For our wedding, we opted to do a “First Look.”
That has become a popular option in weddings these days where you see each other before the ceremony.
Some couples prefer to see each other for the first time as the bride walks down the aisle and make that moment a part of the ceremony.
And others like to do it more in private (with a photographer, of course).
We opted for the latter. I loved the idea of having some time together, and that moment together, alone and before the ceremony. Though we did have our Matron of Honor and Best Man with us as well.
We knew from the very beginning that we wanted to get pictures of just the two of us at some of the Monuments since we were doing a DC wedding.
I actually decided to go for a morning run with a friend to scope out our first look venue: the Jefferson Memorial. It was early in the morning and the lighting was gorgeous. In fact, there was a couple doing their engagement photos. Too cute!
I was concerned because it had rained overnight and the ground was wet, making the steps slick. I wanted to make sure I would be able to walk and not break my neck meeting my groom. That would NOT be good.
As I chatted with the photographer and asked her where they parked she told me it was pretty far away (since it’s hard to get close to this particular monument). Would I be walking in my gown? In heels? It was a bit of a walk, if so …
Uhhhhh…
Yeah…
But, #igotthis
We’ll make it work.
And we did. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. And the weather was GORGEOUS. A beautiful fall day, not an early winter one! We really lucked out. One of those things we can’t control — Mother Nature smiled upon us that day.
Anyway, after I got ready (you can see those photos here), my Matron of Honor and I hopped in a limo and made our way to the Jefferson Memorial. Michael and his Best Man had taken an Uber over and were already there, my photographer communicating with him to see exactly where he was.
He was standing behind a column so I could make my way there without him seeing me.
Then he stood on the steps with his back towards me.
I came up behind him, and we had our beautiful moment.
I will let the pictures show the rest.
I’ll just say, my heart was very happy. It was a magical moment.
Photo credit: Stephanie Rita
Do what makes you happy.
(no workouts for today … still recovering)