The Otter's First Look

Like many bees before me, I want to talk about the (in)famous the first look. Not too long ago, Miss Blue Whale talked about why she ISN'T doing a first look. The very next day, Miss Gloves talked about why she IS doing a first look. One of the many great things about the bee is that we get to see all different kinds of weddings, points of view, and reasons why brides choose to include or not include certain plans or traditions in their wedding.

So, with that being said, yes - the Otters are doing a first look.

Photo via Stacy Able Photography blog / Photo by Stacy Able Photography

Photo via Stacy Able Photography blog / Photo by Stacy Able Photography

(And confession: this is one of the weddings that I interned at, so while you can't see me in the photos, I walked behind Elya as she left the building to see her groom..... and then I shamelessly stood with her family while they watched Brandon and Elya see each other for the first time that day. It was magical!)

Photo via Stacy Able Photography blog / Photo by Stacy Able Photography

Photo via Stacy Able Photography blog / Photo by Stacy Able Photography

The decision to do a first look was easy for me. There were three factors that I considered: that we wanted private moments throughout the day, that I'm an ugly crier, and more practically, for time efficiency. 

The private moment idea speaks for itself I think. While I love the photos of a groom seeing his bride walking down the aisle, I really don't think that anything can take away the magic of that moment. Walking down the aisle to marry the person you love is magic enough, and I know that it will still be special even if we have already spent time together that day. So tradition didn't stop us from considering a first look.

Ugly criers, raise your hands. *hands raised* I really don't want to walk down the aisle ugly crying. Does that make me vain? Probably. But I want to look how I feel - happy, excited, in love. Not like I can't stop sobbing! To help avoid those tears, and to allow time for makeup touch ups after I inevitably ugly cry after seeing Mr. O, a first look makes sense. 

And last but not least: I want to enjoy as much of our reception as possible! There are a few guests that I want photos with immediately following the ceremony, but considering the size of our group, Stacy has assured us that more than likely, we'll be able to get all of our photos done prior to the ceremony. This will allow us to get those shots with a few certain family members, and then head straight in to our reception without missing too much time with our guests!

So for us, the first look makes sense. We've even planned to have it be just us and our photographers, with everyone else arriving shortly after we've finished our first look and portraits. I can't wait! :) 

For those of you also doing a first look, what made you decide to do one?