WEDDING TIMELINE GUIDE

Timelines could be one of the most important parts of planning your wedding. If you have a seasoned planner, they will create this for you and help all involved tremendously. Sometimes I am still asked what I need as far as the day’s photo slots and this is why I am writing a post to help any bride with what I personally favor for the day’s events.

My first question is usually how many hours do you have me for according to your wedding package? This can vary from 3-9 hours. From there, I work backwards to see when the send-off is or preferred time you would like my team to leave. For example, if you have a sparkler send-off at 9:30 pm and you have me for 9 hours, we would arrive at 12:30.

We then decide where you want me to arrive first. Usually, I head to bride prep and my second shooter is with the groom. I can get these getting ready photos done in 30-45 min depending on your individual wants. You should be almost done with hair and makeup when I arrive so that you enjoy the photos of yourself more :) and preparing to put on the dress, veil, jewelry, and shoes. I also like to tell my mothers of the bride to be dressed before the bride since you will be in photos of helping her put on the dress.

Next, we move to the next location whether that is a park, venue, etc. If you have planned a first look, I like this to be around 3 hours before the ceremony so you have some buffer time, in case things are running behind, bad weather, etc.

First look takes 10 min and we like to move into some portraits of the couple while we have them for another 15-20 min. Sometimes, we have to do all portraits at this time if there is not a set slot for after the ceremony to do more.

Wedding party is next: Bride and bridesmaids (20 min) Groom and groomsmen (20 min) and lastly, the full bridal party takes about 20 minutes as well.

If you have chosen not to have a first look, we would save the full bridal party for after the ceremony, but still do all the girls and guys photos separately from one another. This saves a lot of time for later on to get you to cocktail hour, let you relax, bustle the dress, enjoy an appetizer, etc.

The timeline then moves into any other things you need shot before the ceremony. Some brides do a first look with a dad, immediate family photos, or whatever else you have in mind.

I always tell my brides that I like to give them 1 hour before the ceremony where we aren’t staging any photos and they can relax during this time. For example, if I arrive at 12:30, conduct first look/bridal party portraits and ceremony is at 4:30, from 3:30-4:30 we are only shooting candids of people arriving, details of the venue and decor, and anything else that happens while the bride and groom are relaxing somewhere.

Once the ceremony is over, we almost always take family photos, full bridal party if this has not been done, and then more portraits of the couple. Family photos should take no more than 20-30 minutes so I like to tell my brides to prepare a list for us with names of the people we need to shoot.

For example:

Bride and sisters

Bride, Groom, and Uncle Tony

Groom and Grandpa Mark

Etc.

This list should consist of 10-20 groups. Anything over that limit will go into the time we would like to get more photos of the two of you. Once again, this is a preference thing so if you don’t mind we can accommodate.

Sunset photos or remaining portraits of the bride and groom we can knock out in another 20 min depending on location. If we are close to what we want to shoot, this is very easy to do. If travel is involved, plan accordingly.

This brings us to cocktail hour and the entrance of the bride and groom. From here, it is all candid and organic. Whether you have planned a scheduled reception with dances, toasts, bouquet toss, cake cutting, etc. we are around for whatever the night throws at us.

I hope this helps you understand what our team’s needs are for the day and how quickly we like to get these planned portraits finished so you can enjoy more of the day. We are told weekly that we handle stress very well, are quick with the bridal party so they can have fun, and organize family to not be a chaotic time of the day. This has all been carefully planned out to help you enjoy your guests more, not have to worry if something has been left out in photos, and almost forget we are there in moments that are super intimate and special.