I will be honest, when it was first suggested for us to do a first look wedding shoot, I was very apprehensive. Having having a second line parade between the ceremony and reception practically forced us to do our wedding portraits before we got married. That meant Gabe would see me hours before we said "I Do" and I thought that would take some of the magic out of the day.
Boy was I wrong. Having a first look was by far one of the best decisions we made on our wedding. I strongly encourage any brides to be to have a first look. Here are my top 5 reasons why a first look is a great idea.
- You have intimate photos of the first time you see each other
- It's just the two of you and your photographer(s) - it felt like the calmness before the storm
- You can have your family photos directly after the first look, allowing more time to spend with guests at the reception
- You have less of a chance of crying at the ceremony
- You can enjoy cocktail hour with your guests vs. taking wedding portraits.
The girls and I had just gotten back from getting our hair and makeup done while the guys were downstairs doing their photos. I was instructed to go on the balcony/veranda of our suite at
Hotel Mazarin because Gabe was on his way up. I was SO SO SO nervous. Here was the first times we saw each other......
This is when Gabe told me I was beautiful and I almost started to cry. At this point, I was super thankful we did the first look because I knew I had less of a chance crying at the ceremony.
Same shot, opposite angle - and it cracks me up - why is he grabbing my arm so hard!?
I have no words for this photo. Apparently I said something really funny.
LOVE
After the first look, we did our family photos and our wedding party photos in the courtyard of Hotel Mazarin. They were setting up for our cocktail party and the only thing I would have changed was for the tables to not be in the photos.
Would you do a first look photo shoot?
Jason was adamant we did not do first looks. At the time, no one else we knew had had a traditional wedding, and so he was sort of old fashioned, which I thought was so sweet then. But for me, the day of ended up being chaotic in ways it shouldn't be for the bride (long story) and I wished we had done a first look, because I know he would have calmed my nerves. But the look on his was was priceless as I walked down the aisle, and the photographers did get that on camera, so we do have that. I love your photos! It looks like a wonderful day :)
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