Hey there, bride!

You’re doing it! You’re getting married, and it’s an extremely exciting time! Except for logistics (not so exciting). When should people be where, and how much time do we need for this, and that? It’s called a timeline… yep, it’s a tad overwhelming to think the whole day through hour by hour… have no fear, I got you!

Here are some key questions to ask yourself when planning your timeline. OH, and by the way… if you’ve booked a collection with me, I will personally help you build the best possible timeline for your day!

FIRST: How long do you have your venue, and what time should your guests leave?

• For example, if everyone needs to be off property by 11 pm, the final dance should be between 10:15-10:30 with the final send-off at 10:45.

Second: How long do you have your photographer? When will he/she arrive? What events do I want to be photographed?

• Most collections have 8 hours of coverage, so decide what reception events you’d like covered, and then subtract the 8 hours from that.

• For example, if your last event of the night is a faux exit at 9 pm, you’ll want your photog to arrive at 1 pm. If your exit is at 10:45, maybe he/she should arrive closer to 2:30/3:00.

Third, and maybe the most important: What time is the sunset and are you doing a first look? This should determine what time your ceremony takes place.

• If you get married in May, the sun sets around 8 pm. This means that in order to maximize your golden hour portraits (the best time of day for these photos), you’ll want to have your ceremony at 6 pm and do a first look around 3 pm. This provides time between 3-5:30 for first look photos, the bridal party shots, and the bride and groom portraits. After the ceremony, we’ll do family portraits (30 minutes max) and just married portraits (30 minutes).
• If you choose not to do the first look, then you need to plan for all photos to be taken after the ceremony: family formals (30 minutes), bridal party portraits (30 minutes), just married portraits (30 minutes), sunset portraits (20 minutes). I know, a lot of portraits, but I promise you will not regret it after the wedding. This means your ceremony will need to be closer to 4 pm.

Why am I telling you all of this?

Timelines are obviously not as easy as you think, and if photography is an important aspect of your day (which it should be), making sure that you have sunlight after the ceremony is important (especially if you don’t plan on doing a first look)!

My brides are hiring me because they love my work and my style. If there isn’t sunlight, I can definitely still take portraits with my flash, but your images won’t be what you see on my blog or on my website!

Overall: This is how much time your photographer needs in order to give you the images you are looking for!

Details:  1 hour

Getting Ready: 30 minutes

First Look: 30-40 minutes

Bridal Party: 30-40 minutes

Family Formals: 30 minutes

Just Married Portraits: 20-30 minutes

Sunset Portraits: As much time as you will give me!

As I previously said, it is a part of my collections to help you with this wedding day timeline! SO take me up on it! I promise you won’t regret it.

Thanks for coming to my Timeline Ted-Talk 🙂