At most weddings I photograph, there is some type of 'first look' -whether that's between the bride and groom, or the bride and her father. It's always a wonderful moment to photograph when the bride is able to present herself to a loved one in her wedding dress for the first time, and to see the look on that loved one's face.
However, there are all sorts of 'first looks' - including this one between the bride and one of her pageboys! Photographed at a wedding at Brympton House in Somerset, this is one of my favourite images from the wedding day. I just love the expression on the boy's face as he sees her in a whole new light. I wonder what he was thinking at that moment? I'm sure he still remembers how he felt during that first look... and the bride surely remembers the wonderful way he gazed at her, too.
Many brides prefer their husbands to be to see them for the first time on their wedding day as they walk down the aisle, and to share a private moment with their fathers once they are dressed in their wedding finery - but remember, it's the 21st century and your wedding day should be just as you wish it to be. I've photographed weddings where the bride has asked her father to wait downstairs with her bridesmaids and close family, so she can make a grand entrance all by herself. I've also photographed weddings where both the bride's mother and father have been brought into her dressing room for a very emotional and private first look. Whichever way you wish to do it, the only thing that matters is that it's the way you want your wedding day to be.
