Third Eye Open

My father and Lydia were married at the The Old Grapevine, in the San Gabriel Mission District.

My Auntie Vivi was the brainchild behind this wedding, adding her creative touch to the tables, centerpieces, and overall feel of the wedding. Her work is truly amazing and inspiring to us all. She is very good at making celebrations meaningful and profound.

This fan belonged to my grandmother….it means the world to us.

Auntie Vivi carefully hand-crafted the fans; portraying my grandmother’s infamous fan.

I put this man to work, as my second-shooter during the ceremony.

The tree!!!! You all know how I feel about trees. They just sort of solidify and connect everything together.

AND THEN!!!!???

Then my camera got REALLY DRUNK and started taking all sorts of weird pictures of my uncle.

Love love love my cousins.

Vivian Frahm, Wedding Planner
vivfrahm@aol.com

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from wedding clients on the pros and cons of whether or not to set up a “first look” before the ceremony.
This is when the bride and groom see eachother before the ceremony in order to get most of the formals out of the way.
Let’s discuss.

This will always be your own personal decision–and that is something I will never try to alter.
I’m hoping that if I give you information from my standpoint, it may help you make an informed choice.

The biggest hesitation for most couples in seeing each other before the ceremony is in the thought of breaking tradition. Listen, I get it. I am the MASTAAAAH to keeping to tradition but sometimes you have to step outside of that 4 mile radius. The trend in weddings lately has been moving more into breaking tradition. LETS CREATE OUR OWN TRADITIONS, baby.

One of the reasons to set up a “first look” is to still have that moment captured of when you first see each other – although instead of it being in front of ALL your family and friends, you get to have a more private moment with just the two of you. And this tends to resonate more because it’s such an intimate and emotional experience. Below are some of the pros I’ve listed should you allow me to coordinate the “first look.”

1. You have more time for romantics. This is aw aw aw awesome! The more time I have with the bride and groom, the more creative I can get.

2. The bride and groom can enjoy cocktail hour (with a traditional timeline, the bride and groom are shooting the whole cocktail hour). It’s difficult squeezing in family formals, bridal party pictures, and all of the romantics into cocktail hour. We’re all ripping out our hair and screaming “bloody mary” at this point because it causes feelings of being rushed. Even more, it may even result in missing the chance to shoot during the last hour before sunset, which is the best “romantic” light.

3. Make-up and hair look “fresher” in the images shot before the ceremony (this is especially true in the hot summer months)

What I try to do for my clients is offer them support in creating the timeline because it tends to get overwhelming. Most of them allow 15 minutes for “romantics” which sort of makes me cringe, and then cry. It’s just not enough time. Your wedding day pictures should be one of the most important elements to your wedding because they will last forever. I can definitely operate under any circumstances; but my concern is you positioning yourself to feel rushed throughout your day.
This will undoubtedly show up in your pictures.