First Look Photos: What They Are and Whether They're Right for Your Wedding
A first look is pretty much what it sounds like. You and your partner get five or ten minutes before the ceremony to see each other properly, without the aisle, without a hundred people watching, before any of that starts.
There's an old superstition attached to it, bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, all that. I get asked about it a lot, usually somewhere between "should we do a first look" and "will it ruin the moment at the ceremony." So let's actually talk about it properly, instead of me just telling you it's a great idea and moving on.
Megan and Rhys did one at Chateau Elan out in the Hunter Valley a couple of years back, and it's still the gallery I pull up when someone asks what a first look actually looks like in practice. Rhys had his back to her, hands jammed in his pockets, doing that thing where you're trying really hard to look relaxed and it's not quite working. I said "turn around" and that was it. No speeches, no crowd, just the two of them figuring out how to stand next to each other again for a second.
Small, honestly. That's kind of the point.
Why bother doing it at all
The obvious answer is privacy. You get a version of that moment that's just yours, not performed in front of anyone. But the bit people don't think about as much until I explain it is the timeline. If you do your couple portraits after the ceremony, you're squeezing them in somewhere between confetti and canapés, alongside family photos and bridal party photos, while everyone's hungry and the light's disappearing. Do them before, and none of that pressure exists. You walk into your reception already having had a real moment together instead of your first proper hello happening in front of a hundred people holding drinks.
And nerves. I've had more than one groom tell me the first look is the point where he actually calmed down. Not the ceremony. The first look.
It's genuinely fine to skip it
I'm not going to pretend there's only one right answer here, because there isn't. Some couples want that first proper look to happen at the end of the aisle, with everyone watching, because that's the version of the moment they've pictured. If that's you, don't let anyone talk you out of it, least of all me.
The only bad version of this is doing a first look because you feel like you're supposed to, not because you actually want it.
If you do want one
A few practical things. Give it more time than you think, thirty minutes minimum once you count walking up, the moment itself and a couple of photos straight after while you're still in it. Pick somewhere at the venue with a bit of privacy; most places have a courtyard or a garden corner that works, and your venue coordinator will usually know exactly where before you even ask. And tell your photographer what you actually want out of it, fully private with just the two of you, or comfortable having family close by for photos right after. Both are fine. It just helps to decide ahead of time instead of working it out on the day.
One more version of it worth knowing about. Some couples do a first look with a parent instead of, or as well as, their partner. Usually it's a dad seeing his daughter in her dress for the first time. I've shot a few of these now and they get me every time, more than most of the actual ceremony does if I'm honest.
If you're not sure yet, that's fine too. It's exactly the kind of thing we talk through when we're building your timeline, alongside family photos, light, and generally how you want the day to feel rather than how it's supposed to look on paper. Get in touch and we'll figure it out together.
It doesn't have to be just the couple
Some couples build in a first look with a parent as well, most often a dad seeing his daughter in her dress for the first time. It works the same way. A few quiet minutes before the day gets busy, just the two of them, away from everyone else.
I've shot a handful of these now. There's usually a stretch of about ten seconds where the dad's face goes through about six different things before he manages a sentence. I don't say much in that moment. There's nothing to say. I just stay far enough back to not be in the way and let it happen.
If you want to do one, treat it the same as the couple's first look on your timeline. Give it its own slot rather than squeezing it in somewhere between two other things, and decide beforehand whether you want it just the two of them or whether the rest of the bridal party's nearby waiting to see the dress too.
If you're not sure yet, that's fine too. It's exactly the kind of thing we talk through when we're building your timeline, alongside family photos, light, and generally how you want the day to feel rather than how it's supposed to look on paper. Get in touch and we'll figure it out together.
