Today I’m sharing the two first looks every bride should do on her wedding day. Plot twist: neither of these first looks are with your groom-to-be! What?!?! Crazy, but stay with me! If you don’t know what a first look actually is, I’ll give the spark notes version. On your wedding day, a first look is when someone sees you in your wedding dress for the first time after you’ve gotten ready. When you hear “first look,” usually people are talking about one with the groom. That’s another story for another day. The two first looks I’ll be talking about today are often overlooked because how are you supposed to know they’re an option if no one ever tells you? These two first looks that every bride should do are the bridesmaids reveal and the daddy-daughter first look!
The Bridesmaids First Look or “Reveal”
In an effort to not over explain, I’ll keep this straight to the point. If you’ve seen photos of this first look on Pinterest, you probably wondered how you could get “candid” photos of your girls seeing you like that. Plot twist again: a surprisingly large amount of “candid” photos on a wedding day are actually staged in some way.
First of all, if you don’t want to miss out on this special first look with your closest friends, then make sure your photographer knows that you want to do a bridesmaids reveal. Sounds silly, but not every photographer knows about this first look and he/she will likely be the person to coordinate revealing you to your bridal party. After you’ve finished getting ready, you’d hide away. This could be in either your getting ready location (after you’ve finished getting ready) or the location where your photographer plans to do wedding party photos (right before you would start wedding party photos).
This reveal can be done a number of ways. Your bridesmaids can be facing the other direction, then turn around to see you. Alternatively, they could use their hands or bouquets to cover their eyes. However you choose to have them see you, it’s most impactful to have everyone standing in one place so your photographer can capture everyone’s reactions at once.
The Daddy-Daughter First Look
This first look is one I wish I knew about for my own wedding day. I know I say it’s a “daddy-daughter” first look, but it can be whatever you want it to be. There are no rules to this first look. This first look is typically with your father because your mother would already be involved in other getting ready photos before the daddy-daughter first look. (Buttoning the wedding dress, helping put on bridal accessories, etc.).
Just like the bridesmaids reveal, this first look would happen before your ceremony. It usually makes the most sense to do a daddy-daughter first look immediately after you finish getting ready with your mother. Then, your father would walk into the room while your photographer is off to the side capturing that moment. Easy peasy and now you have what will likely be the sweetest candid photos of your dad and you!
PRO TIP: your groom can do this first look with his mom/parents, too! Make sure you have a second photographer and his parents know when/where this first look is happening.
Want to read more of our Stormy Bride Tips? Check out these posts:
What It’s Like to be a Stormy Bride
How to Start Planning Your Wedding (Before You’re Even Engaged)
What Every Bride Needs on Her Wedding Day
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