If I Could Do It All Again…. | Wedding Planning Resource
If I could go back to mine and Michael’s wedding there is one thing I’d for sure do differently! (And I’d one thousand percent, hands down, DEFINITELY marry the same man! That was the best choice ever!) 😉 But if there’s one thing that I know now–especially as a wedding photographer–it’s this…
Doing a first look drastically changes so many small areas of your wedding! Trust me, I know how special it was that we had our first look down the isle (it was so sweet) but here are a few things that would have changed our wedding had we done a first look:
1) A Private Time for the Two of Us
So many of my couples choose to do a first look and what I love about it is that they get time to enjoy just the two of them before the rush of the day hits. They get to hug, pray together, cry, take in everything they are about to do and commit to–together. And it’s incredible! Our wedding was a dream (because I married my dream man), but had we done a first look I think there would have been more sweet moments we would have gotten to share instead of only getting to be together at just the alter and reception.
2) Eliminate the Stress
When everything was counting on one moment in the day–Michael’s look as I walked down the isle & me actually walking down the isle, it adds more stress. For the couple and for the photographer. But had we chosen to do a first look it would have put all our nerves at ease!
3) Have More Time for Portraits
We had an outdoor ceremony with our first look down the isle. As the ceremony was concluding the Colorado temperatures began to drop and the afternoon thunderstorms began looking pretty daunting! We had our first kiss, then rushed to do family portraits & then had just enough time to sneak in bride and groom portraits before both the heavens opened and we were to be back at our reception (Crazy story! Ask me about it sometime!) Looking back, had we decided on a first look we would have eliminated that stress and allowed for so many more pictures of just Michael and I–which, I’ll argue, are my hands down favorite images and the only ones we have printed and framed in our home.
So if you’re a bride beginning to plan your wedding, these are just a few thoughts to ponder as I reflect on my own wedding! And as always, there’s no right or wrong!!!