Your wedding ceremony is arguably the most important moment within your wedding assuming you're planning a semi-traditional wedding. During the ceremony, you share words of commitment and well, get married.
When planning your ceremony, most people check off arranging an officiant, picking important readings, thinking about where the wedding party may stand, and any cultural elements to include. But an often overlooked element that requires some planning is the kiss at the end of the ceremony.
Why to Plan your First Kiss
Your ceremony can be full of many memorable moments and as your wedding photographer, it is my job to capture them. Planning your first kiss ensures that it, like the other parts of your ceremony go smoothly.
Imagine this: you go in for your first kiss as spouses and your partner steps on your dress, forcing you to fall in front of everyone. Not an ideal scenario, although hopefully a situation you choose to laugh through and as you remember it in the future.
This is avoidable! Take the time in your wedding planning to communicate about the first kiss, practice it on your own, practice it in front of someone else, and if you have a wedding rehearsal, practice it here too!
Practicing your First Kiss
Practicing this kiss on your own gives you time to figure out what feels right for you as a couple and discuss logistics of whose hands go where.
Practicing in front of someone else can help you develop confidence for kissing in front of others since not everyone feels very comfortable with PDA. You can also ask for feedback like, "Does this look natural or awkward?"
When you practice your kiss during your rehearsal, you can communicate more clearly with your officiant about if you'd like them to step out from the area as well as figure out your ideal spacing and placement. Ask someone at the rehearsal to take a photo of you on your phone practicing your kiss so you can see how it looks within the space too!
Ideas for First Kisses
Maybe you and your partner always kiss in the same way and want your wedding portraits to reflect that - go for it!
But if you're uncertain of how you want to kiss and want some inspiration, check out the images below. They fall in 3 styles:
- Arms over Neck
- Cup the Face
- Little Dip
These 3 styles are simple and give a cinematic, romantic look in both photos and video!
Whether you choose one of the styles above or something that feels more representative of your relationship, be intentional and make it last. We recommend counting to at least 3 while kissing so that we can get a couple of different styles of photos during the big moment.
What to Avoid during your First Kiss
There are a couple of things to avoid during your first kiss as newlyweds... but these we also recommend for any photos you have done while kissing.
- Close your eyes.
- No tongue.
- Don't peck - these are quicker than the speed of most cameras.
We are Trevor & Elisebeth, San Jose-based wedding photographers and videographers with 10 years of wedding industry experience. We not only celebrate the love on camera, but have a series of blogposts helping couples plan their engagement sessions and weddings through the lens of photo and video to help optimize the memories they look back on.
Interested in having us capture your first kiss as newlyweds? Click below to contact us!
