One of the questions I get asked all the time is whether or not I recommend a first look at your wedding.

And the answer is genuinely different for every couple.

I love a first look. I also love the moment when two people decide to wait and see each other for the first time walking down the aisle.

There is no right answer here. There is only what feels right for the two of you.

What Is a First Look?

A first look is simply a private moment where the two of you see each other before your ceremony.

Usually I’ll get one of you into place, bring the other person in, and then let you have your moment.

I’m obviously there photographing it, but I really want this to feel like time between the two of you. You can hug. Cry. Talk. Laugh. Stand there staring at each other for a minute.

Whatever happens, happens.

Why I Love a First Look at Your Wedding

The biggest reason I love first looks actually has very little to do with the photos.

You get more time together.

Instead of spending most of your wedding day apart, you get to see each other earlier. We can also usually knock out quite a few photos before the ceremony even starts.

That can mean more time at cocktail hour, more time with your friends and family, and less time disappearing for photos later.

It also gives you a few quiet minutes together before everything really gets going.

For some couples, that is exactly what they need.

If you want more time together, want to get some of your photos finished earlier, and love the idea of having a private moment before everything begins, a first look at your wedding might be perfect for you.

What If You Really Want to Wait Until the Ceremony?

Then wait.

Please do not choose a first look just because you think your photographer wants you to.

If you have always pictured seeing each other for the first time when you walk down the aisle, I want you to have that.

We’ll build your timeline around it.

Your wedding should not be designed around making my job easier. My job is to figure out how to give you incredible photos while protecting the experience you actually want.

Does a First Look Ruin the Aisle Moment?

No.

I’ve photographed people crying during their first look who absolutely lose it again when they see each other at the ceremony.

They are completely different moments.

But I also don’t use that as a reason to convince someone to have a first look. If the anticipation of waiting matters to you, that matters more.

So, Should You do a First Look at Your Wedding?

Think less about what you are supposed to do and more about how you want your wedding day to feel.

If you want more time together, want to get some of your photos finished earlier, and love the idea of having a private moment before everything begins, DO THE FIRST LOOK.

If you have dreamed about that walk down the aisle forever, WAIT.

Either way, we’ll make the photography work around you.

That’s really the whole point.

Feel deeply. Celebrate fully.

I’ll take care of the rest.

Planning a wedding in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Northeast Florida, or somewhere that requires me to pack a suitcase? I’d love to hear what you’re planning.

Planning a Jacksonville wedding? I also put together a list of 5 Jacksonville wedding venues to consider for an elevated Florida wedding to help with your planning.