Should I? I mean, I want to but my fiancee is worried about it taking away from the moment of me walking down the isle…

Girl, I get it. I get that you see all these amazing Pinterest moments that you so badly wish were your own. I get it.

When I was planning my wedding, all I could think about is the private little moments my brain would keep for year to come. What am I going to remember that a photograph wouldn’t trigger? Am I going to remember sitting around with my bridesmaids getting ready? What songs we were playing, what clothes they were wearing to make sure it matched for photos? What do I want to remember most from our day?

I wanted to remember the time I had with just us. All I cared about what HOW I was going to FEEL that day vs sticking to a schedule that other people made for me.

It was pouring rain, flooding actually in some areas. I vividly remembering putting on my dress and darting out the door to just see him. I hit the door and my Mother In Law ran with me making sure I didn’t ruin my hair. I didn’t even think of that. My mind was so focused on spending the day with the man who has my whole heart.

When we were planning the wedding, I asked my fiancee at the time what he thought about doing a first look. He was worried about it taking away from seeing me the first time I were to walk down the isle. Being a photographer and knowing that not only did I want those sweet photos of just us, but I wanted the alone time of just us. No one else around. No one else to talk to me. No one else to drag me somewhere and tell me the next step to do. Just me and him for as long as I needed it.

There isn’t a photo of this, so I know it’s jogged in my brain for life, but I remember walking past some of the trees you see in the photos below. I remember looking to my right and seeing him standing there, fidgeting. Throwing his arms to his side and wiggling it out. He was nervous. He was excited, but nervous. I stood there for a hot second just to soak that in. To soak in that he was waiting and nervous for ME. I couldn’t have gotten to his arms fast enough.

I’m so thankful we decided to do it. Not only because I got to spend TIME with him on OUR day, but because he also said it didn’t take away ANYTHING from me walking down the isle. He still cried. I still cried. Still memories we will never forget. We were able to hang out and get prayed over by EVERYONE and pray over each other face to face. My thought was, if I’m getting married, spending all this money on it, dang straight I’m going to be spending the whole day with him and not just a few hours. I want him IN my memories and not just memory stories from other people.

So if you’re debating about doing a first look with your fiancee, my opinion is to just do it. The day is about YOU and not an agenda.

“Im not superstitious, but I’m a little stitious”- Michael Scott. It’s not bad luck. You’re not going to get a divorce because you saw each other before the ceremony. You’re not going to curse your children and their children’s children because you saw each other before the ceremony. NOTHING BAD is going to happen because you two decided to make this day about YOU and what memories YOU wanted to take away from it. At the end of the day, it’s about what you want and the memories you want to store away in your head.

So, ask yourself these questions and then you’ll know if the First Look is meant for you-

1. Are you a non-traditional person who doesn’t care about what others think? As in, your mom or your sisters traditional opinion will not suede you what you want to do.
2. Do you want to spend the whole day hanging out with your fiancee WITH your friends and family?
3. Do you want to get all the bridal party and family photos done before the ceremony, so then you can party on right after to the reception?
4. Do you love the idea of not being pushed into a timeline of events, one after another?

If you answered YES to at least two of these, The First Look is for you.