How to Plan the Perfect First Look for Your Adventure Elopement 🔥

A moment from Liz & Joe’s first look | Amber Sovorsky with Adventure Instead

It’s early April now in Colorado, and we’ve been under a stay at home order for weeks. We’ll continue to be under the same order for more weeks to come. We are hoarding coffee at this point, but is it really hoarding if you’re drinking more of that liquid gold than you ever have before and are still running out? We’ll never know.

But what we DO know is that thanks to an executive order recently announced by Governor Jared Polis, Coloradoans temporarily can now apply for a marriage license online. As soon as Colorado’s stay-at-home order ends, we’ll be ready to join you to film your adventure elopement! For now, we want to take a trip around the block and talk about what goes into planning your first look experience to create a once-in-a-lifetime moment during your adventure elopement!

A moment from Steven & Candace Foster’s first look | Yoni Gill

What’s a First Look?

Great question. A “First Look” is a common ritual in some cultures in which the two partners who are marrying each other plan an intimate moment before their wedding ceremony to reveal themselves to each other in their finest wedding attire, exactly as they are. It’s really a beautiful moment when you stop to think about it. When you reflect about what the moment could be, you begin to plan how you want it to be. Let’s look at what some of our couples have done as ideas!

First Look Inspiration

Liz & Joe

In July of 2019, we had a chance to travel to a little place called Aaaaaaspen to work with a super sweet couple from Wisconsin! Liz & Joe are highschool sweethearts who reached out to us to see if we’d be interested in hiking a 3.8 mile trek to Crater Lake in the Maroon Bells wilderness to film their sunrise elopement. We said yes in a heartbeat! They asked us if we’d be willing to film their first look at first light, beneath the ruby-red alpenglow of Pyramid Peak and the Maroon Bells behind. We said YES. We’d be lying if we said this first look was anything other than the most challenging and intimate first look experience we’ve ever filmed. It was incredible, and it was worth the challenge of waking up shortly after midnight and hiking uphill for miles before sunrise. It truly was an adventure in every sense of the word.

Moments from Kelsey & Jon’s First Look | Dgass Photography

Kelsey & Jon

In the autumn of 2019 we worked with another rad couple--people who love to wear hats as much as I do--Kelsey & Jon! These two migrated to Denver, CO a few years ago when Jon accepted a Job as a graphic designer for a dope hat company called Grassroots. When they told us they were getting married at The Manor House in the foothills near Denver, we knew how to help them craft an unforgettable first look moment. Behind The Manor House lies thousands of acres of open-space land, perfect for a wide open first look away from people and buildings.

Kelly & Phil

It didn’t take us very long to discover that Kelly would be a crier during her first look! What we didn’t expect was to see Phil joining her, puffy eyed and all! But these two really did experience a rare moment relative to the first looks we film. Emotion was welling and surfacing for nearly ten minutes as these two took advantage of every second they wanted. The end result, beyond successfully capturing the intimacy of what first looks can be, was a beautiful introduction for their highlight film that captures the realness of that moment.

Planning your Intimate First Look

Dream It Do It

The key to planning the best first look is to step back and craft your perfect elopement experience. Does time of day matter to you (Sunset, High Noon, etc)? Do you envision a cliffside? A forest or a desert arch? Will your friends be there? Will you share a sip of coffee? Or liquor? Do you want to have a little picnic? The sky's the limit with what you can do to personalize your first look!

A few moments from Liz & Joe’s first look | Amber Sovorsky with Adventure Instead

Clear Your Mind

Your mindset during your elopement is going to determine how you experience your day! Remember to enter into your first look moment with a clear mind, ready to focus on yourself and your partner. Take time to reflect on the little things in the moment: What cologne is he wearing? What kind of flowers does she have in her hair? What jewelry are they wearing? Plan to spend at least 5 minutes enjoying this special moment with your partner.