you go!
1) The portrait hour is separated from your cocktail hour. So first and foremost- if going to your cocktail hour to begin greeting guests, having some food and drinks, is appealing to you - then you've just checked off the first box in the column for YES to first look. If attending cocktail hour is not of interest to you at all, and you'd much rather be taking photos during that time then you can check the NO first look column.
2) Do you have a wedding in late fall (post Halloween) or winter, where the ceremony is after 3:30 pm as a start time? (adjust this point accordingly depending on where in the globe your wedding will be!) ...then you may also want to say YES to a first look. Because if your ceremony ends at 4:30, when the sun has already crested the horizon then you must accept either (a) do a first look, or (b) have all of your photos be with artificial lighting provided by your photographer.
3) If your wedding is during a time of the year where rain is a very possible factor, you may also want to consider a first look. Here's why - extra chances. For example, if your first look is at 2pm, ceremony at 4pm and cocktail hour is 4:30 to 5:30 - then you're looking at two windows of time where the sun could be out. Hopefully you're lucky and get sunshine all day. But what if you had only planned to do portraits after the ceremony (NO first look), and it was beautiful all day but the rain rolled in at 4:30 just as the ceremony ended. You've lost all prior opportunities you would have had to shoot. But what if you have a first look planned for 2pm, the weather is great and you roll with it - portraits are complete and you can go to the ceremony cool as a cucumber. And last scenario - what if 2pm rolls around and its pouring down rain. Not to worry! Skip the first look, go the traditional route and hope that the rain storm passes before 4:30 and you get that hour after ceremony to get those portraits done. So if you like the idea of gambling - go ahead and put a check in the NO first look column - but if you'd rather give yourself the extra chance at portraits, put a YES down for first look on this one.
4) Are you traditional in your wedding vision? If you really do not want to see each other until that moment the ceremony doors open, giving you all the butterflies at the ceremony - then I can completely get behind that romantic notion and tell you to go forth and put the check in the NO first look column.
5) Do you have a large bridal party? Do you have a BIG portrait wish list? Do you have multiple locations you want to hit up for your portraits? These are all reasons to consider doing a first look. Getting the bridal party and bride/groom portraits done before the ceremony will give you a lot more time to dedicate to the photography. You can start as early in the day as you want to, getting the timeline set so that you have it all done prior to ceremony. Even if you just have an hour for the portraits so that you get 30 mins for each of the couple photos and 30 mins for bridal party, then you've at least knocked down 2 of the 3 (the third being family photos). If you choose to do everything during your cocktail hour, you'll have more like 20 mins for family, 20 mins for bridal party, and 20 mins for the couple alone - or something to that effect (assuming you have only the cocktail hour timeframe for photos). So if this sounds like you, put a check in the YES to first look column.
6) Do you have a gap between ceremony and reception? Perhaps you have a church ceremony at 2pm, ending at 3pm, but your reception doors do not open for cocktail hour until 5pm - then you do NOT need a first look. In fact, I highly suggest against it. That will make for your photography package to be several more hours than it needs to be, and you & your bridal party will be pretty tuckered out by the time the reception begins (Assuming you'd have to do your first look by 11:30 am or noon at the latest). This also makes the makeup/hair start times much earlier in the morning. So if your ceremony is early in the day, with a gap between that and reception - go ahead and put a check in the NO column.
7) Is your portrait location in the bright, full sun? For example, are you getting married on the beach at 3pm, and plan to do the portraits on the sand with bridal party, family, and couple photos too? Well, then you may want to consider the lighting. Full sun at 1pm on the beach is hot, harsh and bright. This is not ideal for photography and I'd suggest not doing a first look so that your photos are closer to the sun setting. If your venue has a lot of shade, perhaps it has a lot of trees or surrounded by woodlands - perhaps the 1pm start time for photos is not an issue. This is a great photographer question. So definitely talk to your photog about this! For me, if the venue is full of shade I am perfectly comfortable with portraits at 1pm. But if it were the beach, or an open field, I'd likely suggest to do the photos later. (the city also has tons of shade!) So depending on your answer to this - put a YES or NO down in the appropriate column for first look!
