In wedding photography, the first look is that beautifully authentic moment when a groom first lays eyes on his bride. Usually occurring before the ceremony, it’s a quiet moment filled with anticipation and emotion. Dressed in white and with her hair and makeup done to perfection, the bride is a vision. While the first look can be scheduled for a number of different reasons, for instance to calm pre-wedding jitters or so that the couple can save time by taking pre-wedding shots, lately it’s become a growing trend to photograph it. While some may argue against this, like wedding photographer Susan Stripling who wrote on FStoppers, “Brides are expecting their grooms to shake and cry when they see them for the first time – and this rarely happens in real life, no matter how deeply the groom loves his future wife,” the romantic in you might see things a little differently, especially when you see these pictures.
Today, we’ve brought together our own list of favorite first look moments. The expressions on the grooms’ faces are priceless and you can’t help but want to wish a lifetime of happiness to each of the hope-filled couples.
As photographer Nguyen Le said about couple Bryant and Tra, who she shot, “Bryant started off the first look like many others. He was laughing and and still joking with the bridal party as Tra made her way down the tunnel to greet him. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around and hugged her, and at that moment he started to cry, and said to to her, ‘You look so beautiful!’ It was the most sweetest and endearing first look I’ve ever witnessed that caused the whole bridal party including myself to be in tears.”
Above photo credit: Michelle Newell Photography
Photo: Marni Rothschild Pictures
Photo: Andria Lindquist
Photo: Stella Uys
Photo: Simply Bloom Photography
Photo: April + Paul
Photo: Onelove Photography
Photo: Figlewicz Photography
Photo: Nguyen Le
Photo: Fixed Focal Photography
Photo: Andria Lindquist
Photo: Joe Elario Photography