Why I Recommend Doing A First Look

Getting married is one of the biggest days of your life. You’re making a lifelong commitment in front of all your family and friends and all eyes are on you! There is so much pressure surrounding this special day which means wedding nerves can start to get the best of you.

I know that the week leading up to our wedding flew by and I really wanted to savor my wedding day as something special between me and Michael. Trying to make sure we had moments together that day was one of the reasons we decided to do a first look and I am so glad that we did!

I first fell in love with the idea of doing a first look after seeing the special photographs captured of couples I knew, and it also meant we could do our photos before the wedding and join the party sooner, so it was a win win. I can’t recommend doing a first look enough. I know it isn’t traditional and a lot of people value that one moment where they will see each other for the first time walking down the aisle, but for us, getting to relax, get most of your photos out of the way so you can join the party after, and also sharing that intimate moment was so special!

Our first look ended up being one of my favorite parts of the day. After spending the morning getting ready and the time drawing closer and closer to us walking down the aisle, I was so nervous but so excited to see my fiance one more time before we became husband and wife. I remember driving up to the top of the hill where we were taking pictures to meet him and seeing him standing there facing out towards the sky.

I couldn’t wait to run up and hug him. I had an excited pit in my stomach as I tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around I bit my tongue to try and stop tears welling in my eyes. This was our wedding day! It was happening. All the prep and decisions leading up to our special day were in order and this was our time to soak it in. 

As we hugged and kissed I felt so happy and calm being with Michael. In a couple hours he was going to be my husband. We took photos, laughed, sweated profusely (it was about 95 degrees while we took our photos) and ran to the shade to use our mini fans in between photos.

After we finished our time at the top of the hill we went down to the ceremony site. It was really calming to see everything set up and beautiful just waiting for us. We enjoyed seeing it all without any of the guests there. We finished up by taking photos with our matron of honor and best man and then it was time to relax!

Not only did we have most of our photos out of the way, now we had an hour to all just hang out and get ready for the big show. This hour was one of the highlights of the wedding day. Michael and I sat back with our best friends playing heads up and having a glass of champagne. All my jitters escaped me and I wasn’t nervous at all until I saw my brothers and dad walk in and it was time for Michael to head out.

I remember when my Matron of Honor got married, I was a bridesmaid, and when we pulled up to the church and she saw my brothers (who were ushers) standing outside and she started to cry. She had seen them grow up their whole lives and there they were waiting for her on her big day. That moment stuck with me and when I saw my brothers come in to say hi to me and get ready to walk my mom down the aisle I started to get all emotional too. 

I think I would have been a sobbing mess walking down the aisle and seeing him for the first time that day. It is such an overwhelming feeling stepping out and seeing everyone you love waiting to celebrate you that I was so happy to have had my time with Michael beforehand.

It felt surreal standing up there holding Michael’s hand. Most of the ceremony was a blur except of course for when the priest pronounced our names wrong at the end, but I do remember squeezing Michael’s hand the whole time and smiling bigger than ever before. Now looking back over photos and the video, the images capturing our moment together on top of a hill before everything started are some of my favorites.