Should I Do a First Look At My Wedding? Take the Quiz to Find Out!

Happy Magazine Monday brides! If you don’t take your bridal portraits before your wedding day, how do you decide if you’re going to have a private first look with your spouse or save that moment for walking down the aisle? There are lots of benefits to having a first look, but if you’re set on the tradition of not seeing the bride until she walks down the aisle, then that’s your big moment!

Pros to Doing a First Look at Your Wedding

Have a private moment with your spouse before everyone else sees you
Helps calm your nerves before your ceremony
A great time to read private vows or love letters to each other
Makes time to take wedding day portraits before the ceremony—so you can enjoy cocktail hour with your guests!

Don’t forget to make time for a first look with your parents, bridal party, and anyone else you want to capture that moment with too!

Take the First Look Quiz

Do you want to do private vows?
1. No
2. Maybe, but probably not
3. I’m leaning toward yes
4. Yes!

How big is your bridal party?
1. We won’t have one
2. Not very big, about two bridesmaids and two groomsmen
3. About average, three to five of each
4. We have a big bridal party, six or more of each

How much time will you spend on family portraits?
1. Little to none
2. Not too much time, but we definitely want family portraits
3. We have a bigger family, so we’ll be taking the time to do it
4. We have big families, so it will take a while

Do you have a lot of couples’ photos you want to take?
1. We are planning on taking all the time to do our portraits after the ceremony
2. I’d be okay having multiple portrait sessions throughout the day
3. We have a bunch of locations we’d like to visit
4. I have a long list of photos with multiple locations in mind

What time of day is your ceremony going to be?
1. Morning
2. Early afternoon
3. Late afternoon
4. Evening

How nervous will you be before you walk down the aisle?
1. I’ll be mostly excited
2. Kind of nervous
3. Pretty nervous, but I’ll survive
4. I will be so nervous, I won’t know how to function

How important is it to you that you wait until the ceremony to see your spouse?
1. Very important
2. Kind of important
3. It’s not a high priority
4. Not important to me

Take the quiz with your fiancé to figure out what you both prefer! Tally up your answers and see what your results are. Count question #7 twice!

If you answered mostly A, you don’t want to do a first look.

If you answered mostly B, you could see yourself doing a first look, but probably not.

If you answered mostly C, you probably do want to do a first look, but would be fine waiting until the ceremony.

If you answered mostly D, do a first look!

Get a copy of the 2026 Magazine!