As of recently, I’ve been really excited about the concept of “first looks.” Although they’re not traditional, they create such a unique moment for the bride and groom. Instead of seeing each other for the first time in front of 200 people, they get to celebrate the beginning of their wedding day together in a more intimate setting. So with that, here are 5 reasons why first looks are amazing:

1. Both the bride and groom get to share raw emotion together, instead of with everyone else
2. You can control the setting, when the ceremony venue may not have preferable light.
3. It enables you to have much more time for pictures before the ceremony, since they can be with each other to take pictures with the bridal party.
4. The experience won’t detract at all from the groom seeing his bride walk down the aisle.
5. You can take portraits directly following the groom seeing the bride, which enables those emotions to enhance some of their portraits.

And with that, here is Stephen and Mina’s First Look from this past rainy weekend!