The Ultimate Guide to Your Wedding Timeline
SO, WHAT TIME SHOULD I START MY WEDDING CEREMONY?
Well that all depends on a few factors. In this article we will go over the best way to determine not only your ceremony time, but plan out the rest of your day as well.
As a wedding photographer, it’s my job to capture all the moments of your wedding day. The ones you see and the ones you might miss. There is a secret weapon that you, as the bride (and groom), can create to ensure that your wedding story is complete.
And if you’ve found your way to this guide, either as a potential bride or as a Gingersnap booked bride, wedding photography and videography MATTERS to you. It’s probably the single most important aspect (besides walking down the aisle of course) of your entire wedding day. You want those beautiful pictures, in an album and on the walls, to remember how amazing you felt on your wedding day.
WEDDING TIMELINE PLANNING
“MAKE TIME FOR THE PEOPLE AND THINGS THAT MATTER MOST TO YOU.”
Well, the secret weapon isn’t sexy, as far as secret weapons go, it’s (drumroll) A TIMELINE! Yes, a well planned, photography centered wedding timeline is the most important thing you can create to make sure you get the pictures you want. Centering your timeline around what will become your MOST treasured family heirlooms-your wedding day photos- is ESSENTIAL to getting the most out of your big day.
I have a secret weapon of my own to help create gorgeous, bright, makes you-happy-to-look-at-them portraits? It’s NATURAL LIGHT! And when you account for the right lighting in your wedding timeline planning, and correlate that lighting with most importantly, portraits, then you’ve done your part to get those images you crave.
BONUS? Your day will run smoothly and you’ll feel relaxed (minus the butterflies) because you pre-planned the day. And after distributing your wedding day timeline to all the key players, members of your wedding party and family will have zero excuses for not showing up on time, in the appropriate place and properly dressed. I’ve even had brides work in a little beauty cat-nap into their wedding morning timeline! Now, THAT IS the wedding day you deserve!
Read below to see the parts of the wedding day that I suggest you mark first on your wedding day timeline. We’re actually going to start out by creating a wedding photography timeline and expand from there. And if you are a booked Gingersnap bride, I’ll help make sure your timeline is perfect!
WEDDING TIMELINE TEMPLATE
The first thing I want you to do after you get out pen and paper is look up the time of sunset on your wedding day and write that down.
My biggest tip is to actually work backwards, starting with the last formal portraits I typically take during your wedding day, the bride and groom portraits which are scheduled after the ceremony but before the reception. They should be the first time allowance you make on your timeline draft. Read below to find out why and for the list of the specific photography time allowances that should go on your wedding photography timeline.
Bride & Groom Portraits (30 minutes)-After you say your I do’s and after we’ve taken family portraits, I’ll whisk you and your groom away for portraits as newlyweds. These are SO special and will become the portraits your grandchildren (and great grandchildren) will marvel over. We need natural light to do you and your man justice, so the first thing you’ll look at when planning your wedding timeline is the time the sun will set on your wedding day. We’ll plan your wedding day portraits for 30 minutes before this time and then work backwards. I’m drooling over the thought of beautiful golden hour portraits already! Ideally, your guests will be making their way to the reception while we’re taking photos. If you don’t want to enter your reception in the dark then we’ll push forward the bride and groom portraits earlier on the timeline.
Formal Family & Wedding Party Portraits (45 minutes): Right after the ceremony and before newlywed portraits is when I suggest scheduling Formal Family & Wedding Party Portraits. Everyone is way more relaxed...the ceremony just finished AND we can make sure that late Uncle Mike has arrived and we won’t have to photoshop him in...LOL!
Ceremony (30 minutes)- Finally! The ceremony! So now you see why a sunset ceremony may not be conducive to getting the best wedding photos. If you have your heart set on this type of moody ceremony, we can work together to shuffle the family & wedding party portraits before the ceremony. But doing so, does take out the option to not see each other prior to the ceremony. But that’s ok...there are things we can do. We can just add in a first look that will give us the opportunity in the right light for bride & groom portraits. But now you see, having a firm wedding day timeline in place is so important for keeping just the moving parts of wedding photography running smoothly.
Reception Details (30 minutes): Prior to the ceremony, while you and the groom are hiding from arriving guests (and each other), I’ll step away to grab detailed shots of the reception. We want to make sure that all the flowers, décor, and cake are on full display and the décor is just so.
Bridal Prep & Portraits (45 minutes): I ask the mother of the bride and all bridesmaids to be fully dressed (hair and makeup) before you put your gown on. This will ensure that everyone will look lovely in their gowns and all the attention will be on helping the bride with her dress, jewelry, and shoes. These are just the sweetest photos. We’ll head outside to get some natural light bridal photos before your guests start to arrive, too. If you plan on having a first look with your bridesmaids or family members, make sure to add about 15 minutes per first look. *You will need a firm estimate from your hair and make-up artist on how long it will take to get EVERYONE in your bridal party dolled up and you’ll want to make sure you have allotted the appropriate amount of time to getting ready, with a nice padding for mishaps.
Groom Prep & Portraits (45 minutes): I usually ask the groom and his groomsmen to be on the wedding timeline 45 minutes before bridal portraits. This way, I can be in the groom’s camp while the hair and makeup artists are working on the bridal party. Just like the brides, I ask that the groomsmen are fully dressed before we tackle detail and prep shots with the groom. The we will take the guys out for their portraits which can help reduce portrait time after the ceremony and get you to your reception quicker. FUN FACT: The boys always complain about having their pictures taken, but they really ham it up for the camera! You’ll laugh your your-know-what-off at some of these photos!
Wedding Detail Shots (1-1.5 hours): This is usually when my day starts with you and honestly is my favorite way to begin. I just love detail shots: the shoes, the dress, the jewelry, all the bridesmaids dresses lined up in a row. It’s the vision for your wedding day coming together and it’s magical to witness. You’ll love these photos, too, because they won’t just remind you of your wedding day. They will remind you of the fun days you went dress shopping and the moment you found “the dress” or the nights you stayed up late and pinned mood boards on Pinterest. If you’d like more information on what details are all about, check out my guide here!
This will be the template for your master wedding day template. Adjust accordingly, always padding in more time than you think you might need and keeping the time the sun sets as your most valuable centering point.
Congratulations, you’ve just created a rough draft of your wedding day timeline, and given yourself the gift of a more relaxed wedding day. But more importantly you’ve given me the tools necessary to create family heirlooms you and your family will treasure for a lifetime and beyond. If this guide is overwhelming to you, don’t worry one bit! Start with choosing your ceremony time and refer back to this guide when its comes time! If you have hired me as your wedding photographer or videographer I will be MORE than happy to create your timeline for you or work with your planner so you don’t have to worry about a thing! If you haven’t found your photographer and videographer yet, let chat below!