Some of you may have ready my other post about why you should HAVE a first look. But for the sake of presenting both sides, I wanted to talk about the benefits to skipping the first look. Selfishly as the photographer I love first looks.

My husband and I were talking about our wedding (we did not do a first look) and how special it was to see each other for the first time as I walked down the aisle. I won’t ever forget as I started walking down the aisle with my dad and I saw Kyle waiting for me at the altar. At one point welling up with emotion he turned around (basically saying this is almost too good to bare!) And my heart was full.

The main reason to skip the first look is tradition. And I’m not talking “It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding” tradition. If you value and understand the symbolism of the wedding ceremony then you will also value skipping the first look! So lets take a quick peak into the tradition of the ceremony.

* The origin of not seeing the bride before the wedding goes back to when arranged marriages were more commonly business deals between families. The father of the bride would want his daughter to marry into a rich/land-owning family. The bride would wear a thick veil and not meet the groom before the wedding. The bride’s face was only revealed at the last possible second to ensure it was too late for the groom to back out once he saw the bride’s face.  

Now a days arranged marriages are not as common. The bride walking down the aisle with her father (or someone who represents her house) symbolizes the woman leaving her parents house/covering to unite with your husband. There is a lot of significance and depth in this symbolism that makes it more powerful when the bride and groom see each other for the first time on the wedding day as the bride walks down the aisle.

I know that if Kyle and I would’ve had a first look, the moment when I walked down the aisle to meet him, would not have been as special.

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