Recently I was asked how I come up with wedding day timelines.

“Do you have an example of one of your timelines or schedule for the wedding day? How you organize your thoughts, etc. I know this is probably different for each wedding, but if you have an example saved, I would greatly appreciate it!”

The first thing I ask my clients before customizing their timeline is, “Do you plan on doing a first look?”

(In short, a first look is not the traditional way to first see each other on the wedding day, but it’s certainly the most popular! In my time photographing weddings, I have had maybe 2…yes, 2 couples that wished to wait to see each other until the ceremony. It’s neither right nor wrong; it’s just personal preference for the couple.)

The timeline of a wedding day differs greatly if there is a first look or not, mostly in how much time I get to photograph the couple. If the couple wants to wait to see each other until the ceremony, we have a very short amount of time immediately after the ceremony to photography the family portraits, bridal party, and the couple themselves. If the couple has a first look, we are able to do all the portraits before the ceremony which means that after the ceremony, everyone gets to completely relax and enjoy cocktail hour.

Ideal Wedding Timeline (with First Look)

• 1:00 PM – Arrive at church or getting ready location. Photograph bridal gown, shoes, jewelry, bouquet, small details, makeup finishing, etcetera. Bride getting into gown and 15 minutes for bridal portraits. If the groom is getting ready at the same location (hotel, for example), we photograph him getting ready as well.
• 2:30 PM – First Look and bridal couple portraits
• 3:15 PM – Bridal Party portraits
• 4:00 PM – Immediate Family portraits
• 4:30 PM – Tuck bride and bridal party away as guests begin to arrive.
• 5:00 PM – Ceremony begins
• 5:30 PM – Ceremony ends
• 6:00-7:00 PM – Cocktail hour (If cocktail hour is outdoors or in a naturally lit area, it’s much easier to capture guests mingling. Guests are uncomfortable if they know they are being photographed, particularly with flash. During this time, we also get a advanced access to the ballroom/main reception area to begin photographing table decor, cake, uplighting, etcetera. If possible, I get started on the same-day slideshow.)
• 7:00 PM – Introduction of bridal party. Reception gets underway. I always touch base with the DJ about the line-up of the events and make sure s/he knows how long we are there. As dinner is served, we set up our off-camera flash, prep the same day slideshow (if unable to do it during cocktail hour), and, when the bridal couple is done eating, sneak them outside for a few sunset photos (about 10 minutes)
• 7:30-9:00 PM – Toasts, dances, and cake cutting
• 9:00 PM – Photographers leave; hugs and goodbyes

Ideal Wedding Timeline (without First Look)

• 2:00 PM – Arrive at church or getting ready location. Photograph bridal gown, shoes, jewelry, bouquet, small details, makeup finishing, etcetera. Bride getting into gown and 15 minutes for bridal portraits. If the groom is getting ready at the same location (hotel, for example), we photograph him getting ready as well. Travel to ceremony location.
• 3:30 PM – Guests will always start arriving so we’ll want to make sure to have bride tucked away by this time if she’s at the church.
• 4:00 PM – Ceremony begins
• 4:30 PM approx – Ceremony ends
• 4:45 PM – Immediate Family portraits
• 5:10 PM – Bridal Party portraits
• 5:40 PM – Bridal couple photos
• 6:30 PM – Cocktail hour (If cocktail hour is outdoors or in a naturally lit area, it’s much easier to capture guests mingling. Guests are uncomfortable if they know they are being photographed, particularly with flash. During this time, we also get a advanced access to the ballroom/main reception area to begin photographing table decor, cake, uplighting, etcetera. If possible, I get started on the same-day slideshow.)
• 7:30 PM – Introduction of bridal party. Reception gets underway. I always touch base with the DJ about the line-up of the events and make sure s/he knows how long we are there. As dinner is served, we set up our off-camera flash, prep the same day slideshow, and, when the bridal couple is done eating, sneak them outside for a few sunset photos (about 10 minutes)
• 8:00-10:00 PM – Toasts, dances, and cake cutting
• 10:00 PM – Photographers leave; hugs and goodbyes

A few notes to brides from my observation and experience…

– Guests don’t love waiting around for photos to end or for the bridal party to arrive. They want to be entertained. Make the cocktail hour something fun, memorable, and unique so they can enjoy their time instead of feeling like they are waiting for you to get there. They are happy for you and want to celebrate with you. Also, you should be able to enjoy cocktail hour too so make sure you grab a drink and start mingling.

– It is best to have your wedding planner or someone close to the family on hand to help organize the family portraits. This is especially necessary for portraits being done after the ceremony. I always have a list of who is immediate family, but inevitably someone has wandered off and it stalls the flow and the timeline.

– While I try to be as efficient as possible, I also want to be capturing real smiles and make the experience fun not just for you, but for your bridal party. It’s incredibly difficult to do this after the ceremony when the bridal party has one two things on their mind: party & alcohol. 🙂 If you are choosing to do portraits after the ceremony, please remind your bridal how important it is for them to stick around after the ceremony.

– I only photography immediate families during the family portrait time. This includes parents, step-parents, siblings, their spouses & children, and grandparents. If there are larger groups of people (aunts, uncles, cousins), we can take those photos during the reception when the DJ can announce them and everyone is there. I recommend limited those big group requests to 4 or less.

– The best planners that we work with make sure we (my assistant and I) get fed early during dinner. That means that we are done when the bridal party is done and available for parent dances, toasts, etc. That means we never miss anything.

– Regardless of whether you’re doing your couple portraits before or after, remember that this is the one time throughout the day that you don’t have everyone else around. Soak it in, enjoy it, relax together. We’ll have fun, I promise.