Odds are you’ve never had to plan a wedding. So it’s understandable that you’re probably a little unsure about how much time you should allocate to each portion of the day. After all, it’s not your day job to know exactly how long it will take to photograph an entire bridal party or how photo and video teams coalesce to get the job done. So fear not, we’re about to break it down for you the same way we do for all of our clients based upon the processes we use to create the beautiful images you see in our portfolio.

First we’d like to acknowledge that we’re big fans of capturing the story of your entire day, so for this example we’ll assume that we’re showing up for the details and sticking around until the dancing gets dirty. Sometimes couples book us to arrive just before the ceremony and it bums us out that we miss out on those important moments leading up to your trip down the aisle.

So here goes. Whenever we get started on the process of outlining a photographic timeline the first question we ask is what time the ceremony starts and how long you anticipate it will last. From there we use that info as the anchor point around which we fine tune the rest of your day. Your answer is 4:30 – 5:00. Thanks for that.

Let’s assume we’re working with an 8 hour wedding timeline that kicks off at 1:00pm and ends at 9:00. We’ll provide a simplistic example timeline and then break it down by section.

Timeline Proposal

1:00 – 2:00 Photographers Arrive. Detail Photos
2:00 – 3:00 Bridal Portraits + Groom Portraits + Candids
3:00 – 3:30 First Look
3:30 – 4:00 Bridal Party Photos
4:00 – 4:30 Bride in Hiding
4:30 – 5:00 Ceremony
5:00 – 6:00 Cocktail Hour + Family Photos + Romantic Sunset Shots
6:15 Grand Entrance
6:20 First Dance
6:30 – 9:00 Defer to DJ’s Timeline + Toasts, Parent Dances + Garter & Bouquet Toss + Cake Cutting + Faux Sparkler Exit

Let’s expand upon each of these blocks of time so that you’ll have a good understanding of what goes down during each and what you should expect.

Really quick, we’d just like to point out that in this example you don’t notice any time for travel or logistics and that’s because whenever possible we recommend that you both get ready in close proximity at the same location. If you choose to get ready at a hotel across town we’ll have to trim some fat off the timeline by shortening blocks or adding additional coverage to make time. It really sucks to rush on a wedding day.

Details

This is the portion of the day when we’ll gather and photograph all of the thoughtful little things that make the day uniquely yours. We recommend having theses items prepared ahead of time so that we don’t have to waste a single precious moment. It’s best to have them placed carefully into a little box or bag so that we can relocate them to an area with the best light and photographic potential. Don’t worry, we’ll go out of our way to make sure the groom won’t see the dress. Some of the typical items that we recommend preparing for the bride are your rings, dress, hanger, shoes, invitations, flowers, jewelry, perfume bottle etc.

For the groom we recommend staging your shoes, watch, tie, belt, socks, cufflinks, bottles of fine spirits, flask, pocket knife and any other gentlemanly artifact you feel defines your style.

Once we’re done with the details we’ll return them to your rooms and capture the final touches during the few last moments of you getting your hair and makeup finished. Your hair and makeup should be 100% completely finished at 2:00. We can’t emphasize enough just how important it is that you stress this to your MUA. Going over here is the #1 wedding timeline pitfall. At this point we’ll step out of the room and twiddle our thumbs in the hallway while we allow you to get dressed.

Final note on this section. If you want to end up with the tidy, minimalistic photos that you’ve seen in our portfolio, it’s going to require a clean and spacious well lit environment. So although we live in the real world and everyone has clutter, we highly urge you to appoint someone in your squad to make sure that everything is looking spot on when the photographers arrive. Hide bags in closets, trash the water bottles and make sure everything is generally aesthetically appealing.

Getting Ready + Bridal Portraits

The details are done, you’re in your dress and the guys should be cinching those straight ties and pinning the boutonnières. Once we come back into the room we’ll get some shots of your bridesmaids assisting you getting ready plus a host of really natural candid moments as we melt into the scene. At times we’ll ask you for a little of this and a little of that while offering some guidance along the way. We love this portion of the day because in general, window light is the most flattering of all natural light and hotels offer just that. If you’re doing video with us we’ll carve out a few moments to record an intimate letter reading that we can use as dialogue for your video edit. About 10 minutes before first look we’ll let you know it’s time to cut out and we’ll head down to a place we’ve already chosen for the big moment.

