Maryland Wedding Photography // To Look Or Not To Look?

It’s wedding season! For a Maryland wedding photographer, that means weekends full of beautiful flowers, bright sunlight, and occasionally...first looks. The first look is a hot topic these days among brides and wedding photographers alike. Do you do a first look or don’t you?

I’m going to start with a disclaimer.

Weddings have become a pretty big deal in the last decade or so. This means lots of discussion about what you should or should not do. But let’s be clear - this is your day. There are no “shoulds”. It is only what you want and what makes you the most comfortable.

For this particular post, I’m going to outline some of the pros and cons to a first look. It is not intended to make you feel bad about any decision you have made, but rather to inform brides who are on the fence! As a photographer, I love first looks, but as a bride, I chose not to do one. There is no one right answer, but hopefully this post helps you find your right answer.

Pro: Extra Time
Everyone has heard that wedding days fly by. It’s absolutely true! It’s a day that is full of preparations, important moments, and fun. Doing a first look is a great way to slow the day down for a little. That hour or so might be spent nervously awaiting the arrival of guests and doing final touch-ups, but with a first look you can spend that time holding the hand of your love and getting a few extra portraits. Brides who do a first look tend to look back on that intimate and quiet time fondly amongst the many other memories of the day.

Con: The Timeline
As much as a first look can give you extra time, it can also make you feel pressed for time if it isn’t properly scheduled into your day. A first look not only takes time, but you have to be fully ready in time for it to happen as well. I’ve had two weddings where the first look was scrapped. One was because of an ill-time downpour about an hour before the ceremony, and another because there simply wasn’t enough time. Obviously you have no control over the weather. If I had opted for a first look on my wedding day, we probably wouldn’t have been able to do it because it rained over three inches and there was just nowhere to do it inside!

Pro: Nerves
Nerves - there are a lot of them on a wedding day! I pretty much bawled the entire way down the aisle and I’m going to say 80% of that was just feeling nervous that it was all finally happening. A first look gives you the opportunity to feel some of those nerves ahead of the ceremony. There is no one who makes you feel happier and more at peace than the person you are about to spend the rest of your life with. Let them be there for you and you can be there for them too! Calming the jitters can allow you to feel more present during the ceremony. ​

Con: The Big Moment
I can only imagine how wonderful it is to spend the moments before your wedding ceremony with the one you love, but I can tell you from experience that it is also incredible seeing them for the first time waiting for you at the end of the aisle. I may have been crying, but it was all happiness. If you like big moments that are full of charged emotions, consider skipping the first look. A groom seeing his bride for the very first time as she’s about to walk towards him is a lovely moment that people love to see. What feels high pressure to some, feels momentous to others.

Pro: The Photos
From my perspective as a photographer, this is a big one for me. The photos of first looks are just out of this world. It allows your photographer(s) to get every single angle and every emotion along with it. I’ve never heard a bride regret the photos she gets from her first look. It can be a difficult decision, and if you’re having trouble, maybe this is your deciding factor! The moment plus the extra portraits make it a favorite for photographers everywhere.

Whether you do a first look or not, please know your day is going to be amazing. This is just one moment among many. I loved my wedding day just as much as my best friend who chose to do a first look. We both pour over our photos and love them all. And you will too! You are marrying the love of your life! The rest of the day will fall into place, I promise.