THE BLOG
Planning your wedding day has been a full time job, you've spent months, or years, planning, shopping, booking and creating those Pinterest boards, and now you've received an important date with your venue to begin properly planning you wedding day timeline!
If wedding photography is important to you (if you are booked with me I hope it is) then it is crucial to enter those final meetings with your wedding venue, planner or simply with your fiancé if you are your doing it all yourself (and hats off to you), with an idea how how to create a perfect timeline for your wedding day with photography in mind.
So, I’ve created this blog post as a guide on how to create the perfect wedding day timeline – to help ease all your wedding day stresses and to give you reassurance that you will get the photos that mean the most to you.
SO WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PLAN YOUR WEDDING DAY TIMELINE?
The best way to ensure a wedding day runs smoothly and according to plan (as much as possible) is by creating a simple yet effective wedding day timeline. Not to scare you bit a poorly created timeline could cause havoc on a wedding day, whereas a carefully planned timeline can also save a wedding.
What most people couples may not realise is that if your wedding day timeline is not created with photography as one of the priorities, then you won’t be guaranteed to get all of the photos you’re likely dreaming of having on your big day.
Because wedding photography is a massive investment for our clients, no matter what style of photographer you decide to book, whether they are a documentary style photographer, like me, who loves captures the majority of the day in a candid and natural way, or if you have booked an editorial and traditional wedding photographer who will need a bit longer to carefully pose you and capture intricate details, then we still need to plan the day with you to make sure we are always in the right place and understand your priorities when it comes to your wedding photographs.
Over the course of the below wedding guide I hope to provide you with advice, details and a plan of action to help you create a timeline that will help you avoid any timing issues on your wedding day that may prevent you from getting those important wedding photographs that you have always dreamed about. Of course if your wedding photos are not a priority to you then hopefully this will still give some guidance and insight as to how to carefully plan your day to get the most for you and your family and friends.
LETS GET STARTED...
1. Start with Your Ceremony Time
Your ceremony time will dictate the flow of your entire wedding day, so begin by planning your timeline around it. Consider the type of ceremony you’re having and how long it will take. Religious ceremonies tend to last 45 minutes to 1 hour, while civil or symbolic ceremonies may only take 20–30 minutes. You will also have to consider the time it will take for you and your guests to get to and from your ceremony venue, as traffic, location and availability of car parking can all play into how long to plan for travel on the day. For example, a church or venue in a busy town centre on a match day will inevitably take longer to get to than a venue in the countryside.
Tell you guests to arrive around 30 minutes before the start of your ceremony to ensure that they are relaxed and on time. Your venue will be able to coordinate this for you to ensure they are seated and ready for you to make your grand entrance, alternatively it is great job to give ushers and groomsmen to keep them out of mischief.
Following your ceremony you should definitely account longer than you anticipate for hugs, congratulations, confetti and general love and laughter after the Ceremony. This is the most perfect opportunity for your photographer to capture some of those beautiful candid moments between your guests. It's one of my favourite parts of the wedding day! In my experience it may take upwards of 20-30 mins to have those moments captured perfectly and make sure you get to say hello to everyone.
MY TOP TIP
Giving your guests the What3Words code on your invitation is a great way to make sure that they get to the correct location as I have found this to be the most accurate navigation aid on the market.
2. Work Backwards for Your Morning Preparation
Getting ready photos are an essential part of your wedding day story. It is the only part of the day where you will not see each other as your excitement and anticipation builds with your closest friends and family. It is so lovely to look back at those moments once the wedding day is over as you remember what was the start of one of the best days of your lives.
As your wedding photographer, I tend to arrive around 3 hours before your ceremony. While this may seem like a long time for getting photos, in that I will typically be capturing your details, exploring your venue for new and interesting spots for your couples portraits. If your coverage includes preparation photos of both of you then this will also be the time to make sure you both are captured properly.
When considering how to plan the timeline for your wedding day morning the following are some recommended timings (based on a wedding day where you are getting ready at the same venue as your ceremony - please allow additional timings for any travel between venues).
