BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP JUNE 23 – JUNE 29, 2017 15
Capturing wedding day fi rst looks
BY DIANNE CROWN
For traditionalists, wedding
rules should never change.
Something old, something new,
something borrowed, something
blue — and the couple will absolutely
not see each other on the wedding
day. But many couples are rewriting
the wedding day playbook beginning
with that fi rst look. Midwest photographer
Holly Birch Smith explains why
everyone wins.
“It’s a long tradition to have some
space in the ceremony before the
bride comes down the aisle, the guests
fi rst see the bride, and the couple sees
each other for the fi rst time.” But, with
everyone watching, it’s hard to look relaxed
and natural in that moment, says
Smith. “If the couple sees each other
before the ceremony, you eliminate
that pressure. They can take a deep
breath and enjoy that time.”
So in recent years, photographers
have o ered fi rst-look photo shoots in
a scenic location just before the ceremony
to privately capture the moment
when the bride and groom fi rst see each
other in their wedding attire. If Smith is
the only photographer, couples usually
want her to photograph the groom’s
face when he fi rst sees the bride. If she
has an assistant, they photograph both
the bride and groom. Couples decide in
advance whether they want full-length
views or close-ups for the fi rst-view
reactions, Smith explains.
The couple may also wish to take all
of the other portrait shots at the same
time, which creates a lot of freedom
for the couple, the photographer and
the guests.
Ainsley Reiser and Kip McDaniel
wanted the intimacy of fi rst-look photos
and the ease of pre-ceremony portraits
for their June wedding. Reiser
says she had dreamed of the moment
when she and her fi ance would fi rst
see each other dressed and ready for
their wedding ever since she was a
little girl. “It’s such a special moment,
so sweet and innocent when you see
each other for the fi rst time. It’s one
of the most exciting moments of the
wedding. I wanted to capture that so
I could look at it forever,” says Reiser.
It was all she had hoped for. “Holly
made us feel so comfortable, like we
were celebrities. She made every
moment special, from where we were
standing to how the lighting looked,”
says Reiser.
“There’s something so special about
that moment you can share together
instead of seeing each other and then
the ceremony starts,” Reiser says.
“It’s invaluable to have that moment
together for yourselves to take a step
back. For us, it’s going to be something
we have forever that never gets old to
look at.”
About half of Smith’s couples want
the intimacy of pre-ceremony photos.
She hopes more will join the trend.
“Taking the fi rst looks and portraits
before the ceremony helps make
the timeline of the day go smoother,”
says Smith. “If we wait until a er the
ceremony, guests have to wait for the
entire photo shoot, couples miss out
on a lot of time with their guests, and
photographers o en have to rush the
pictures.”
BRIDAL