The Benefits of Doing A First Look On Your Wedding Day

I love when couples choose to do a first look before their wedding ceremony. I have found more and more couples are choosing to do this, especially this year. Below you will find some reasons why as a Toronto wedding planner I recommend including a first look on your wedding day.

Five Reasons To Do A First Look

1. Allows you to see each other in your wedding attire privately

This is especially nice if you are not a fan of being the center of attention or around large crowds. The rest of your wedding day will probably feel like it goes pretty quickly. Doing a first look allows you to step back and enjoy all the hard work you have put into planning this day and remember what brought you to this point.

2. Gives you time to exchange personal vows

A lot of couples will choose this time to share more personal vows or letters to each other. Make sure someone has kleenex nearby as I find 90% of the time someone will cry happy and loving tears. It is such a sweet and romantic moment to capture between the couple.

3. Makes your wedding day timeline less rushed

If you have a lot of photos to do after your ceremony, it can be a bit of a rush process to get through them all. You may not feel like you can enjoy every moment or you may get interrupted by guests wanting to share your well wishes. This is another great reason to do a first look and incorporate that into your couples photo session so you don't feel so rushed.

4. A special moment to share with other people

Doing a first look doesn't just have to with your partner. The first look can be done with your parents, a child, or even a pet. I have seen a few couples choose to do a first look with their kids and the parents reaction to their kid(s) all dressed up is absolutely precious. The love and emotion you can see, is just incredible. You will be thankful when you see those photos.

5. Provides a less structured opportunity for portraits

With the pandemic, couples were limited in terms of what you could and couldn't do in regards to everyone's health and safety. Depending on the rules at the time, couple portraits may have been the only ones you really could do. I think many people did see how nice that opportunity was to have that intimate moment and many couples have continued with it especially when sharing photos with their friends and family.

Intimate vow exchange at Toronto wedding

How to incorporate a first look into your wedding day

If you’re considering having a first look as part of your wedding day, I recommend speaking to your Toronto wedding planner and wedding photographer. Your photographer will help you decide on an outdoor and indoor location just in case the weather throws a kink in your plans.

Your wedding planner will help you plan the logistics around your first look and be a liaison with the photographer. Some important things to consider are how you will get to the location without seeing each other, ensuring that your partner and photographer are in place for when you arrive and how you will communicate with the photographer if anything changes.

If you are concerned about bringing all the details of your Toronto wedding together, I would love to chat about how I can help! I offer a number of different services and packages and would love to find the right one for you and your fiancé. So, head on over to my contact page and fill out an inquiry form to get the process started!