Art of a Stress-Free Wedding Timeline (Photographer’s POV)
Ryan and Anna-Marie had the smoothest wedding timeline I’ve ever worked with! They used a bunch of the following principles to stay on track and enjoy every moment of their wedding at a relaxed pace.
— As a wedding photographer here in Austin, TX, I’ve learned that a thoughtful timeline is the key to freeing yourself up to embrace the organic, joyful moments of your day!
You don’t want to have to make decision pertaining to the flow of the day while you are in the moment. This is time consuming, and can take you out of the place of just being able to relax and enjoy your day. A thoughtful timeline will save you from getting pulled out of that place. This doesn’t only mean setting a schedule and absolutely sticking to the letter of the itinerary, but creating a timeline that accounts for the organic nature of your special day. Here are some things that will help!
PICK OUT YOUR SPECIAL MOMENTS
These are the moments that are non-negotiable for you. You’re willing to let these go long if it means getting to enjoy this part of your day. As a candid wedding photographer, I love when couples prioritize moments that feel true to them. So what is that for you? Is that a first look, or your couple’s portraits? Maybe it’s your wedding party praying over you. If you know what these are, you can settle into the most special parts of your day without any feeling of being rushed to the next thing. When I know what these are, I get to fight for your joy by making sure you can enjoy these moments without worry. That’s the heart of my work as a documentary style wedding photographer; capturing real, meaningful moments as they unfold.
Vice-versa, pick out some moments as, what I call, “crumple zones”. Knowing that there are points in the day that you may want to lean into for a bit, there’ll also be moments that can be expedited to get back on track. What are things that you’d be willing to shorten for the sake of your most meaningful moments?
Entrust your timeline to your advocates
You should never be the one to have to think hard about the nitty gritty of your wedding. That’s why your best friends probably took your phone away from you! Creating a plan ahead of time makes room for relaxed wedding photography; where you can feel calm, not rushed. The same goes for your timeline. As your photographer, I’m fighting for your joy the whole day, and that includes knowing your timeline and making sure we stick to the plan we discussed leading up to your day. And as much as I’m keeping an eye on the clock, this is where I highly encourage you to hire a killer day of coordinator! They’re the real heroes of your timeline and they fight to make sure me and all the rest of your vendors are on the ball, and that your day is moving smoothly!
So talk over your timeline your coordinator and I leading up to your wedding. That way we’ll know what your most important moments are and we’ll fight for your time when the day comes! A couple coordinators I’ve worked with that’ve totally killed it are Julia Fuller and Nikki Hsueh!=
P.s. Sending a copy of your timeline to your wedding party is also a good idea! And an organized family member who’d be good at communicating to the rest of the family if there’s any confusion!
— Ideal Timing
A question I generally get before a wedding is “how long should we set aside for portraits”? My answer is that it depends on what your priorities are. Would you have the most fun taking an extended period of time to take your couple’s portraits, or is it your main priority to have a moment alone, or just get back to time with your loved ones? The following are a couple of examples.
“We want to focus on portraits!”
Bridal Party individuals: 20 minutes
30 minute buffer before ceremony for arriving guests & to freshen up
CEREMONY
Family: 15-20 min
Bridal Party Group Photo:10-15 min
Bride & Groom portraits: 60 min
RECEPTION
~2 hours of portrait sessions
“We want to focus on quality time! ”
Bridal Party individuals: 20 minutes
30 minute buffer before ceremony for arriving guests & to freshen up
CEREMONY
Family: 15-20 min
Bridal Party Group Photo:10-15 min
Bride & Groom Private Dinner or join cocktail hour: 45 min
Bride & Groom portraits: 15-20 min about an hour before sunset
RECEPTION
~1 hour & 15 minutes of portrait sessions
Either of these span roughly the same period of time, but the latter includes some break time or time to spend with your guests!
— Sample Photography Timeline
Here’s a sample of how your timeline could go! This is based on a 4:30pm ceremony time with 9 hours of coverage.
11:30 - Photographer arrives
12:00 - COVERAGE BEGINS: Getting ready photos (dress, shoes, details)
1:00 - Bride hair & make-up complete
1:15 - Bride gets into dress
1:30 - Bride portraits
1:40 - Bride & photographer leave for first look (The groom needs to arrive about 5 minutes prior to this. Locations will be determined prior to your wedding day. If possible I always like to join your venue walk through so we can dream this up together!)
1:50 - Bride & groom first look
2:00 - Bride & groom Portraits
2:30 - All bridal party arrives ready to go for portraits! (If bridal parties are getting ready near one another, I can shoot both parties. If not, this is where my 2nd photographer comes in handy!)
2:45 - Bridal party portraits
3:00 - All family arrives ready to go portraits!
3:15 - Family formal portraits
4:00 - Everyone tucked away for arriving guests
4:30 - Ceremony begins
5:00 - Ceremony ends // Cocktail hour begins
5:05 - Signing of marriage certificate
5:45 - Bride & Groom join cocktail hour when ready
6:00 - Photographer takes photos of reception set-up
6:15 - Guests seated for dinner
6:20 - Grand entrance
7:00 - Dinner served (photographer takes break & eats)
7:30 - Photographer steals away couple for sunset portraits (This is dependent on time of year. We’ll talk about sunset time during our consultation! Typically I like doing them ~one hour before sunset. If you’re getting married in the winter or somewhere where the sun is setting before dinner, let’s chat about splitting your portrait time differently!)
8:00 - Toasts begin
8:05 - Cake cutting
8:15 - First dances
9:00 - Open dancing begins
9:30 - COVERAGE ENDS (If the night goes on longer than this and there is an exit you want me to capture, you’ll need to add xtra time.)
This blog post was an excerpt from my Wedding Guide! Get the full guide download here!
Anna-Marie and Ryan’s Vendors were
Caterer: Countryside BBQ
Coffee: Little Guatemala
Makeup: Hannah Lail Beauty
Hair: Mckenzie Thornburg
Videography: Neil Lopez
Groom’s Suit: Jos A. Banks
Florals: The Bride
Dress: The Bride
Coordination: Magen Manuszewski
About the Author
Hey Y’all! I’m Thomas, a New Jersey native turned Texas transplant. I’m a third-generation photographer and a deep extrovert. You’ll usually find me with the people I love, putting them in front of my camera so I can capture the incredible stories unfolding around me. It’s this drive that sent me down the road of bringing visual storytelling to people’s wedding days.
The best part of my job is getting to capture the unique story that unfolds during your wedding day so you can look back on it for a lifetime.