Inspired by a question just asked to me today by a bride for a May 2012 wedding I wanted to type up the ideal wedding day time line, from a Photographer’s perspective. Regardless of the specific time, below is a photographer’s time line for a standard 8 hour wedding; starting with hour 0 and ending with hour 8.

 

At this point the Bride should be almost done with hair and make up and the bridesmaids and family should just about be completely dressed. This is so that the photographer can show up, take detail pictures (dress, flowers, accessories). Then the bride can get right into her dress with the help of the bridesmaids and just as she is about to lace or zip up, the photographer can take pictures…and guess what? All the bridesmaids are in their fab dresses & make up already. If bridesmaids got ready after the bride, these pictures will have girls in tank tops and sweats, amirite?

If there is no second shooter and there is enough time to get some groom prep pictures we can squeeze them in here.

The ceremony is typically 30 minutes to an hour.

This is when we focus on doing family formals Bride with parents, groom with parents, B&G with each set of parents, B&G with each set of parents & siblings, grandparents etc. Additional family shots specifically requested here also (if the Bride or Groom want shots with a special aunt or uncle, or sibling’s significant others, etc). We will also do one or two bridal party portraits & bride & groom portraits at the ceremony location.

This can take anywhere from one to two hours, if time permits. It also depends on how much focus you want on these images. Typically I like to have at least an hour, more if possible so that we can walk around and explore all that the environment has to offer. I like to keep this fun and relaxed. We start with the whole bridal party, then a session with the girls, on to a session with the guys, finally the bride & groom session.

• Cocktail hour should start around 15 to 30 minutes before Bride & Groom arrive

Once all the initial formalities are completed we typically have 2 to 3 hours of reception coverage. This coverage includes cake cutting, bouquet & garter toss, special songs, etc. Depending on the environment we typically would like to do a few more Bride & Groom portraits if time permits at the reception.

That pretty much wraps it up. I hope this may have proven helpful! Keep in mind you can tweak the times to better fit your specific needs. Like if your ceremony is 30 minutes instead of an hour, add that 30 minutes to reception coverage.

Thanks,

Kelly