What should your Wedding Timeline look like?

One of the most common requests I get from my couples is for my help planning their wedding day timeline. Many of my couples have never had to plan a wedding before, and so they don’t know where to start with planning their timeline, or how much time I need as the photographer to get the best photos of your special day!

Every wedding day or elopement is completely different and beautifully unique! So every timeline will also be different, based on your specific wedding day. The most important thing to remember for your wedding day is this: your wedding is your day and you can do it however you like! Make it unique to you two!

But there are a few rules of thumb that are generally pretty reliable when planning your wedding day or elopement timeline! Feel free to use these tips as suggestions when planning your wedding day, but remember you can do it however you want!

Here are some general suggestions for how much time to allow for photos for each event on wedding day:

Getting Ready Details – 1 hour

I typically ask my brides what time they anticipate being ready, and I plan to arrive an hour before that time. During this hour is when I will photograph the dress, the venue, detail shots, the final touches of the hair and makeup, and getting ready photos.

(If you need a list of what to include in your wedding details box, check out this blog post)

First Look – 30 minutes

If you plan to do a First Look before walking down the aisle, I would suggest planning about 30 minutes for it. This will give us time to get you each to the First Look location, and let you soak in that beautiful moment uninterrupted.

If you plan to read private vows after the first look, or take some formals at this time, you’ll need to add some extra time to this part of the day (we can chat more about your specific day to see how much time you should plan on!)

The Ceremony – 30 minutes

The wedding or elopement ceremony generally takes about 30 minutes!

Ceremony tip: when it is time for your first kiss, wait just a second for the officiant to move out of the way, and then make your first kiss last 3-5 seconds! Then if you’d like to kiss and/or dip halfway back down the aisle, those photos are always beautiful!

Family Photos – 30-60 minutes

Depending on how large your family is, family photos can take anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour. Small elopements have very fast family photos, and big weddings generally take a bit longer. We’ll work together to determine how long family photos will likely take, based on the number of people you expect to attend.

Bridal Party Photos can take an additional 15-30 minutes, also depending on how big your bridal party is and if you have any specific photos you would like with them.

Bridal Portraits – 1 hour – 1 1/2 hours

This is the time when we take those gorgeous photos of the two of you – the photos you will hang on your wall!

I always ask for at least 1 hour on wedding day for Bridal Portraits, but 1 1/2 hours is lovely if we can! This will give us enough time to explore the venue and take lots of gorgeous photos for you to cherish.

If we’re short on time on wedding day though, I suggest booking a Bridals Session to take your Bridal Portraits an a separate day, and scheduling about 30 minutes for photos on wedding day at the venue. This would give you plenty of time on a different day for your Bridals, but still let us get a few on the actually wedding day as well.

For elopements, Bridal Portraits can be longer than this! For example, a Grant Teton elopement could take 3 hours to explore different locations in the park for a variety of gorgeous Bridal Portraits. It’s all customizable, so let’s chat about your elopement to see exactly how long we’d like for Bridal Portraits!

The Reception – 2-4 hours

Receptions are always different based on your specific wedding day and how many events you have going on during the reception! These could include cocktail hour, dinner, toasts, cake cutting, bouquet toss, shoe game, first dance, parent dances, general dancing, your send off, and any other activities you’d like to incorporate – it’s totally up to you what happens at your reception!

Wedding vs Elopement

Most of these times I’ve listed can apply to a traditional wedding or an elopement, but there will definitely be some differences when it comes to an elopement!

For example, you may be getting ready in a totally different location than your elopement ceremony, so you’ll have to take drive time into consideration. Or your family photos may be just you and your two witnesses, so it will only take 5 minutes. Or we could spend the entire rest of the day exploring beautiful places for your Bridal Portraits, and you may not even have a reception.

Whatever your day looks like, there is no one size fits all for your timeline! So make it your own! And I will always give my suggestions for how much time I think you need for each thing, based on a photography perspective, so you can get the most dreamy photos possible on your special day!

If you’d like more help figuring out your timeline, let’s chat about your wedding day!

Let’s take some pretty photos!

I would absolutely LOVE to give you the gorgeous photos of your wedding or elopement that you’ve been dreaming of!

Just fill out the contact form on my website and we’ll start chatting more about your wedding day and get the process started!