Your Wedding day timeline can get really overwhelming. There are so many considerations and as you’ve likely never planned a wedding before, you may not know where to begin. This guide will help you get a rough estimate of how many hours to book your photographer, how much time is needed for certain portraits, and many other great tips.
I often work with my clients 1:1 to help guide them along this process, especially if they don’t have a Day of Coordinator. So I’m sharing this info here so you can reference it at your own pace and anytime you need it. While all weddings are different this info may not work for everyone, the information provided is pretty standard and can be tweaked to suit the needs of your special day.
First, here are a couple of rules for building your timeline.
HOURS
A typical wedding day timeline for photography is 8-10 hours and is typically the minimum requirement for many photogs including myself. This is because all of the most important stuff can be covered during this time but really that depends on your locations and how you formulate your timeline. Below I will provide you with as much info as possible to help you plan the perfect wedding day timeline and get the most out of your photography budget.
ARRIVAL TIME
Photography will start approximately 10min after arrival time. Your photographer needs time to get in, say hello’s, introductions, get organized, set up equipment, and familiarize themselves with their surroundings. This may work out to less but you do need to consider it when putting together the wedding day timeline. I have built this 10min buffer time into each of the sections below.
DEPARTURE TIME
When planning out your timeline, indicate what time the photographer should be leaving the location, this will be the start of the “travel time”.
TRAVEL TIME
When creating your timeline, it’s SOOOOOO Important to not forget your travel time budget- depending on where your wedding is, if we have to stop at many locations this will greatly affect the timing and you need to build in that travel time. Also plan for traffic, in rural areas, if it takes you 10min to get from A to B, add another 10min to the budget. This is to account for traffic, accidents, getting lost, etc. never plan everything down to the minute or you could run into big problems on your wedding day, always have some leeway. For city and highway driving, don’t trust what google maps say, it changes based on the traffic. Give even more wiggle room here, at least an extra 20-30min, the bigger the city the more wiggle room time you need.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIME BUDGET
For each section below I will give you your “Photography Time Budget,” please note that this does not include travel time. This is strictly the amount of time that I need to capture your amazing portraits!
Now that we have the rules laid out, here are all of the different scenarios and what you need to consider when planning out your wedding day timeline.
Getting Ready Approximately 2 hours
I LOVE capturing the getting-ready photos! It’s the only part of the day that you and your partner are typically not together so I know when you look back at the photos later you’ll really enjoy these captured moments. There are no hard and fast rules here, every wedding is different and has its own unique circumstances, below is what I have encountered as “typical” getting ready scenarios for couples getting married. No matter how your morning is going to flow, we are happy to work with you to find a timeline structure that’s best for you both!
In a perfect world, you and your partner would get ready at the same location, for example, the same hotel or at your wedding venue, just on separate floors/rooms. To me, this is an ideal scenario as I can bounce between rooms and capture both of these getting-ready scenarios for you.
I understand this is not always possible so if you do require both getting ready moments documented and you are getting ready at different locations then I suggest adding a second photographer to at least the first half of your day. Or sometimes only one partner wants their prep covered and the other doesn’t. Sometimes we’ll get the other partner at the ceremony location a few moments before guests start to arrive.
In my experience, one partner tends to need less coverage of their getting ready. Maybe they are a bit shyer, don’t have as many people coming to get ready, or have as much to do, or as much to photograph. That’s totally ok! The most important thing is that they have their shoes, fit, and any accessories or keepsakes together that they want to be photographed.
For the partner who has more going on for their getting ready experience, such as hair and makeup, complex outfits, and all the extra trimmings, we need a bit more time allotted with them.
- Detail shots and candids of getting final touches, toasting, and having fun. Make sure the outfit, flowers, accessories, and everything you want to be photographed are put aside and ready to go. TIP: Your flowers should be on-site before this start time. (30min)
- Getting dressed, here is where we’ll capture the magic as you transform into your beautiful self. Lots of candids and some posed here as well. (30min)
- Pre-ceremony portraits, everyone should be dressed and ready to go! We’ll use the location you’re at or one on the way to the ceremony to grab stunning portraits of just you and your crew, your parents etc.
PRO TIP: To get the best photos during the getting ready portraits, make sure you’re using a location that is bright and open with lots of room, depending on the size of your wedding party. Not all houses work well for this, especially if you have hair & makeup being done at the house or hotel. You want to make sure there is plenty of room for everyone and lots of natural light. Sometimes paying a little extra for a hotel room can make all the difference if you don’t have a suitable home location, make sure you ask for their largest suite to accommodate everyone. Book it well in advance to make sure it’s available, most hotels only have a couple of the larger suites.
First Look
PHOTOGRAPHY TIME BUDGET: 10 min
Let’s get this one out of the way because it’s a pretty easy decision, you either are ok with this, or you are not, and that’s ok. First looks are awesome and there is a reason why they have become so popular over the decades. Here are all the reasons why you may want a first look.
- It’s a special and intimate moment between you and your love before walking down the aisle. We can make this moment as simple or as creative as you want it, the sky’s the limit here.
- Couples who are more nervous about all the attention also love this because their honey usually helps calm their nerves.
- We can do your portraits right after this and before the ceremony so you won’t need the big gap between the ceremony and reception for portraits and can mingle with your guests during cocktail hour.
Ceremony
PHOTOGRAPHY TIME BUDGET: 30 min
For the ceremony, 30min is a pretty standard length for non-religious ceremonies. Depending on your ceremony type, you’ll need to adjust this timeline. Again, add an extra 10 min buffer in the budget should there be any delays. Make sure you ask your officiant/minister/priest/rabbi etc. how long your ceremony will be.
Family Portraits
PHOTOGRAPHY TIME BUDGET: 20 min
We do family portraits right after the ceremony because everyone you need will be easy to grab. If you can give your family notice that we’ll be taking pictures immediately after the ceremony, that will also ensure that no one wanders off. I’ll help you create a list of family portrait combinations before the big day.
Wedding Party Portraits
PHOTOGRAPHY TIME BUDGET: 1.5 Hours
It’s time for your wedding party formal portraits! Whether you’re doing this after the first look or after the ceremony and family portraits the time budget is the same. We’ll head to a perfect and convenient location for your portraits, in the first 20 minutes we’ll grab all the photos needed with your wedding party, and then we’ll let them go back to the limo or hang out off to the side while we go and do your couples portraits.
Cocktail Hour & Reception Detail Shots
TIME BUDGET: 30min-40min
Usually, we’ll try to arrange to be at the reception at least 30min before your grand entrance, during this time I/we will get all of the detail shots of your room as well as candids of your cocktail hour before it ends, if possible.
Reception
TIME BUDGET: Up to you!
This is where you have to decide how much of the reception you want to be covered. Some couples are happy with having their photographer get their grand entrance where they’ll do the first dance right away as well as the parent dances and cake cutting. Then the photographer leaves.
Sometimes it works out that 8 hours gets you a little-added coverage of the reception dinner based on how things work for your wedding day timeline.
PRO TIP: Depending on where your wedding day timeline lands us in the day, I always like to take my couples outside of the reception location for 20mins to grab those gorgeous sunset Golden Hour shots!
Ultimately, if you are wanting some of the post-dinner, dance party captured then you’ll need to add those extra hours, it just depends on what’s important to you to have captured. Are you doing a special send-off or have surprises planned for your guests during the evening? Bouquet and Garder toss? Things like this you’ll likely want to have documented as a part of your story. Don’t rely on guest photos to capture these moments.
If you want to chat more about your wedding day timeline, let’s chat.
