Wedding Tip Wednesday
As I am approaching my 10 year business anniversary, I realize that I know so many things about weddings! So to share the good stuff that I have learned along the way, I am writing a wedding tip Wednesday tip blog post!
First up – Let’s talk about first looks!
This is a common decision that couples are faced with – “should we see each other before the ceremony?”
Before you decide on anything – you will want to know the original tradition of why it is considered bad luck (don’t worry – it’s not!) for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. Long story short – weddings were an arranged business transaction between a father and a groom. The father did not want the groom to back out from his decision if he did not think the bride was attractive (enter in – wedding veils). Yikes – what a wacky tradition!!
So here are 3 tips that I’ve seen throughout the years of benefits of doing a first look. These might actually surprise you!
#1 – You Spend More Of The Day Together
By seeing each other before your wedding ceremony you get to spend more time together on your wedding day. If your ceremony starts at 5pm and your reception ends at 9pm – that is only 4 hours together! Now if you saw each other at 1pm instead – that would give you 4 more hours together. That is 8 hours! Thats double the time! And I don’t know about you, but I love me some quality time. The more time the better!
#2 – Less Jitters
So this was a big reason that I choose to do a first look when my husband and I got married. If you think that you might be a little nervous on your wedding day, I completely think you should consider doing a first look. With so many weddings that I’ve photographed, I can’t tell you how many times that the bride and groom were both so nervous (especially the groom) that they were unable to relax and enjoy their day until they saw each other. That could be half of your wedding spent feeling queasy. (ya’ll…I’ve seen a lot of wedding day pepto-bismol) I’ve seen SO many couples immediately lose their wedding nerves when they see each other at their first look. It’s enough times to let you know about! This is a real thing! I’ll also add….seeing each other does not take away from the “big moment” of walking down the aisle. Believe me….here is my husbands face when he saw me walking down the aisle. We did a first look and I was so surprised by his emotional reaction. Totally worth it!
#3 – More Photos & A Relaxed Timeline
When you see each other before the ceremony, you have more time to spend taking pictures. If you’ve ever attended a wedding and the couple disappears and takes pictures after the ceremony – they can seem like they are gone for so long! Which is mainly because they are taking ALL of their wedding photos (bridal party, family, bride & groom photos) all within the cocktail hour time. That is a lot of pictures to take within 1 hour! By doing a first look, you are taking a majority of the photos before the ceremony. So not only do you get more time, but you are not rushed to get them done within an hour. More like 2-3 hours! Big difference!! This creates a more relaxed photography timeline and experience! And more time for photos = more photos!
Whatever you decide, it should reflect what you want on your wedding day! And as a photographer, i’m happy to make sure that your wedding day goes smoothly as possible (first look or not) I am here to capture the happiest memories that you can always look back on.
If you are unsure what you should choose, i’d love to chat with you! Send me a message here. I’d love to hear from you! – Audrey
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