Recommended Timing:
- Bridal Hair & Makeup: 3+ hours (ending at least 1 hour before departure)
- Getting Dressed: 30 minutes
- First Look with Parents or Bridesmaids: 15–20 minutes
- Groom & Groomsmen Prep: 1 hour
- Individual Pre-Ceremony Portraits (if applicable): 30–45 minutes
Please allow for additional timings for hair and makeup should you have a larger bridal party. Speak to your hair and makeup artists who are the experts and can give you amazing advice on how long hair and makeup should take on your wedding day.
MY TOP TIP
Plan into your morning the chance to have something to eat, whilst you may feel nervous you will thank yourself later when your stomach is not growling during your wedding ceremony (because it will and yes it can be picked up in any recordings).
3. Cocktail Hour(s)/ Drinks Reception
Okay so this is where the fun truly starts, once your Ceremony, confetti and group hugs on mass are over, you and your guests will make your way to your drinks reception to enjoy a good hour or so mingling, drinking and relaxing.
Your venue will be able to tell you more about where and how this will work but from a photography perspective my main aim is to document the fun and happy moments that happen with you and your guests. During this time as well we will likely also go and take your group shots and couples portraits so you will need to factor that into any timings or planned events during your drinks reception. I will go further into this next.
How long your drinks reception lasts will depend on you and your venues discussions and plans but from a photography perspective ideally we need at least 1.5 to 2 hours. This is because if there are any delays to the morning preparations or ceremony this is where the time will be taken from to make up for it. It also allows your photographer to capture some great candid moments between your guests and not feel overly rushed. These are some of the most important moments as some of the more elderly or younger guests may need to disappear later in the day.
MY TOP TIP
If your drinks reception is scheduled to be around 1 hour or less, consider asking your photographer to hire a second shooter to help them capture candid moments whilst they are capturing your group and couples portraits.
3. Those (sometimes) Dreaded Group Shots!
Lets face it...we've all been there, a wedding where the group shots have taken ages to complete and the bride and groom have stood for what feels like a century, smiling for group photos! I'm guessing you would rather have fun with your guests, relax, drink and eat delicious canapés! To avoid family group shots taking over the day and stopping both your guests and yourselves. enjoying the reception time, you should allocate no more than 30 minutes to take these photos. To make the best use of this time, I typically recommend you organise no more than 10 different groups.
Whilst this may not seem like many, there is so many group photos you can take before it feels like it is too much and your friends and family want to move on. There will be plenty of other opportunities throughout the day to have some less formal photos and I am always happy for my couples to grab me to take photos with other through out the evening.
It is important that you create a list of group shots to give to your wedding photographer. I have a dedicated section on my pre-wedding questionnaire that I send to all my couples before their wedding day that allows them to list their groupings. This allows for more efficiency and speed in getting through the groups also makes sure no one important is missed. I also recommend that you let anyone who will be required for a formal photo know before your wedding day so that they are not running off to their hotel room or car causing any delay.
MY TOP TIP
Ask a friend or family member who will not be needed for the majority or any of the photos to be your dedicated 'guest herder'. They will be able to go round and gather all those wayward guests whilst we work through the list. I often find those with teaching backgrounds tend to excel at this job.
4. Your Turn (Couples Portraits)
I'm going to make this section really simple and easy so that you can get on with your day. Once your wonderful family and friends have headed back to your drinks reception it's time for you and your wedding photographer to create some magical moments for you and your new husband or wife.
I typically suggest that your couples portraits take no longer than 15 to 20 mins. This is due to a number of factors but mainly because I want my couples to be back celebrating with their guests for as long as possible. This also plenty of time to get some natural, gorgeous photos of you both around your wedding venue.
I will have a small section later about further options for some more photos of you together during your evening reception a bit further down.
MY TOP TIP
Ask your venue if they need to show you the reception room before allowing your guests to take a seat. If this is not a requirement it is an option that you have your couples portraits whilst your guests are being seated. This also makes the experience a lot more private if your venue does not have much grounds.
5. Evening Reception (Time to Party)
From a photography perspective there is not much to add to your timeline beyond the drinks reception. Once your guests are seated your photographer will just captured the day as it happens. From your perspective there is also no wrong or right way to plan your evening. You may decide to do your speeches before your meal. This is a great idea if you have speakers who are particularly nervous as it allows them to get it out of the way and enjoy their food. If you do decide to do speeches before the meal I would recommend limiting the time and number of speakers as your guests will start to become hungry quite quickly.
