Hey babes! We’re back with another #WeddingWednesday, this week talking all about the pros of doing a first look on your big day!

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Now, believe me when I say, I was so against doing a first look. I had always imagined that on my wedding day the first time Jesse would see me was when I would walk down the aisle. I wanted that moment to be so special. Now, this was the case for us until about two weeks prior to our big day! Two weeks before the wedding, my photographer calls me and tells me there’s no way we would be able to get all of the photos we wanted done from the time the ceremony ended to the start of the reception… so I had to do some serious thinking. Let me tell you, I was BUMMED. I really didn’t want to do a first look because I wanted that aisle moment to be special. At the end of the day, I wanted my time with Jesse to be special AND I wanted to make sure we got all of our pictures taken care of so we wouldn’t miss a thing! After discussing it with Jesse, we decided to do the first look and we are both so glad we did! It was probably one of the best decisions we could have made. If you’re on the fence about a first look, I put together a list of pros that might help you make up your mind before you make the final decision!

• You and your significant other get to see each other for the first time without anyone else around, besides your photographer and videographer of course. If your man is anything like Jesse, he hates attention and gets super nervous. I knew that if we did the first look, Jesse’s reaction would be more genuine and authentic because it was JUST US! There weren’t any other distractions around him. Plus, you two get to enjoy that moment together for as long as you’d like and soak in all the feelings during that time. That time was so special and intimate for us and I would tell all brides to do the same thing. You won’t have another moment like that on your wedding day.

• Your timeline will thank you… Leading up to the big day I was so stressed about the timeline because I was so nervous with the amount of pictures that needed to be taken between us, our families and our bridal party. We both have very large families and we each had eight bridesmaids and groomsmen so there was a lot of people to coordinate. I can honestly say that doing the first look made all of this SO easy. We were able to get all of our bridal party and family pictures taken care of before the ceremony which was so helpful! After the ceremony was over, we even were able to go into the bridal suite to enjoy a few moments together as husband + wife before we had to go back out for the rest of our portraits together. It was amazing! Even my dad kept saying me how much he loved the timeline and the photographer because everything flowed super easy and didn’t cause any stress on their part.

• A first look does NOT take away the moment you walk down the aisle. As I mentioned before that was super important to me, but the reality is, your husband will still be thrilled to see you walking down that aisle because there’s major significance behind that. That moment is a totally separate moment from your first look and it’s still just as special! Trust me, Jesse cried like a baby and I had nothing but a big smile on my face. Both moments are truly something you will remember forever. Plus, you can save a few items for the walk down the aisle, like your vail and bouquet! I didn’t wear those during the first look because I still wanted to leave some sort of surprise!

• When you share the pictures, no one will know you even did a first look if that’s what you’re worried about! This was big for me because I had a few people throughout the planning process telling me not to do a first look, saying “we’d regret it.” At the end of the day, no one will know the timeline of the photos that were taken except you an your husband and who cares anyway! All of your photos will still be beautiful and you will remember your first look for the rest fo your life!

Looking back on our special day and even in that moment, deciding to do a first look was definitely the right choice for us. We loved it and if we were to do it all over again, we would do the first look every single time! It really was such a special moment between us and I know we won’t ever forget it.

If you are planning your own wedding or are helping a friend and need advice, please reach out to us! I would love to offer some help throughout the process. We hope you all enjoyed this #WeddingWednesday and we can’t wait to keep sharing our insights throughout the coming weeks. 

As always, be sure to follow us on Instagram @tallglassoffashion. We’ll see you there!

XOXO Kell & Mak