Congratulations! You’re engaged! The big day is coming soon and you’re thinking about creating a perfect timeline that will help your wedding day go off without a hitch. When it comes to planning your wedding day, a photographer’s insight can be truly helpful. After all, we see dozens of weddings each year (not to mention you will be seeing more of your photographer than your groom-to-be on that day!) This is why I love helping my brides create a custom timeline 2-3 months prior to the wedding day. Every couple’s day is going to be slightly different, but having a base timeline as a starting point is a huge help!
Let’s start from the top! When hiring your photographer, you may be wondering how many hours you need to have us there for your special day. For most weddings, 8 hours is an ideal time. However, this can vary depending on your ceremony and reception locations, and the parts of the day you want to make sure to capture. Some things to consider:
1. Do you want bride and groom preparations photographed?
To me, this is such an exciting part of the day. Emotions are high, you are hanging out with your girls and he is hanging out with his guys. This is a great time to get some fun, candid shots as well as those dreamy portraits of you slipping into your dress and putting on your finishing accessories. This is also a perfect time to have your details photographed (dress, jewelry, stationary, florals, shoes, perfume, and any other special items). Plan on having your photographer for the last 1.5 hours of your prep time. This is assuming the bride and groom are getting ready in the same or nearby location. This will help you gauge when hair and makeup should begin as well. The earlier you can start hair and makeup, the better, especially if you only have one stylist.
2. Will you be doing a first look with your father or brothers?
Most dads love this special moment with their little girl! It allows for him to see you in all your pretty glory instead of just meeting at the end of the aisle to give you away. His reaction will be priceless and something you will want captured. You can plan on about 15 minutes for this sweet time.
3. Will you and the groom be doing a first look?
First looks are a great way to get your photos done before the ceremony so that you may enjoy your cocktail hour and mingle/greet your guests. It also ensures that your hair and makeup will be fresh for your portraits. If you are doing a first look, plan for 30 minutes so that you can get some of your bride and groom portraits done as well. Depending on the time of year, this time may be longer as the sun will set just before or during your dinner and you will not be able to have “Golden Hour” photos. You can also plan to complete wedding party photos prior to the ceremony as well. For this, you will want to plan another 45 minutes. If you are not doing a first look, plan on about one hour of photos after family photos which will follow the ceremony.
4. How long will your ceremony be?
Most ceremonies are around 20-30 minutes, but if you are having a traditional Catholic ceremony, those usually last 1-1.5 hours. There are also other religions or cultures with ceremonies that are similar to that time frame.
5. How many family portraits will be taken?
A good rule of thumb, is to plan on 3 minutes per grouping. Most weddings stick to immediate family in addition to grandparents. This usually takes about 15 minutes as long as everyone has remained at the ceremony site and we start on time.
6. Will there be traveling to different locations?
I have done weddings where I have traveled to a total of 6 different locations between preparation time, ceremony location, photo locations, and finally reception location. This all should be taken into account when booking your photographer and planning your wedding day timeline. Map out the time to travel between the locations and tack on 10-15 minutes as a safety net in case of traffic.
6. Will there be time for sunset photos?
For most Spring, Summer, and early Fall weddings, I ask to pull the bride and groom out for 20 minutes of photos 30 minutes prior to sunset. The bride and groom are always served dinner first, so after you eat is a perfect time to go out for those photos while everyone else finishes dinner. The lighting just before sunset (Golden Hour) is almost always the most flattering, and it will usually provide some of the best photos from the day.
7. How much of your party (reception) do you want photographed?
Two of my most important suggestions for the reception (in order to promote a good flow) is to cut the cake upon entering the reception and to do Golden Hour photos before the first dances. This way, the DJ can open the dance floor immediately following first dances and you don’t have to be pulled from your party! This can vary depending on sunset time. 45 minutes of dance floor coverage should be plenty to capture the fun of your party. That being said, I have had brides that want more of their party captured because they LOVED the fun dancing photos. And that’s great! I usually plan on being at a reception for roughly 3-3.5 hours total.
The Ideal Timeline For Your Day
Below, I have included a couple sample timelines that have been tried and true! The first is with a first look and the second is without a first look. Keep in mind, these timelines are for a wedding day where all events are taking place at one venue.
