Here are some advantages of doing a first look:
1: It allows you to get through with at least all the bride and groom portraits before the ceremony, and some people opt to go ahead and do ALL the formal portraits (family, wedding party etc). Then, when the wedding ceremony is over, you are free to go have fun with your guests! This way, you can plan to have plenty of extra time for pictures and not be rushed to get to the reception at a certain time. Stress levels go way down and you get to spend more time your guests! 2 : Everyone who’s done a first look says that it takes a lot of stress and pressure off the bride and groom to see each other beforehand, all alone, with no one else’s eyes gazing into the back of your head. They get out all those wedding day jitters & get to spend some relaxed time together before the big moment. I can kinda sorta speak from experience here, since I definitely experienced the nervousness that I totally thought I wouldn’t! 3: You’ll get more wedding day portraits of just the two of you- the ones you’ll likely actually want to frame and put on your wall! You can schedule your day so that we have 1-1.5 hours for wedding portraits- about the same amount of time we spend on your engagement session! Again, doing a first look is not for everyone but it’s definitely a rising trend and something you may want to consider! 
Matt and Leslie are Charlotte Wedding Photographers and Charleston, SC Wedding Photographers.