Saying Yes to the First Look
Before we got engaged, and even for a little after, I was just a little extremely against doing a "first look" before the wedding. A girl only waits her whole life to see her groom's face when she first appears down the aisle, so why give that up?!
Well. A couple convinced us to do the "first look" and I am so glad we did. Here are several reasons why...
1. I was surprisingly nervous before the wedding, which I didn't expect. I was in no way nervous about what we were about to do, or because of who I was about to marry. Rather, it was more superficial than that. I'm a full-scale introvert. Once you know me and we're in small group settings, I may not seem that way...but I am. And the thought of stepping into a room with around 200 people...and all their eyes are on me...wow. What an overwhelming feeling. Not only that, but it was incredibly humbling and too amazing to think that all of them had traveled and sacrificed something to be there for us on the day we became man and wife - my heart is beating a thousand times a minute and my stomach is in knots. I loved that they were there to celebrate, but my quiet-spirited self was a little...intimidated. Until I saw Cal. He put my heart at ease and unraveled my stomach. Little did I know, he was feeling the exact same way.
2. I got to see my groom's face, inches away, when he saw me for the first time. And he saw mine. I don't think that we said much, except "you're so beautiful," "you're so handsome," and "is this really happening?" We giggled. We cried. We hugged. We broke the rule and kissed. No, we weren't yet married, but the moment was so special, and I will never forget those minutes together. We weren't 100% alone, as our parents are about 10 feet left of where I am in the picture, and that was special for them to see and relish in this moment as well. It was really happening.
3. It was a practical decision, too. We got a lot of pictures before the ceremony, which helped a lot with timing and not being stressed throughout the day.
4. Y'all, your wedding day goes by so fast. I know what you're thinking...everyone says that. And that's what I thought, too...until it happened. It literally went by so fast that the next morning Cal and I woke up unsure if we actually got married, or if we dreamt it all up. We actually texted one of his sisters just to double check. And it took us around 2 weeks to process all of the emotion and events that occurred from Friday morning to Saturday night...it was too much to think about all at once. Thank goodness for honeymoons to help a couple out. Back to the point - if we didn't have the hour together before we rushed off to the ceremony, I probably wouldn't have felt like I saw or had time to enjoy the moment with my husband at all. We barely got to eat (but also ate more than expected thanks to AP for helping us plan out how dinner would go!). And while we did get to kiss...a lot, according to the pictures...it was mostly posed. Joyous, but still posed.
5. My sweet man still cried when he saw me enter the chapel. No emotion was taken away from this moment because we saw each other before (and yes, I love how Pete is looking at his buddy when I came in. Truly precious).
So friends, I encourage you if you're getting married or even thinking about it one day...do a first look. You won't be sorry.
Well. A couple convinced us to do the "first look" and I am so glad we did. Here are several reasons why...
1. I was surprisingly nervous before the wedding, which I didn't expect. I was in no way nervous about what we were about to do, or because of who I was about to marry. Rather, it was more superficial than that. I'm a full-scale introvert. Once you know me and we're in small group settings, I may not seem that way...but I am. And the thought of stepping into a room with around 200 people...and all their eyes are on me...wow. What an overwhelming feeling. Not only that, but it was incredibly humbling and too amazing to think that all of them had traveled and sacrificed something to be there for us on the day we became man and wife - my heart is beating a thousand times a minute and my stomach is in knots. I loved that they were there to celebrate, but my quiet-spirited self was a little...intimidated. Until I saw Cal. He put my heart at ease and unraveled my stomach. Little did I know, he was feeling the exact same way.
2. I got to see my groom's face, inches away, when he saw me for the first time. And he saw mine. I don't think that we said much, except "you're so beautiful," "you're so handsome," and "is this really happening?" We giggled. We cried. We hugged. We broke the rule and kissed. No, we weren't yet married, but the moment was so special, and I will never forget those minutes together. We weren't 100% alone, as our parents are about 10 feet left of where I am in the picture, and that was special for them to see and relish in this moment as well. It was really happening.
3. It was a practical decision, too. We got a lot of pictures before the ceremony, which helped a lot with timing and not being stressed throughout the day.
4. Y'all, your wedding day goes by so fast. I know what you're thinking...everyone says that. And that's what I thought, too...until it happened. It literally went by so fast that the next morning Cal and I woke up unsure if we actually got married, or if we dreamt it all up. We actually texted one of his sisters just to double check. And it took us around 2 weeks to process all of the emotion and events that occurred from Friday morning to Saturday night...it was too much to think about all at once. Thank goodness for honeymoons to help a couple out. Back to the point - if we didn't have the hour together before we rushed off to the ceremony, I probably wouldn't have felt like I saw or had time to enjoy the moment with my husband at all. We barely got to eat (but also ate more than expected thanks to AP for helping us plan out how dinner would go!). And while we did get to kiss...a lot, according to the pictures...it was mostly posed. Joyous, but still posed.
5. My sweet man still cried when he saw me enter the chapel. No emotion was taken away from this moment because we saw each other before (and yes, I love how Pete is looking at his buddy when I came in. Truly precious).
So friends, I encourage you if you're getting married or even thinking about it one day...do a first look. You won't be sorry.
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