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The First Look. A moment in which every couple must decide, “to follow tradition or not?” On your wedding day, you will either see your fiance for the first time in their wedding attire in a moment alone or in a room full of people at either end of an aisle. You may have dreamed it to be the latter, all your life, but what do you want now? Which way will ease your nerves? Which will make your heart soar? And, the non-sexy question, which works best for your timeline and logistics? Whatever your choice, the first time you see your love on your wedding day is sure to be special and a moment you’ll remember forever, so do what YOU want, we’ll figure out the rest. Here are a couple of my favorite examples of first looks, the non-traditional choice, from my 2017 season:
Jamie and Jon shared their first moments together on their wedding day in the Blank Canvas Gallery at Lacuna Lofts. The loft backdrop was made all the more magical with the addition of strings of cafe lights illuminating the rafters
Sofya and Dan shared a quiet moment, just the two of them, on the balcony at Firehouse Chicago, before we dove into their list of family photos.
Beth and Mike’s first look moment happened in a secluded corner of the bar at The Robey Chicago where they got ready. Just look Mike’s face – totally wowed by his lovely bride!
Jennifer and Matt met amongst the roses in a garden a previous home had overlooked.
Gretchen and Anthony started their wedding day at the lakefront trail at Fort Sheridan. The beautiful blue waters and puffy white clouds tied in perfectly with the nautical touches of what I’d describe as a Kate Spade inspired wedding day. I was happy we had such luck with this lovely spot, as the sun was out for this moment alone that day. They were unphased as we continued on with the knot tying ceremony (I do mean literally, tying a knot) indoors at Glen Rowan House.
Rose and Pete made their way to Chicago from LA for their wedding day and met for this sweet first look on the roof deck at Ravenswood Event Center. I just love the movement of her handmade (with love by her mom) wedding dress and veil, as well as how excited Pete was to see her in it.
Katie and John are relationship goals! For real. Look at how sweet they are together! You think John approved of Katie’s dress? How could he not though – she’s totally channeling Daisy from The Great Gatsby. The light was P E R F E C T and look at how magnificent those ivy-covered the walls at Firehouse Chicago were that August day – a gorgeous first look backdrop!
Probably the most unusual first look spot in this line-up, but not for Patrick and Sylvia. Patrick taught comedy at IO Improv, frequenting shows and ultimately choosing IO as their wedding venue, this couple knows those stairs well. This location was totally unique to their relationship and highlighted their first moments of the day together in the best way.
Sam chose to give Carolynn her wedding watch during their first look – She almost cried but laughed lots instead. 🙂
Sarah and Keith weren’t crazy about rain on their wedding day but their awesome venue, Deerpath Inn, had a lovely little nook for them to grab a couple of moments alone before the bustle of their wedding day began.
The final wedding of my 2017 season was a black tie affair with some serious wow factor and lots of romance! Ashley shed a few excited tears on her walk through her suite at Hyatt Centric Mag Mile to see Jeff for the first time that day. So happy they had this time to enjoy alone before we headed out for photos with their wedding party of 18.
Now that we’ve seen a few examples – do you think you’ll choose the non-traditional approach to seeing your loved one for the first time on your wedding day?
