For those who may not be familiar with the term, a First Look is when a bride and groom opt to see each other prior to the ceremony. DON'T LEAVE THE PAGE JUST YET! All too often, brides hear this term and immediately reject the idea, and while it's not for everyone, I believe all brides should be educated on the benefits of opting to see each other before the walk down the aisle.

Josh and I did not do a First Look, as I was insistent on him seeing me for the very first time as I walked down the aisle, and while that was wonderful, I've learned that it is just as, if not even more, special having your groom see you in an intimate moment without a huge audience. The really surprising thing about it is that even when a couple has a First Look, the groom still gets emotional seeing his bride walk down the aisle to him. The fact of the matter is, now that we are working in the wedding industry and have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, we have wished many times that we had chosen to have those precious few moments alone before the wedding.

I, too, used to think that First Looks were only for couples who had no appreciation for tradition, but what I've found is that couples in all shapes and sizes opt to see one another prior to the festivities. We've had very traditional and conservative couples, as well as much more modern couples looking to shake things up a little, elect for a First Look. Let's get real - breaking tradition isn't going to bring 9 years of bad luck on your marriage, and while we agree that parents, who often hold tight to tradition, are a very important and special part of your day, it is, in fact, your day and if in the end, you're happy, they'll be happy, too.

Which brings me to this week's Friday Five... 5 Reasons to Consider a First Look.

1. A First Look allows the bride and groom to spend some quality time alone on the wedding day. Let me give you some insight as a past bride - without a First Look, you don't get even 5 minutes to speak to and spend time with your groom alone on the wedding day. In the hustle and bustle of the day's activities and being shuffled from one photo op to another, there is very little time left to enjoy the moment together without being surrounded by a group of people. We usually set aside at least 45 minutes for a First Look to allow the two of you plenty of time together.

"I decided to do a first look mainly because I thought it was a wonderful idea to take a second out from that important day and just connect with your honey and love on each other before the mayhem began! Adrian agreed and as usual after he reflected on it he loved it!" - Kamisha, married June 2012 at the Loft at Union Square, High Point, NC

2. A First Look allows you to go straight from ceremony to reception without keeping your guests waiting. Without a First Look, the typical time between the end of the ceremony and the couple arriving at the reception is around one hour, and can be even longer if the bride needs a makeup touch-up after the ceremony (face the fact that you might shed a tear or two during the wedding) or if your ceremony and reception are taking place at different venues. When our couples do a First Look, we create a timeline that allows us to photograph the bridal party, family, and bride and groom ALL before the ceremony even takes place. Then, we'll typically pull the bride and groom out of the reception for about 15 minutes at sunset to get those beautiful dusk photographs. That means no rushing through photos and no guests waiting for you to make your big entrance! A First Look is an especially great idea if your ceremony will be ending within an hour of sunset in order to allow plenty of time for outdoor portraits before it gets dark.

"I especially enjoyed the way they arranged our "first look"... it was so special!" - Ashley, married November 2011 at Briar Hill Baptist Church, Florence, MS

3. Couples who do a First Look typically have more photographs. This goes along with what I mentioned above, but when a bride and groom are taking photos before the ceremony, we are able to allocate more time for beautiful, magazine-worthy photos of the new Mr. and Mrs. We sometimes set aside as much as an hour for the First Look itself and portraits of the bride and groom. The typical amount of time for portraits for couples not doing a First Look is only 20 minutes.

4. A First Look calms a nervous bride... or groom. It's normal to be a little nervious or anxious on your wedding day, and for most brides, the cure for that is seeing your handsome hunny. Seeing him a couple of hours before the ceremony means a couple of hours less stress for you. After a First Look, you can go through the day feeling confident, beautiful, and just as happy as you should be on your special day!

"I was so nervous about seeing Jason. If I had waited until everyone was watching, I probably would have exploded. As it was, I got to see him at noon, just me and him, with my daddy holding my dress, and our family watching from the windows. Very special and private." - Nancy, married December 2011 at the Rogers-Green House, Laurel, MS

5. Couples who do a First Look have more freedom of location and more control over the setting. Because a First Look makes the schedule a bit more flexible, a bride can choose to see her groom for the first time at a different location than the ceremony venue. Having a church wedding and a ballroom reception, but really want photos in a downtown setting or at the family's farm? We can usually arrange that, as long as it is within a 20-30 minute drive of your ceremony location. Also, YOU have control over the setting for your First Look. Some couples choose to be completely alone in the intimate moment when they see each other for the first time, while others choose to have the bridal party or family looking on. Recently, we had a bride's father escort her to her groom during the First Look. It's really all about what you want!

