A first glance meeting is the first time a bride and groom see one another on their wedding day.  Some couples choose for this to be before they walk down the isle.  There are many benefits to this choice but the most important one is that it tends to be the only time the bride and groom have alone together all day.  After the ceremony, everyone wants to congratulate them, talk to them, dance with them.  Their day often turns in to a day for everyone else.  So this chance to greet each other and share an a moment alone together is priceless.  It is a time for the bride to show off her freshly finished hair and makeup, the gown she spent hours choosing, and the smile in her eyes when his fall on her.  She gets to hear his words, see his response, hold his hand, kiss his lips if they choose, and relish a life spent with him.  He gets to be reminded of the reason for the day – not the fuss and the nonsense but the beauty of this woman he loves.  Outer beauty and inner beauty that he knows best.  If the couple allows the photographer to capture this meeting at a distance, they can relive these moments for years to come – probably the moments they will most clearly remember because the chaos is stripped away and the relationship takes center stage.

First glance meetings do have other advantages.  The bride and groom are at their freshest for their greeting.  Some couples feel it helps them relax and calms any wedding day nerves that might arise.  I have found as a photographer that it allows the couple to move more quickly from their ceremony to the reception because more photography is covered before the wedding.  That works well because the natural momentum of the day motivates the entire wedding party to eagerly anticipate the reception once the ceremony is complete.  It also requires less waiting on the part of the guests.  For couples who choose not to have a first glance meeting prior to the wedding, I always encourage them to find some time for themselves during the day – a private car ride to the reception or a little time alone with each other in the “ready room” at the reception.  One couple I photographed slipped away from their reception at the halfway point to have a private dinner together.  That twenty minutes revitalized them and gave them a chance to celebrate the reason for the day – each other.