Brides, have you decided that you’re going to have a first look with your fiance on your wedding day? What a great option 🙂 If you haven’t fully decided, check out my main reasons why I always encourage creating time for a first look on your wedding day!

Anyway, now that you’ve decided to do a first look, it’s time to do everything we can to ensure that it goes smoothly. The best way to do that is to work with your photographer on your timeline! They will know exactly how much time to allocate to this part of the day and will give you the best recommendation for when to do it as well. For my couples, I always schedule the first look right after the bride slips on her dress! (For more timeline tips, check out this blog, here!).

Something to consider on your wedding day is whether or not you want your first look to be an intimate moment between you and your fiancé, or if you’re okay that other people watch. Most brides opt to keep it an intimate moment for the two of them (which I always recommend). If that’s the case I have no problem telling everyone else where they should be during the first look so that they don’t interrupt!

My second shooter and I will scout out the perfect spot for your first look and we’ll get your groom in position before bringing you out to see him. This may be counterintuitive, but I recommend not holding onto your flowers for the first look because the first thing you’ll want to do is pull him in for a hug and kiss, and the flowers will most likely get in the way. I also don’t recommend wearing your veil for the first look because it will get pulled out easily when your groom goes in for a hug. It’s also another way to switch up your look for him as you come down the aisle (more on that here!).

If you want both your flowers and veil for pictures (we’ll always use your flowers for the pictures, but your veil is totally optional!), I recommend having your maid of honor in charge of bringing out your flowers about 5-10 minutes after your first look so that we can have them for our portrait time together.

Overall, the best way to have a smooth first look is to not have any expectations. Don’t expect it to happen at a specific time, in a specific place, or that he’ll have a specific reaction. I would encourage you to live in the moment and just take it allllll in. You won’t regret it!