Wedding timeline tips for a stress free wedding day

#1 cause of stress at weddings

Timelines can be the #1 cause of stress at weddings. Investing in a wedding coordinator to manage everything on the day so you can relax is a great idea! If you don’t have an on-the-day coordinator there are some things you could keep in mind to make everything as stress free as possible. You actually want to be able to enjoy your day and not worry about a thing, right!?

Having a clear idea of your timeline will help you decide how many hours of coverage you would need from your service providers, and in my case, help you choose which photography package suits you best. Things run a little late at almost every wedding so make sure to budget some extra time for every part of your wedding.

Best time for photos

From a photography point of view I work back my timeline from sunset. The last hour before sunset is usually the PERFECT time for your couple photos and we want to utilize this time for some beautiful pics of just you two.

As I said before, things might run a bit late on the day so I always like to budget a little extra time for each element that I’m photographing.

I’m always flexible to adapt to things and circumstances on the day but my timing would usually look more or less like this:

Venue & Decor – 30 mins
Guys getting ready – 45 mins – 1 hour
Girls getting ready – 1.5 – 2 hours
Ceremony – 30/45 mins
Family photos – 20 minutes
Bridal party pics – 30/45 mins
Couple shoot – 45 mins – 1 hour

A GREAT TIP is to make sure you plan 10-15 minutes after returning from the couple shoot before you walk into your reception to freshen up, and just spend a few moments together with your brand new husband/wife.

Sample timeline

Depending on which package you choose and what time of the year your wedding is, this is more or less what my timeline would look like. For this example let’s say sunset is at 18:00 and you’ve booked Package 3 (12 hours coverage):

10:30 Arrive at wedding venue
11:00 – 11:30 Photograph decor & venue
11:30 – 12:30 Photograph groom & groomsmen getting ready
12:30 – 14:30 Photograph bride & bridesmaids
14:30 – 15:15 Ceremony
15:15 – 15:55 Canapes & mingling
15:55 – 16:15 Family photos
16:15 – 17:00 Bridal party photos
17:00 – 18:00 Couple shoot
18:15 Walk into reception
20:30 First dance
22:00 Garter & bouquet toss
22:30 I say goodbye 🙂

If you chose a smaller package we can work out the hours slightly different, depending on whether you would like me to capture more of the getting ready or rather stay a bit longer at the party. I usually stay until at least an hour after the first dance to capture the dancing.

Of course I will always be flexible on the day and this sample timeline is just a guideline. I hope it helps to give you a bit of an idea of what most wedding looks like photography wise. Remember, you can plan your day exactly as YOU like it so if you want to have a morning ceremony, a boozy lunch time reception and skip the whole garter/bouquet toss, I’m all for it!