8) Nerves. Are you an anxious person? Does the idea of everyone watching your reaction to seeing your spouse for the first time make you feel butterflies - not in a good way? Like "I kinda wanna throw up" sort of way? Maybe doing a first look is right for you. Seeing each other for the first time before the ceremony will get those feelings out of the way in a private space. This will almost feel like someone gave you a literal "chill pill" and you'll end up walking down the aisle to a whole different set of feelings. Pure joy and happiness, without the gut wrenching anxiety. If this sounds like you, then go ahead and put a check in the YES to first look column. On the flip side, if you feel like that excitement is something to seek - maybe keeping that moment for the aisle is perfect for you, and in that case put a check down for NO first look.
9) Capturing the moment. I will certainly capture the moments the best of my ability during a ceremony when the couple sees each other for the first time. But if you want it in a more controlled environment, where we can be closer to each of you, and thus capturing the best photos/video possible of your reactions to each other - then a first look might be right for you - and you can check YES to first look. If that is not something that matters or appeals to you at all, and you'd prefer the opposite -where no one is really close to you during that moment, perhaps the answer is NO first look on this point.
10) Extending your time together. If you think about it, the wedding day is 24 hours, lets go ahead and subtract midnight to 7am. So you're down to 17 hours of the day. And we'll also guess that your reception ends at 10pm based on most venues noise ordinances. So that cuts down to 15 hrs. If you're trying to maximize the hours together on your wedding day, why not start your day at 1 or 2pm with a first look, rather than not seeing each other until a 4:30pm ceremony. You can potentially spend 9 hours of your wedding together, vs just 5-6. This isn't always possible, based on the ceremony start times of course, but if you have a later ceremony - AND you like the idea of having more hours together with your spouse then check off YES to the first look column on this one.
11) Logistics - Are your getting ready locations far apart? Logistically, sometimes a first look just isn't in the cards. If the couple is getting ready across town and the location, transportation, etc don't align to make the first look feasible - then its an easy NO to first look here. Or, do you have zero bridal party and a small venue with the portrait locations right outside? Maybe its just really a necessity to do photos early in this case. Or, do you have a more chill crowd and prefer to just be more busy during cocktail hour then sit and chat? Then for any of these reasons, perhaps not doing a first look is right for you.
12) Religious or Cultural Reasons – In some cultures or faiths, it’s customary or expected that the couple avoids seeing each other until the ceremony. In this scenario, its an easy answer as well to put NO to first look column here.
13) The build of anticipation doesn't appeal to you. If you DO or DO NOT like the idea of building up the tension all day long until you see your spouse for the first time - this also can be a YES or NO answer for you.
14) Doing a first look allows for more time for photos, which not only enhances the overall experience but also encourages greater creativity from your photographer and videographer. With a more relaxed timeline, we're able to explore a variety of poses, locations, and ideas without feeling rushed. As a photographer, having that extra time means we can be more intentional and artistic. Plus, it gives the couple a chance to take breaks when needed—whether to sit down, grab a drink of water, or simply breathe and enjoy the moment. If you like this sound of this, put a check in the YES to first look column.
15) Timeline control and riding the energy high. There are many points here that I can dive into, but one is the domino effect of time. For example - if you do a first look before the ceremony, knocking out the couple and bridal party photos early... Then after the wedding ceremony, you can do family portraits and head off to cocktail hour. This means that you can begin greeting all of your guests which enables everyone to bask in your high energy of the moment. You just got married only 15 mins ago and you're beaming, they want to hug you and share their excitement that is also radiating as well. They're dying to say hello to you and give you those congratulations. From here - the dominos continue to fall in your favor. Since you've been able to greet the guests in cocktail hour, then after dinner you can jump into dancing much sooner than if you had to begin saying your hello's at the tables at that time. This will make post-dinner greetings quick and easy - and you'll gain many more dance floor songs.
So now that you have finished this quiz, where did you fall into? Are you in the YES TO FIRST LOOK columns, or are you in the NO TO FIRST LOOK COLUMN? I know that this is such a huge decision for couples to make about their upcoming weddings, and I really hope that this blog was a helpful resource for you!