THE WEDDING DAY TIMELINE

Welcome to my wedding day timeline tips! There are so many things that brides worry about when it comes to planning their wedding. I mean let’s be real. You have been stressed for possibly a whole year planning everything down to the smallest detail. It has to be perfect! This is your dream wedding. It’s the biggest day of your life!

Let’s make sure that it flows smoothly! I have taken my experience as a wedding photographer and created the perfect wedding day timeline tips. There are typically two wedding timelines that you can work with. It really comes down to, do you want a first look or not. The first look has become a super popular phenomenon in recent years. There is something magical about that first look being private and intimate. It’s a moment in your new life together that you will never forget. I would say that about 85% of my wedding now do a first look. Let me just say, I love every moment!

WEDDING DAY TIMELINE WITH A FIRST LOOK

If you aren’t sure what a “first look” is let me fill you in. First of all this can be with the bride and groom or bride and Father…. Or both! This is a private, and often very intimate time, for a reveal before the ceremony. I’ll put up another blog in the near future strictly about “the first look”. Stay tuned for that one!

This schedule for is based on a 4:00 PM ceremony timeline for your wedding day timeline tips

12:30 – Details & Getting Ready Photos                                                                                                                                                                                    1:30 – First Look & Formal photos of Bride and Groom
2:30 – Wedding Party Formal Photos
3:00 – Family Formal Photos
3:30 – Bride in Hiding
4:00 – Ceremony
4:30 – Ceremony Ends/Cocktail Hour Begins
5:30 – Reception Begins
• Grand Entrance
• Dinner & Toasts
• Formal Dances
• Cake Cutting
• Bouquet & Garter Toss
• Open Dancing
8:00 – Special Portraits
• Sunset Photos (May-Sept)
• Night Portraits (Oct-April)

 

TIMELINE WITHOUT A FIRST LOOK

This is a general timeline dedicated to the couples that choose to wait until the altar to see each other! With that said, I still do as much as I can before the ceremony which would mean photographing the bride & bridesmaids, groom & groomsmen, and various family photos separate from each other so during cocktail hour, we only have to get the group shots and then focus the rest of the time we have with the bride & groom!

This schedule is based on a 4:00PM ceremony time for your wedding day timeline tips

2:00 – Details & Getting Ready Photos
3:00 – Bride & Bridesmaids Photos
3:30 – Bride’s Family Photos
2:45 – Groom & Groomsmen Photos
3:15 – Groom’s Family Photos
3:30 – Bride in Hiding
4:00 – Ceremony
4:30 – Ceremony Ends/Cocktail Hour Begins
4:40 – Remaining wedding party group photos & remaining family group photos
5:00 – Bride & Groom formal photos
5:30 – Reception Begins
• Grand Entrance
• Dinner & Toasts
• Formal Dances
• Cake Cutting
• Bouquet & Garter Toss
• Open Dancing
8:00 – Special Portraits
• Sunset Photos (May-Sept)
• Night Portraits (Oct-April)

This is just a general idea and can be adjusted, after all it is your big day and your dream wedding! Let’s break it down to the details to explain what every aspect of the day is!

THE DETAILS

Detail photos are super important and set the mood for how the rest of the day will look. I try to make it my priority to make sure to capture even the smallest details. You have taken so much time to plan everything out so thoroughly. These details mattered to you when planning, so I want to make sure to capture them all!

The details consist of the rings, the jewelry, the shoes, the dress, the accents you chose for the venue, etc. They are all important to me because they are important to you!

GETTING READY

When it comes to getting ready I like to wait as long as possible to start. The reason for this is I have never met a bride who wants pictures with only half of their makeup on. I want to capture those last few minutes of finishing touches. Hair is done, makeup is finished, and there you are in all your glory! This is the sweet spot for getting ready pictures.

After these final touches I step out and let the bride get into her dress. I come back in a few minutes later and get those “button up” pictures with the dress. Often this is with either the mother of the bride or the maid of honor.

THE FIRST LOOK

Once I arrive on site I’ll start looking around for locations that would be ideal for a first look. I typically arrive 30 minutes before I am scheduled to begin. I take into account lighting, backdrops, and privacy to ensure your special moment is beautiful & goes uninterrupted! Once I decide on a spot, I’ll run it by the bride & groom to make sure that works for them and we’ll go from there! I always set up the groom or father of the bride first and have him facing the opposite direction of where the bride will be coming from.

