Agreed. Love that first shot. Firelight is magical.

Lots of very professional comments.
SO, here's one from a rookie, who also has a Nikon:
Shoot just a few clicks (vertical lines on meter) to the left... Underexpose. You'll get used to how many for different situations. After thousands of tries, that's the number one key on my Nikon... It's a little older, but what works works.