Final Tips for getting ready. Ask that your makeup artist position you in the nicest looking chair in the room, facing directly towards the largest window, but not so close to it that direct beaming light hits you or any part of your body. We want that nice even light wrapping around you and we want to be able to position ourselves between you and the window with enough room to shoot. Next we recommend, getting nice matching white or neutral colored robes that you can lounge in until you slide into the dress.

First Look

The first look is a controversial topic. Let’s first define what a first look is and then we’ll discuss why it’s so important. A first look is an opportunity for you and your partner to see each other before the actual ceremony goes down. It takes place in as private a setting as we can find on offer and we treat it as an unforgettable moment to express your emotions on the most important day of your life. Although it’s not traditional, it’s also in no way bad luck to see your significant other before the ceremony despite what your momma told you. In the course of shooting hundreds and hundreds of weddings, we still have more happy first look couples than we can count. In fact, probably a lot happier and here’s why.

Not only is the first look a really special moment between the two of you, it’s also a chance to take a lot of the weight off your shoulders in terms of post ceremony stress later in the day. Maybe if you’re lucky it’ll even afford you 2 or 3 minutes to make cocktail hour.

During the first look we’ll capture those tender first expressions between the two of you and once you’ve settled in we’ll spend the next 10 – 20 minutes working through some couples portraits before inviting the bridal party to join you for bridal formals. We’ll get all the girls together, all the guys together, individuals with the bride and each girl + groom and each guy, and finally some larger combinations of group shots. Then the bridal party is done and viola… they can go enjoy cocktail hour after the ceremony. And for that they will thank you.

The alternative to no first look is to try and squeeze bridal party photos, plus the family photos and romantic portraits into one very short cocktail hour. Needless to say this can be a rush at times. But if you choose not to do a first look we totally understand and we’ll make it work.

Bride in Hiding

Go decompress and do what you need to do to prep for the ceremony. We’ll part ways and make our attempt to photograph the ceremony site before anyone has a chance to sit down. If we’re shooting video with you, this is when we’ll get the groom and officiant all mic’d up so we can capture your ceremony vows.

Ceremony

This is the time of day where we go into 100 percent photojournalist mode. Whatever happens here is out of our control and we shoot it the way it goes down in as creative a way as we possible can. If the light sucks or it’s windy, well then thats a part of the story and we’ve learned to love that about the process. That being said there are some things you can try to remember that will make for some good photos but realistically, you’re gonna be on your own planet. Just remember to express yourself and don’t hold back at all. Be vulnerable and if a tear wells up let it roll down your cheek. When the moment comes to kiss the bride, then lay it on her and make it count.

Guess what, you’re married!

Cocktail hour + Family Photos + Sunset Romantics

Right after the ceremony we’ll round up your family and start knocking out those legacy family formals. Let you officiant know that after the wedding they can assist by asking immediate family to stick around. We’ll have already worked up a family shot list on your behalf and we’ll start working our way down the list. Keep in mind that each photo combination can take as long as 2-3 minutes depending on how chatty, and or cooperative your respective families are. So we recommend limiting family photos to immediate family only as extended family can pickup shots with you throughout the reception during table rounds or at the Photo Booth. Speaking of reception, one of us will cut out during family photos to photograph your reception details and rally once we head to romantic portraits.

Once we navigate our way through the family shots we’ll head off to capture the best photos of the day during sunset romantics and get you back just in time to make one hell of an entrance at the biggest party you’ve ever thrown.

Grand Entrance through Reception

At this point we defer to the timeline laid out by your DJ or MC and we make sure we’re in the right place at the right moment. We recommend that you consider keeping us around for the important stuff and cutting us loose about 15 minutes into open dancing. At this point we’ve gotten everything we need and you’re better of saving your money for the honeymoon. If you want to do a faux sparkler exit we can always plan for that as well and we can give you some additional tips regarding how to pull it off.

One last thing to note about reception is the topic of vendor meal timing. Every venue has a different policy but we as a vendor community prefer to eat before or at the same time as the guests in order to ready ourselves for the commencement of speeches. When vendors are served last which is often the case, they rarely have a moment to eat and 8 hours of low blood sugar leads to shaky hands and shaky hands equal… well you get the point.

That wraps up the topic of creating a photographic timeline and with the knowledge we dropped here, it’s our hope that we’ve equipped you to create the perfect roadmap for your own big day. Touch base here if you need a little additional insight.