Why Saving Your First Look Until the Aisle Might Be Perfect for You
(Piney Grove Ranch in Laurens County, South Carolina; Second shooting for @bygracekathryn on Instagram)
There’s something truly unforgettable about seeing your partner for the first time at the end of the aisle. The anticipation, the emotion, the collective energy of your closest friends and family; it’s a moment that can’t be recreated, and it’s worth savoring.
I helped to photograph Anderson and Belle’s wedding at Piney Grove Ranch in Laurens County, South Carolina. While they also had deeply emotional portraits during their day, the aisle moment was electric. Belle slowly made her way forward, and Anderson’s expression, a mixture of awe, love, and disbelief, captured everything about that day. Every eye in the room was on them, yet the connection between them felt intimate and sacred. I will never forget how emotional it was as Anderson turned around and he saw Belle for the first time.
1. The Aisle Moment Is Raw and Unforgettable
There’s a reason tradition has couples wait until the ceremony to see each other. That moment is charged with emotion. It’s a culmination of months (or years) of anticipation, preparation, and love. You can feel the collective breath of everyone in the room as your story unfolds before them, and the reaction of your partner is the highlight.
2. It Feels Deeply Emotional
When you wait until the aisle, the emotions are heightened. There’s no rehearsal for your heart. Every glance, every tear, every smile is real and unfiltered. Belle and Anderson’s expressions, paired with the soft light peeking through the clouds, created photographs that are cinematic, intimate, and timeless.
3. Tradition Meets Your Story
Choosing not to do a first look doesn’t mean you’re missing out. It means you’re leaning into tradition while still curating your day to reflect who you are as a couple. The anticipation leading up to that moment adds depth to the memories and the images. You get to experience your wedding day as a true celebration, one moment building into the next, culminating in an emotional reveal that’s uniquely yours.
4. It Enhances Your Ceremony Photography
While a first look can be a beautiful moment alone, skipping it allows your ceremony photos to carry even more weight. Your emotions are raw, your reactions genuine, and your portraits during the ceremony tell a story that’s impossible to stage. Every tear, laugh, and embrace feels authentic, and it all translates into timeless, documentary-style images.
5. The Experience Is Worth It
Whether you’re drawn to tradition, the theater of the ceremony, or the idea of everyone witnessing your first look together, waiting until the aisle is a choice that will give you stories to tell for a lifetime. Belle and Anderson’s aisle moment at Piney Grove Ranch will forever be etched in my memory, a reminder that there’s beauty in anticipation, in emotion, and in the unfolding of a wedding day just as it was meant to happen.