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As I hope most of you have seen, I posted earlier this week with images from a recent styled wedding shoot I did in Nashville. So, I thought for this week's Friday Five, I would give you some really good reasons for organizing your own styled shoot and tips for doing so. Much of the information here will apply to all wedding vendors, so feel free to read on you wedding planners, florists and bakers!

One question I've heard alot of lately, especially from those not in the wedding industry, is what exactly is a styled wedding shoot? A styled wedding shoot is not an actual wedding, but rather kind of a mock wedding scene, usually focusing on reception details, and created by wedding vendors, often from their own inspiration and to provide inspiration to others. I realize this isn't going in the Webster's dictionary anytime soon, but hopefully, it will give you a bit of an idea.

Now that you know what we're talking about, here are my top five reasons for organizing one of your own:

1. It gives you the chance to practice without the pressure of a real wedding. Try out some new poses. Practice some lighting tips you learned in a recent workshop. Get used that brand new lens. Work different angles. Don't just go through the same motions you normally do on a wedding day. Use this opportunity to prepare for your next real wedding.

2. It allows you to connect with other vendors. Networking could possibly be the most important reward of coordinating or participating in a styled shoot. You build relationships. Relationships are necessary to grow your business. And everyone benefits from a styled wedding shoot. Your fellow vendors get images to use on their websites and promotional materials, you get great images of their products and designs to use in your portfolio, and you all exchange business cards and refer future clients to one another. And maybe even make some new friends in the process. Win. Win. Win.

3. You can create a styled shoot with little to no money. But it does take some time. You may email five florists before you hear back from one that is interested. Seriously, folks. The good news is that many other wedding vendors are willing to contribute their products or services in exchange for your images and the networking opportunity. For our recent styled shoot, we were able to get the cakes, the design service, the dress, the suit, the jewelry, the venue, the stationery, and the hair and makeup styling at no cost. Most of the money spent went into the decor (and most of it was DIY with items from Hobby Lobby).

4. It gives you the opportunity to photograph the kind of wedding you want to photograph. Jasmine Star talks about photographing t-ball weddings like world series weddings. The idea is that if you want to photograph the world series weddings, you have to start photographing the t-ball weddings like they are the world series. This is your chance to create your own world series style. What is your dream wedding to photograph? What are the colors, the theme, the venue? What do the bride and groom look like? What kind of dress does she wear? If you haven't gotten that wedding yet, why not create it yourself?

5. It's a great opportunity for publication. Although some blogs and magazines prefer only real weddings, many will consider styled wedding shoots, or at least individual detail images, for publication. Try doing something different, something you haven't already seen a million times in all the magazines and on all the blogs. You're more likely to stand out from other submissions.

If you're now convinced and are ready to go out and organize your own styled shoot, here are just a few tips that I've learned along the way:

Plan in advance. Start contacting vendors that you would like to participate 4-6 weeks before you plan to have the styled shoot. Choose a date during the week, preferably Tuesday - Thursday. Weekends are a no-no, as you and your fellow vendors likely have weddings. Fridays are spent on last minute preparations for those weddings and Mondays are spent recovering.
When contacting vendors to participate, whether by phone or by email, always let them know how they are going to benefit from participating. Many people may not even realize that their participation with help them unless you tell them.
Be sure to clearly communicate your design ideas to any and all vendors you are working with. You want everyone to be on the same page.
If you are going to use a wedding dress or suit, try to find local designers in your area. It's much easier to get a dress from an actual designer than it is to get one from a massive dress shop.
Need models? Check out ModelMayhem. You can narrow down the selection of models in your geographic location by age, dress size, height, hair color, etc.
Be sure to check the submission requirements of the blogs or magazines you plan to submit to for publication. Most of the time, you can only submit to one at a time, as they do not want work duplicated in different blogs or print. Some publications, especially print, require that you do not even post the shoot on your personal blog until after it has been published.
Use Pinterest as a place to organize your styled shoot ideas. I've talked about my love of Pinterest before, and the obsession just keeps growing. Step out of the box - don't just pin other people's wedding photos and details for inspiration. Pin anything from a room that you like the color scheme of for a shoot to a skirt that's made of just the right fabric for the linens. Be creative.
Always thank anyone and everyone who has helped you with the styled shoot. A sincere, handwritten thank you goes a long way.

I hope you all have enjoyed this week's Friday Five and gotten some great inspiration for your own styled shoot!

Happy Friday, y'all!

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5 reasons to opt for a first look :: greensboro wedding photographer

the friday five - styled shoots :: nashville wedding photographer