Following speeches and your wedding breakfast there can often be a period of time where you and your guests are able to relax and mingle before your evening guests arrive to party the night away with you. The only traditional wedding formalities to conclude at this point are the cake cut and your first dance (eek). There is no set time for doing cake cut and first dance. Traditionally the cake cut will happen just before the first dance but as this is your wedding day tradition can be thrown out of the window. You may prefer to cut and eat the cake instead of having a dessert as part of your wedding breakfast (I mean why pay for both!). In this case you may wish to cut the cake first before any of your speeches or wedding breakfast take place.
After your first dance the only thing left to do is party the night away. There should be absolutely no plan at this point and hopefully you will have forgotten that there ever was on. The most important thing to do is to enjoy yourself and spend the evening celebrating with your friends and family. At the ends of the day it is not very often you are all together in one room at any one time. I love to stay and photograph the dancefloor, there is nothing more fun for me as a wedding photographer than to see everyone truly enjoying themselves and letting their hair down.
MY TOP TIP
If you are planning on using sparklers during the evening from a photography perspective the best time to do this is at dusk - check with your wedding venue to make sure you are allowed to do sparklers and whether you can fit it into your timelines around this time.
5. Golden Hour or Night Flash Portraits
Depending on the time of year you get married there is also an option to have further time included in your wedding day timeline for portraits of you and your new husband/wife.
In the summer months it is much more likely that an hour before sunset I will come dancing towards you with a beaming grin to tell you that the light is looking amazing. My favourite sunsets of the year are actually in November and December, but the timings of the day make it much harder for us to sneak away during sunset even for a few moments. Of course if like me you cannot resist a sunset I will break you free for at least 10 minutes to capture some intimate moments of you both in that incredible light. We would really only need around 10-15 minutes to capture these sunset photos, as I would have found the perfect spot ahead of coming to get you, so you would be back with your guests in no time. It is worth checking what time sunset will be on your wedding day in advance so you can try and allocate 15 minutes into your wedding day timeline and perhaps works other events during the day around it.
If you are having a beautiful winter wedding and we were not so lucky with the weather or timings of the day then fear not because one of my other favourite things to do is to get creative with some night time flash portraits. Whether this is a champagne spray, flash under a pergola or umbrella shot whilst the rain falls around you. These images are so fun to make and will be totally worth stepping out into the cold again one more time to create.
MY TOP TIP
Ask your venue about their wet weather plan and ask if there are any hidden gens inside that we can use for some epic portraits should the weather be less than ideal on your wedding day.
5. Final Tips and Advice For Your Wedding Day Timeline
- Enjoy the Moment - do not cram your wedding day schedule full of too many events that distracts you from truly enjoying the day with your friends and family;
- Always factor in extra time for unforeseen delays - I suggest around 15 mins additional per big event (e.g. preparations, ceremony and speeches.
- Make sure you plan your music playlist to cover the full day, including your preparations (its never nice to be getting ready in silence).
- Don't underestimate the importance of keeping your guests well-fed and hydrated - happy guests means amazing candid photos.
- If you have a morning ceremony, provide plenty of non-alcoholic options and enough chances for guests to grab water (particularly in the summer).
- Communication with Your Photographer - share your vision and must-have shots with me, so I can ensure your day is captured just as you imagine.
- Just remember, your day’s about having fun and making memories so do not overthink it and above make sure it is about you and what you want.
Hopefully the above was helpful as a general guide to how to get the most of your wedding day from a photography perspective. I have also created a sample wedding day timeline which are more than welcome to personalise using Canva (free version) to create your perfect wedding day timeline.
Free Canva Sample Wedding Day Timeline
To my couples who have booked me as their photographer… if you have any questions about your timeline or would like to chat through your options, please feel free to contact me, I’m here for you every step of the way.
Contact Me
If you would like any more guidance or information or would like to chat about your wedding plans please contact me below, I would love to hear all about your wedding day.
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