Your elopement is a unique adventure and including activities from a bigger wedding into the day can make it all feel more wedding-like. This post is for you if you consider having a first look. Here are five fun and memorable ways to capture that moment:

1. First look at your hotel or AirBnB: Start your day in the comfort of your accommodation. Get ready separately, then meet for a first look in the beautifully decorated lobby, in a quiet corner, on a balcony or on a rooftop terrace a hotel might have. This is perfect for a classic, elegant vibe and you can do the first look right after you have gotten ready. 

2. First look at sunrise in the mountains: get the make-up and hair done in your hotel, take your wedding gown with you. Hike up a mountain in the pre-dawn darkness. As you arrive at the ceremony spot, you can change behind a tree, refresh the make-up and hair and reveal your look with an epic backdrop of mountains and sun coming out right behind the peaks. One partner stands on a breathtaking cliffside, gazing out at the view. The other approaches from behind, tapping them on the shoulder for a dramatic reveal. Sunrise creates the perfect lighting conditions for the most jaw-dropping photos! 

3. If you do not wish to hike, but don’t want to have the first look at the hotel, you can also use other locations nearby. For example by a lake, on a beach, on the stairs of a museum or on a beautiful rustic Italian street. These places are easily accessible and give a very romantic feel for the first look. 

4. For a unique twist, you can consider a gondola ride or an elevator. For example: one partner drives up with a gondola first and gets ready to wait there. The other one comes up with the next gondola, stepping out for the big moment. You can do a similar first look with an elevator. For example, in one hotel was an elevator opening out on the street and we used this for the first look: bride went into the elevator from their room and groom was waiting outside on the street. Doors opened and voilà – a dramatic reveal! 

5. Record your children saying things like “Dad, mom is going to be there any minute. She looks gorgeous. I can’t wait for you to marry my mum. I love you, good luck”. Before you walk to your partner, you can have this played on a speaker and make your partner cry and emotional even before the first look happens. It is also an amazing way to include your children in the elopement if they are not there with you.

Tip: If you have a videographer, he/she should put a microphone in the pocket of one of the persons. People sometimes say the sweetest or funniest things during the first look and it is so cool to be able to relisten it later in your elopement video!

No matter which idea you choose, your first look will be unforgettable!