First Looks - Why Will Greene Photography Highly Recommends One

Hey guys! I can’t believe it, but wedding season starts up this weekend and we simply can’t believe it’s time to jump back in full-force. Before I started writing this post, I took a second to look at our spring calendar. While it’s a bit daunting, we are so excited to get back into the swing of things! As of right now, we have 4 weddings in March, 7 in April, 7 in May, and 7 in June! Wow, that’s a lot of editing ahead of us! But also a lot of fun memories to capture as we help our couples celebrate! Over the last few years, Will and I have captured in the ballpark of 40 weddings per year. That means we’ve seen a lot of things and have learned to navigate some difficult situations. Weddings are ALWAYS a good thing, but they rarely go perfectly as planned. Whether it’s pouring down rain, the party bus forgot to put you on their calendar and didn’t arrive to get your bridesmaids to the photo site, hair and make up are running wildly behind, or your mom has managed to lock her dress in the bathroom (yes these are all real situations), we strive to always make the best of any situation. Will and I hope we are a calming presence when things don’t go exactly as planned.

Over our years of experience, the one thing that we have seen time and time again to help the wedding day go more smoothly is a first look before the ceremony. Before I even begin my spiel on the matter of first looks, please know that Will and I will ALWAYS respect your final decision on whether or not to participate in a first look. Your wedding celebration only happens once and we want to make sure it’s exactly what you’ve always dreamed of. Say the words that you are 100% not interested, and we promise to not bring it up ever again. But if you were wondering why it’s one of the first questions we ask during an initial consultation, it’s because we feel like first looks are a secret to making the day easier on everyone and we want the whole world to know our secret.

So without further ado, here’s a few reasons why many couples love the concept of a first look:

1 - A first look allows the couple to spend more of the day together. Following tradition means that a couple actually spends very little of their wedding day together. When I look back on my wedding day, so much of the day was spent stressing with hair/make-up and pre-ceremony photos. When it was finally time to walk down the aisle, I REALLY wanted to talk to Will. I wanted to tell him about my day so far - the good moments and the stressful moments. I wanted to tell him it was okay that he was crying and I wanted to hug him. When we finally recessed down the aisle, we jumped straight into family portraits, signing the marriage license, and greeting guests. Ya’ll, it was literally when we got into our car at the end of the evening that I finally felt like it was truly just the two of us and we had time to chat. The wedding day is such a WHIRLWIND and we always advocate for our brides and grooms to spend as much of the day together as possible.

2- Relaxed formal portrait time. Unless you have been married before, I’m not sure there is anyway to prepare yourself for how hectic the hour after the ceremony is. No matter how many times you have warned your family not to leave the ceremony site so that they can be present for photos, SOMEONE is going to wander off to greet someone “real quick” or to grab a drink. Ya’ll, it happens EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And no matter how carefully you planned your list of family formal photos, another family member is going to have an idea that may not necessarily fit your vision/timeline. The worst part of this time for us as photographers is that once family has made their request for photos, they often forget that the bride and groom need 10-15 minutes of photos of just the two of them. Those family members often start to remind everyone involved what time it is and what needs to get done. By scheduling a first look into the day, you’ll have the majority of your family formal portraits done while everyone is still attentive. You won’t feel rushed to get to the reception to greet guests. Everyone around you will respect that time as “photo time” and will save other small tasks for when you are finished.

3- You get to enjoy more of the cocktail hour and reception. Guys, real talk here… weddings are expensive. We want you to enjoy every moment possible. We are huge advocates for our couples enjoying at least a portion of cocktail hour. This time is so important to allow the couple to greet their guests. Again, the wedding day goes by in such a whirlwind and not every guest will stay for the entire event. By joining on cocktail hour, our couples are able to jump right into dancing after dinner. If all goes as planned with the scheduling of the first look, we’’ll only need about 10-15 minutes for photos of extended family immediately after the ceremony, allowing the couple about 45 minutes to mingle during cocktail hour.

4- You’ll get more photos! On a traditional wedding day with no first look, we have at most an hour tops for photos after the ceremony. Most weeks we are asked to clip that timeframe down to 30-45 minutes, which leaves very little time for exploring the property. With no first look, we typically find ourselves taking wedding party photos and couples’ portraits in the same spot to shave off time to get everyone more quickly to the reception. So you’ll have a bigger variety in photo locations when scheduling a first look. We’ll also have a bit more time, which means you often receive >150 posed, formal photos of you and your new spouse. Without a first look, that number may dwindle down to 30-50 couples’ portraits.

5- If it rains, we have a more relaxed setting to capture your photos. Ya’’ll, there is nothing worse than being at a venue that hosts the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all in the same space while it is raining. It is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to capture family, wedding party, and couple’s portraits after the ceremony with the DJ entertaining guests during cocktail hour. It is literally our worst case scenario for a wedding day. In these scenarios, if the couple plans a first look prior to the ceremony, their couples’ portraits can be completed before the space is filled with people. On a rainy day, a first look also gives us a bigger window of time to sneak the portraits in while there is a break in the rain. Or, by scheduling a first look, photos can often be completed BEFORE those afternoon thunderstorms roll in.

With all of this being said, I just want to reiterate once again that we will NEVER pressure you into agreeing to a first look. We know just how personal the decision is. And there are some situations that see very little benefit from a first look.

Scenarios where we DO NOT push for a first look:

-Catholic ceremonies with a traditional break (generally 2-3 hours) between ceremony and reception

-Early afternoon ceremonies.

-No bridal party

Scenarios when a first look is MOST helpful:

-When the wedding party is >10 combined bridesmaids and groomsmen

-When >250 guests are expected

-After we set our clocks back in the fall OR the ceremony time leaves us with <1 hour of sunlight for photos

-When the ceremony and reception are at different locations

-When the couple has large families

Concerns brides often have for choosing a first look:

1- Groom won’t cry. Ya’ll can I be completely and totally honest with you guys? Either a man is going to cry when he sees his bride or he’s not. We’ve seen grooms cry at both the first look AND when his bride comes down the aisle. And we’ve seen grooms stand there stone-faced during both situations. Our best advice? Go into the moment with realistic expectations. You may not get the happy tears you’re hoping for, but we always see lots of emotion in the few minutes following the first look.

2- Hair/Make-up need to be done quite early in the day. BUTTTT only for the bride, her mother, and the maid of honor (for the getting dressed shots). The rest of your girls can finish with hair and make-up while you are doing the first look and knocking some couples and family photos out.

3- More people will see the dress pre-ceremony. We push to get as many photos as possible done before the ceremony, but we still have a rule of thumb for ourselves to have the bride tucked away at least 45 minutes-1 hour before the ceremony. This also gives you a time to relax before the ceremony (either together or separately).

4- Everyone will “watch” the first look. We HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend making the first look a private moment. Will and I have no problem being the “bad guy” and taking the blame for making sure the moment remains an intimate one.

So if you’ve made it this far, I hope I’ve convinced you of some of the benefits of having a first look on your schedule. Will and I believe in it so much that we offer an additional hour of coverage free of charge to our couples that have a first look. If we’re being honest, it makes our day a bit easier, but we truly believe that there are countless benefits to the bride and groom as well. But the note that I hope to leave you with is that the first look has always and always will be our couple’s choice!