True story: Whenever I think back to my favorite first looks, this photo immediately comes to mind! Erin and Steve’s first look was so emotional… I remember taking this photo and as soon as Erin’s eyes welled up with tears, so did mine! Thank you so much, Erin and Steve, for sharing your sweet story with the rest of us!

We chose the Roots (obviously) because we wanted to ensure that our wedding’s archival record was every bit as beautiful as our memories of the celebration.  For us, the decision to have Nate and Jensey capture our first look, away from all of our guests with plenty of time for creative compositions and makeup tweaking, was easy.  Neither of us held any superstitions about seeing each other before the actual ceremony and, frankly, we looked forward to a few minutes alone before taking our place in front of all our friends and family.

I waited with Nathan in a small sitting room at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort while Patricia LeJeune’s amazing-beyond-words team of artists finished Erin’s makeup.  Every time I heard a voice, a swell of excitement would wash over me, only to give way to anxiety and Compulsive Watch Checking when I realized it wasn’t her.  But then her voice was unmistakable, and with my back turned to the doorway, I heard her walking into the room, sniffling uncontrollably.  Of course, this started me sniffling uncontrollably, and when I turned around and saw how absolutely beautiful she was, well, we were both a mess.  That first kiss, more than any other, was probably the most intimate moment of the entire day; I still well up every time I see the photographs.

Beyond the intimacy of those first few moments together, there turned out to be some pretty practical advantages to our First Look session.  All of Erin’s jewelry was safely secured in her room’s safe; just before our first look, however, the key was nowhere to be found.  Search of the room: nothing.  Father-in-law’s mad dash to the rental car: not there either.  Maid of honor’s call to every family member that had been in contact with Erin in the past twenty-four hours: no one has the key.  Jensey whisked Erin away for the first look, while her father called Disney’s maintenance crew.  By the time the photographs were completed, the safe was drilled open and Erin’s jewelry rescued.  So, not only does a first look session provide for beautiful photographs of a lasting memory, but it also gives you a little bit of extra time to deal with those last-minute (but hardly unexpected) emergencies.

And when Erin appeared at the far end of the aisle, she looked even more beautiful than the first time I saw her.

Previous First Looks on the 1st :

Carrie + Patrick

The Roots!