Sara, Jessica and I sat down together and made a list of the 10 most common questions we get from couples during our client meetings. Over this blog series we are going to answer all of these questions for you!
The first most common question we get is concern over doing a “First Look.” The “First Look” is growing in popularity with a lot of brides and grooms, but there are still some who have a hard time going against tradition and seeing each other.
We absolutely respect the decision to wait until the ceremony – but there are a few benefits we see for doing a “First Look” and we want our clients to know all the facts before making this very personal decision for themselves.
Here at France Photographers we LOVE the First Look for so many reasons… here are just a few!
1.) It gives us more time to take photos of you two!
Wedding days can be hectic and we love having more than just the hour between ceremony & reception to take your portraits. Because lets face it, after your family formal pictures and a group shot of the bridal party – that hour becomes 30 minutes or less. When you’ve seen each other early in the day, that means we can knock out all of your bridal party pictures and most of your family portraits way in advance! Bridesmaids and Groomsmen LOVE this – because after a long day of photos, they get to head straight over to cocktail hour and start the party!
2.) It relaxes our clients.
We can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard it… “I was so nervous, but now I feel so much better!” Seeing your future spouse for the first time is a BIG moment – it can also be nerve wracking to stand in front of all your friends and family during such an intimate time. The first look is a chance to connect in private before you get in front of your guests.
3.) It won’t make that “walking down the aisle” moment any less special.
We think a lot of apprehension behind doing the first look comes from fear of losing the “oh my god is this really happening!?” feeling while walking down the aisle. In our experience brides and grooms who do a first look aren’t any less emotional or moved by their ceremony than those who wait to see each other (Wow! Can you tell I was a Psychology major or what?!) I think ridding yourself of your nerves before this moment will actually free you up to truly be present and soak everything in – sans nerves!
3.) We get images like these.
A totally private moment between a soon to be husband and wife! The anticipation is palpable and you can feel the excitement, todays the day! You might ask yourself… “How is this a private moment if we have cameras in our faces?” The Answer: You won’t. For first looks we take a step back, put on our loooooong lenses and capture this moment from afar. We let our couples embrace, kiss, cry and talk for as long as they need, and when they’re ready to take their portraits they give us the thumbs up.
Enjoy these images from some of our recent first looks! We love our couples!
xo
France Photographers
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