Last week, I talked about some factors that make a first look a great choice.  The first look helps create a more relaxed wedding day and gives you time together.
However, it’s not for everyone.  Traditional wedding schedules can also be wonderful and low stress, as long as you plan carefully.  For those brides and grooms who want to create a more traditional wedding day and see each other for the first time walking down the aisle, here are a few things to keep in mind. The most important factor to consider is the timeline.  Many important wedding portraits include both the bride and groom.  If you choose not to do a first look, all of those photos must to be taken after the ceremony.  This means that you need to plan enough time after the ceremony for all of the photos to be taken before the sun sets.  You should also include a little bit of wiggle room, in case something goes unavoidably wrong and pushes your ceremony back.It may seem obvious, but some brides fail to consider the sunset time on their wedding day.  As a result, they don’t build enough time into their post-ceremony schedule before sunset.  Sunset is not negotiable, and once it hits, there’s nothing a photographer or anyone else can do to change it.  I can setup lighting and do after dark portraits, but they won’t have the same light and airy look as photos taken during the day.  When brides don’t catch the mistake until after the wedding invitations have been sent out, it’s difficult and embarrassing to rearrange the schedule and let wedding guests know to arrive earlier.  If you make this mistake, you will have to choose between moving the ceremony time, doing a first look after all, doing photos after dark, or not getting important pictures that you probably wanted. When planning the post-ceremony schedule, you’ll need to include time to photograph the bride + groom, the full bridal party, and both sides of the family with the wedding couple.  Photos of family individually, bridesmaids, and groomsmen can all be taken separately before the ceremony.  I recommend to my brides that they complete my family photo plan and make specific lists of which group photos will be taken before and after the ceremony (more about that in a future blog post).  Planning and good communication are both essential to a successful post-ceremony timeline.  If everyone knows where to be and when they’re needed, we don’t waste portrait time looking for Uncle Joe who wandered off in search of a drink.

In most cases, guests will attend a cocktail hour while these additional photos take place.  Brides and grooms who choose to see each other for the first time walking down the aisle usually skip the cocktail hour and sometimes plan a slightly longer cocktail hour in order to get all the photos finished.  It’s a trade off that’s worthwhile for those who want to see each other for the first time during the ceremony.