First looks. What can I say? I love them — they are easily my favorite moment to capture during any wedding day. It is such a private, intimate piece of the most important day of the bride and groom’s new life together. The moment when he looks at her, in her beautiful white dress and realizes he is about to marry the most stunning woman in the world — and the best part is, he can actually tell her that! There isn’t a priest speaking or 100 guests watching. It is just the groom and his bride and they can kiss, laugh, hug, and just enjoy this quiet moment together — because, let’s be honest, private moments are few and far between on a wedding day! There aren’t too many opportunities to just be, but this is one of them.

While doing a first look is definitely a personal decision to be made by the bride and groom, I always encourage my couples to consider it. Here are some of my favorite first look moments from the 2014 season!