Tips for Creating the Perfect Wedding Day Photography Timeline
The secret to the perfect, stress-free wedding is being well-organized. A well thought out wedding photography timeline will go a long way to ensuring you and your guests have the best experience possible. Your wedding day timeline should be a reflection of your values as a couple, prioritizing the special details that matter the most to you. Planning ahead will ensure that your family and friends enjoy their time at your wedding, and that your vendors can provide the best service possible.
While your planner will play a large role in helping you plan your wedding day timeline, there will be no other vendor you spend more time with on your big day than your wedding photographer. From getting ready through the reception, your wedding photographer will largely be by your side all day to capture the important moments. We’ve answered some common questions below as well as some tips for putting together the perfect timeline, from a photographer’s perspective.
How much time do we need for getting ready photos?
We generally suggest 1-2 hours for getting ready photos. Capturing the getting ready photos have always been one of our favorite times during the wedding; the anticipation is so palpable and the energy is contagious! During this time, our job is not only to take beautiful and candid photos of you, your fiancé, and your wedding party, but this is the best opportunity to take photos of special details including your invitation suite, shots of the wedding dress, suit, or tuxedo, as well as toasts with your wedding party. One to two hours seems to be the sweet spot for this. Keep in mind that while you may take longer than this time to get ready, you really only want your photographer there near the end when you and your wedding party are close to picture perfect! This is also why it is important to have a second photographer so that you, your fiancé, and your full wedding party can have adequate coverage while getting ready.
TIP: Let your photographer know about any details that are important to you. Our job is to tell the story of your wedding day in photos, and those special details make your story more rich and full.
How does having a first look affect the timeline?
For those who may not be familiar with this term, a “first look” is a special time, before your guests have arrived, where the couple sees one another in their wedding attire privately for the first time. We highly recommend a first look if your timeline can accommodate it.
Your wedding day will fly by, and having a first look will allow for flexibility in planning family portraits before the ceremony. This can be important if you’d like to mix-and-mingle with your guests at cocktail hour. Additionally, we always encourage an additional couple’s portrait session after the ceremony—there’s an entirely different energy in the air; the climax of the wedding has passed and all that’s left are the festivities! We’ve found couples to be more relaxed, more free-spirited, and more eager for some lovely romantic photos after the ceremony. These all make for beautiful portraits that you and your family will love. Completing family formal portraits before the ceremony is also advantageous because it maximizes time after the ceremony for the couple’s portrait session.
How much time do we need for bridal party portraits?
If you choose to have a first look, from our experience, we’ve found that 60/30/30 is an ideal rule of thumb if you are planning a first look. 60 minutes for the first look and couples portraits, 30 minutes for wedding party portraits, and 30 minutes for family portraits. It is always best to buffer in extra time just in case—weddings never go exactly as planned, and though we may not need a full 30 minutes for the wedding party portraits, if we plan for 30 minutes and start later than anticipated, we’ll still be ok!
If you choose not to see each other prior to the ceremony, the same rule applies but we may have to be more creative with timing. For example, 30 minutes before the ceremony could be dedicated to wedding party portraits, 30 minutes after the ceremony for family formal portraits, and 30-60 minutes after family formals for couples portraits. Plus, you may need an additional few minutes for a big combined wedding party portrait—this may take some time away from either couples portraits or family formals. This timeline is ideal if you do not plan to attend cocktail hour.
When should we schedule family formal portraits?
If you choose to have a first look, you can plan to get these formal portraits completed before the ceremony.
If you choose to not see each other prior to the ceremony, it is still possible to get some of those portraits completed prior to the ceremony, but it isn’t ideal as both you and your fiance will not be in the photos together. We would have to schedule those larger portraits during cocktail hour. Ideally, if you opt out of the first look, it is best to complete all the family photos directly after the ceremony, and either have an announcement made or to let family know in advance. From personal experience, once family meanders into cocktail hour, it is incredibly challenging to wrangle them back for family portraits!
Another consideration for families: Grandparents! It is important to keep in mind that even with the first look there might be a number of reasons grandparents or other older guests cannot be present for family formals before the ceremony. They might not be able to show up that early, it might be too hot for them to be outside for too long (depending on location), or they might not have access to the portrait location due to limited mobility. In this case, we usually schedule photos with Grandparents after the ceremony close to the ceremony site.
TIP: Whether you plan your family formal portraits before or after the ceremony, it is important to inform all family members involved where to be and at what time to meet. We require our clients to designate a point-person for this
It is also important to note that couples do not always have the flexibility of planning family formal portraits directly before the ceremony. If the ceremony starts at 5:00pm and guest arrive time is 4:30pm, your guests may see you before the ceremony. It is best to plan to wrap portraits up before guest arrival, if possible.
When is the best time for portraits?
Generally speaking, the best time for portraits is the last two hours before sunset, depending on the time of year. This is important to consider when planning your wedding timeline, but also very important for sunset portraits. Depending on your specific timeline, golden hour may occur during cocktail hour or even the reception. As photographers, we always check in with our clients, so long as we are not in the middle of speeches, to see if they’d like to take advantage of the golden hour light for a few portraits. Depending on the location, all we need is just 5-10 minutes and we’re golden!
How long does the photographer need to be at the reception?
Depending on how you plan your timeline, the photographer will be at the reception until the end, or an hour before the reception ends (this is also dependent whether you and your fiance will have a grand exit).