Montreal Wedding Photographer.
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Montreal Wedding Photographer Blog

A blog about weddings, surprise proposals, engagements, portraits, and other photographer thoughts by Valerie Rosen, Wedding Photographer, based in Montreal, Canada. Documenting weddings how you felt it. The whole beautiful story! Currently booking weddings for 2023 & 2024. Available to travel. Get in Touch.

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Have You Considered Doing a “First Look” on Your Wedding Day?

These days, more and more couples are opting to include a “First Look” before their Wedding Ceremony. It’s always a privilege to witness such a touching moment and to have the honour to document this endearing moment for my couples.

A “First Look” can be planned in a private location, just the two of you, or in the presence of your family and your bridal crew, it’s up to you. Some people even opt to do a “First Look” with their child, or their pet. It’s your story!

We never interrupt this intimate moment, because it's personal to you, just before you get married in front of all their family and friends, so we capture this sweet interaction with candid storytelling frames.

Here’s a glimpse of G&A’s “First Look” outside of L’Ambroisie in Montreal.


Here’s what Gabby had to say about her “First Look” experience on her Wedding Day:

“…For me (Gabby), the idea of walking down the aisle and your future spouse seeing you there for the first time along with everyone else in the crowd made me incredibly nervous. The idea of a First Look really appealed to us right away because of the idea that it might take the pressure off and also give us a moment to just be in awe of each other in private, which is exactly what we got. We're so grateful for that moment and it helped to ease the nerves a LOT.

We were both just super excited to see each other. We knew that when Aaron turned around that we would just be excited and squealing which is what ended up happening! For me personally (Gabby) I felt a little shock of electric excitement go through my body when I put my hand on his shoulder to turn around. Like a "wow, this is it!" kind of feeling. It was really nice and it was great to experience that in a more private setting than with a bunch of eyes staring at me. It was really magical and emotional and exciting.

Absolutely 100% recommend this experience to any couple. On your wedding day, there's so much going on and it can be overwhelming. Having this session with the person you love that you're about to marry feels like carving out a little moment of peace amidst all the craziness. And it's such an experience to see how your spouse reacts when they look at you on your wedding day for the first time up close. We're so happy we did it and would absolutely do it again given the option. Especially if you're a couple like us who's a bit less traditional, it's kind of a nice nod to that as well instead of going the "see each other for the first time when the bride walks down the aisle" route. Also, you get amazing pictures out of it.

Gabby [L'Ambroisie Wedding]

photographer hugs the groom, as the bride looks on with a smile.

Big hug from me just before we headed over to the outdoor wedding ceremony at L’Ambroisie!


The Team:

Dress: Essense of Australia | Bridal Shop: Ivoire | Rings: Laurentian Jewellers | Ketubah: Ketubah.com

DJ: Deepwaters Events / Gab Padilla | Limo: Celebration Limousine

📸: Valerie Rosen Photography | 2nd Photographer: Edmond