First looks have been a juggernaut wedding trend for the last few years. Couples often choose to forego historic wedding traditions to craft their perfect day, and an intimate moment before the ceremony not only eases nerves but also makes for stunning photos. A first look creates a special, private moment for couples to react to their spouse-to-be emotionally.
Despite their popularity, first looks are not for everyone. Debating including a first look in your timeline? This personal decision is often a difficult one. At Twickenham House and Hall, we’ve seen many variations of first looks and we’ve compiled a pros and cons list to help make your choice easier.
First Look Pros
1. Ease Your Nerves
Are you afraid of shaking rather than walking down the aisle? Or nervous that potential tears may obstruct the pictures you hope to receive? One of the most significant benefits of a first look is the ability to ease any nerves. Your wedding day is the biggest commitment of your life. How better to prepare for the commitment by intimately connecting with your spouse-to-be before the ceremony? After all, your wedding day is only a day, while marriage is a lifetime. A first look may prepare you and your love to connect before such a significant moment.
2. Private Connection
Your wedding day is a whirlwind of timelines and events. From getting ready, the ceremony, taking pictures, and speaking with your guests eager to celebrate you and your spouse, the day is often a blur. A first look enables an intimate connection point of you and your beloved to savor the magnitude of the day before being swept into the good chaos of it all. Likewise, if you as a couple are more private, a first look is the perfect time to exchange personal vows, pray together, or spend a moment remembering the purpose of your wedding– each other..
3. Time Saver
Along with the intimacy of a first look, they are also efficient on the wedding timeline. If you want to kick back with your guests and wedding party during cocktail hour and dance away the evening without needing to escape for pictures, a first look might be for you. Because of the convenience of already seeing your spouse, any photo timeline can be expedited before the ceremony. No more sneaking around the venue dodging one another is necessary. Instead, having already seen each other, you and your spouse can speed up the photo process by taking all pictures before the ceremony even begins.
4. Freshen Up
Are you worried that seeing your spouse for the first time at the altar will bring the waterworks and ruin your makeup? With a first look, you can touch up any makeup from the emotional connection point before your ceremony.
First Look Cons
1. Freshen Up
I know what you are thinking, “Didn’t they just list this as a pro?” Yes. Sometimes the exact things that make something beneficial are also a negative aspect of a decision. Given the emotion of a first look, you will likely have to touch up your makeup and hair before your wedding ceremony, which for some is unappealing.
2. Timeline Complications
With the emotion of a first look and the potential for makeup, hair, and additional photo opportunities, your day-of timeline will likely be longer and stricter. Not only will you have to hire your beauty team for longer hours, but also, including a first look requires a significant portion of time before your ceremony. With the initial connection, time together, beauty touch-ups, and photos, the event adds considerable time. Although this is something your wedding planner can account for, couples tying the knot in the morning or afternoon may struggle to fit everything into the schedule of your big day.
3. Private and Awkward
Some couples want to share every aspect of their big day with those invited to the ceremony. Moments like seeing one another or exchanging intimate vows are events they desire to be shared with those around them. If this is you, a first look may not be the right choice. On the other hand, private, intimate couples may find a first look awkward. For many, the appeal of a first look is the emotional photos produced from the event. However, this means that a photographer, videographer, and likely others will be present in this intimate moment between you and your spouse. If you cannot be fully authentic and emotional with the people at that moment, a first look may not be the right decision for you.
4. Untraditional
Although many couples are straying from traditional aspects of wedding ceremonies, for a couple who loves the beauty behind generational tradition, a first look may not be for you. Many adore the grandeur and magnificence of a grand reveal at the altar, and these stunning pictures and dramatic entrances are traditional and beautiful. For a conventional bride, the first look may not be on your wedding day.
Ultimately, there is no wrong answer about a first look. Your wedding day is about you and your spouse alone, so if you love tradition, stick to it, but if you are a countercultural couple, laugh at tradition and ultimately do what you want on the biggest day of your life.
If you love the idea of a first look but want to keep the unveiling moment of seeing one another at the altar, consider doing a first touch, where you and your spouse hold hands, talk, and connect with one another between a partition or corner. Likewise, consider doing a first look with your parents, family, or bridal party. Each option makes for stunning photos and intimate connections with those you love on the biggest day of your life.