From there, I’ll run it by the bride & groom to make sure that works for them and we’ll go from there! I always set up the groom or father of the bride first and have him facing the opposite direction of where the bride will be coming from. From there, I’ll grab the bride, get into my position, and let the magic happen by her going and tapping him on the shoulder!

I always like to wait to avoid interrupting their moment until they tell me that they’re ready for the formal portraits! If you’re not planning on having a First Look, just ignore this part!

BRIDE & GROOM FORMALS

I generally love most all aspects of the wedding day. It’s such a privilege to be a small part of these newlyweds life and story! Above every other aspect of the day, bride and groom formals are my favorite hands down.

Most of the time the venue has beautiful locations to get those romantic and cinematic shots. Most of the time I try to stay on site, but sometimes there may be a near by location off site that is too good to pass on. I always run this by the bride and groom first of course and also take into account the timeline.

I can’t stress the importance of making a timeline and sticking to it! I have seen too many weddings where the momentum has slowed way down because the timeline went off course. This can kill your reception. With all of your investments in the reception there is no room for error.

I only do off site shooting if the timeline allows. The last thing I want as a wedding photographer is to ruin the rest of your big day by letting my creativity run wild!

WEDDING PARTY FORMALS

This aspect of portraits is so important because it showcases your most important people! These are the people you chose to stand beside you on one of the most important days of your lives! I will photograph the bride & bridesmaids, the groom & groomsmen, and then the wedding party photo together! The only thing I ask is that everyone pays attention and is cooperative so we can get through it as efficiently as possible!

FAMILY FORMALS

These are also very important and special because it’s with your family! I usually will suggest keeping it to immediate family + grandparents for these photos and then saving extended family for when we have extra time at the reception. But, of course, it’s entirely up to you! I will ask you for a list of combinations before the wedding so I have something to read off of! But, even if you don’t get to it, don’t worry! I’ll make sure that we get all the combinations you were hoping for!

CEREMONY

Ah, what we all were anticipating! The ceremony!! During this time, I’m just photographing the real candid moments! During the processional, I will be up at the beginning of the altar so I can quickly capture photos of the bride walking down the aisle as well as the reaction of the groom.

From there, I will generally hang out in the aisle for the rest of the ceremony and capture all those special moments of you two saying your “I Do’s”! As The photographer I want my footprint to be as small as possible.

COCKTAIL HOUR

For couples who are having a first look:

If you’re planning on having a cocktail hour, it’s often great because this will give us an opportunity to catch up on any photos that might have had to been pushed back due to timing restrictions! I’m very adamant about the bride being in hiding no later than 30 minutes before the ceremony as guests start to start arriving then.

So if the day is running a little bit behind (which is no big deal, that’s so normal by the way!), I will sometimes push family photos to after the ceremony and we will photograph them during cocktail hour! However, if we don’t run into that, then you can go enjoy your cocktail hour with your guests!

For couples who are not having a first look:

I would HIGHLY suggest having a dedicated cocktail hour time if you’re not having a first look because this would be the time we would take to photograph your formal photos! I usually will try to get what I can done before the ceremony (see timeline above!) so this would just leave the group wedding party and family photos and then the rest of the time is dedicated to the two of you!!

RECEPTION

Truthfully, I’m just here taking photos of all the events that are happening! The only direction you will receive from me is maybe where to stand during speeches that is best for lighting! Otherwise, I’m just there taking photos of everything happening!! And of course, I’m more than happy to take any photos that you would like (maybe of you and some guests) at any point so never feel like you can’t ask! I’m here for YOU!

SUNSET PHOTOS/NIGHT PHOTOS

Sunset photos are generally most common in my summer weddings! The sun sets a lot later in the evening (ranging from 8-9pm) which allows us time to go out and photograph them without interrupting any of the formal events because those are usually over by that point and it’s just fun partying by then! They’re also more common then because the weather is more predictable and usually we have clear skies!

For night photos, these can also happen at summer weddings if I’m scheduled late enough, but they’re most common in my fall, winter, and early spring weddings! We’ll just go out once it gets dark and I’ll already have a vision of what I’m trying to create in my head! I’ll time these out based on your exact day (google will tell me when the sun is scheduled to set!) so we’ll have it already built into the schedule! Once we’re done, you’ll head back to the reception to continue the party!

IN CONCLUSION

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my wedding day timeline tips! For more tips check out my tips for the perfect wedding planning timeline! And remember to stay up to date on all my future wedding blogs stop by my blog to subscribe!