GETTING READY

It’s the morning of your wedding! Hopefully all of the little details are taken care of and you’re relaxing with your best friends while your hair is being done. If certain items haven’t been checked off of the to-do list, it’s time to hand them over to someone else. Delegation is a key part of a stress-free wedding day. I know it’s hard to hand over the decorating duties and all of the last minute things that need to be done, but it really is important to relax the morning of your wedding. The rest of the day is going to be fast paced and filled with a lot of emotions! Take advantage of this down time! There are a few things to consider about the “getting ready” portion of the day. Do you want to share a “first look” with your dad or any other person who plays a huge role in your life?

Will you and your partner be exchanging gifts during this time? If so, who would you like to deliver them? Are there certain people in your life who would appreciate seeing you get into your gown/attire? Some want very few people around for this moment. Others love having aunts and grandmas present! It’s totally up to you! A few other things to consider.... as you get ready to put your dress on, refrain from putting any jewelry on. I love shooting all of those final steps once you’re in your gown! Speaking of the gown, if your gown is on a plastic hanger, try to make a note to bring a wooden hanger along for picture sake. If you forget, no big deal! I’m a pro at finding wooden hangers at venues! Keep reading along for more “getting ready” tips to help you prepare!

YOUR FIRST LOOK

Your first look is an amazing part of your wedding day! Everyone knows that first looks can be truly magical and especially intimate, filled with raw emotion and heartwarming embraces that make for the best photographic moments. However, for many couples, seeing their soon to be spouse before the ceremony is still a big no-no — citing old traditions of bad luck or simply wanting to save the surprise of the first look for the walk down the aisle. You’ve probably asked yourself if a first look is worth the pre-ceremony photo ops, or if it will spoil the surprise of meeting your fiancé at the altar. To help you make the big decision, check out this response we found on instagram:

“We did a first look and it was awesome! While I am a fan of tradition and seeing each other for the first time at the ceremony, this made more sense as we did photos beforehand (would have been too dark after) and I’m really happy we did. We got to spend time together afterwards, and the photos are super cute and emotional.”

Please know that we would never want any of our couples to feel pressured to go with this option. However, we do want to make sure that we share all of the benefits of a first look, because there is a reason 90% of our couples do this and LOVE it!

THE CEREMONY

Here it is! The moment everyone has been waiting for! The music is playing and the guests have been seated. Ushers make their way to the back of the ceremony location, and the coordinator is lining up the bridesmaids while giving the musicians a 5 minute warning. Your spouse is about to walk down the aisle to the love of their life..... and if she’s like most girls, she’s dreamed about this moment for a long time! Vows will be shared and promises will be made... this is what it’s all about!! In a world full of wedding blogs, Pinterest and bridal magazines, it’s easy to be overwhelmed and consumed by the “prettiness” of the event. While details do matter and planning is necessary, it’s important to never lose sight of the real purpose of this amazing day!

SAMPLE FAMILY FORMALS LIST

Here is a sample family formal list to help you start preparing what shots you need. We do have to limit the family formal time in order to ensure that we have plenty of daylight for your romantic portraits. However, any large family group shots that we don’t accomplish during family formals, we can be sure to capture at the reception!

B&G with Bride’s Immediate Family (Parents, Siblings, Grandparents, Nieces, Nephews) B&G with Bride’s Parents
B&G with Bride’s Siblings
Bride with her Parents
Bride with Mom, Bride with Dad
B&G with Bride’s Grandparents
B&G with both sets of Parents
B&G with Groom’s Immediate Family (Parents, Siblings, Grandparents, Nieces, Nephews) B&G with Groom’s Parents
B&G with Groom’s Siblings
Groom with his Parents
Groom with Mom, Groom with Dad
B&G with Groom’s Grandparents
B&G with all family members if time allows

ROMANTIC PORTRAITS

If we’re being honest, all of the wedding day images are important, but the real favorites are almost always from our time with you two! These romantic portraits of just the two of you will be the images that you frame beside your bed or over your mantle, and they will also be the images that will fill your album for generations to enjoy. These images are always my favorite not only because of their beauty, but because this is such a sweet portion of the day. For this brief moment in time, you will be alone with your partner on your wedding day. You will have a chance to love on each other and really connect before the craziness begins! Romantic portraits are normally done before the ceremony (after the “First Look”) and then we LOVE shooting a few “just married” portraits after the ceremony as well! This is when the light is low and golden! It’s such a romantic time for couple’s portraits! If you’re not interested in a first look, we will make sure to include a lot of time after the ceremony for these portraits!

RECEPTION TIPS

The fun has begun! It’s time to relax, dance and celebrate!! Your reception should be a BLAST! The last thing you need to be worrying about is your timeline. Your coordinator and DJ should take care of making sure that everything stays on schedule so that you can enjoy your night. Here are some helpful tips that will help your reception flow smoothly.

- GUEST CONSIDERATION : Take your guests into consideration when planning your timeline. If you have a lot of elderly guests that will not be staying until the very end, make sure you schedule the cake cutting at a relatively early time so that they can be a part of it. Grandma’s love seeing this sweet tradition!

- KEEP IT MOVING : Chat with your coordinator about how you can plan your reception in a way that will keep guests engaged and moving all night!

- MAKE IT YOUR OWN : If you want to have a special dance with your grandparents, do it! Make your reception a reflection of who you are and don’t feel tied to traditions. Also, make sure you give your DJ or Band a “Do Not Play” list if there are some songs you really don’t want to hear during your reception!

- DON’T GET CAUGHT UP in the formalities and the details. Sure, details are pretty and fun to photograph, but they can steal the joy of the day if you get too caught up in them. Plan your centerpieces, welcome table, etc. well before the wedding date, and teach your coordinator or family friend how to set them up so that you aren’t even thinking about those things the day of!

- RECEPTION COVERAGE : If you haven’t purchased enough coverage time for your photography to last until the exit, that’s ok! You can add more coverage on the day of. I recommend planning your timeline so that you can have at least one hour of dancing photographed. The guests who dance during the first hour will still be dancing in the third hour! One hour of dancing will be enough time to really capture the joy of your reception!

CONTROLLED EXITS

Exits! If your coverage ends before your exit, you have the option of planning a faux exit with your wedding party! This is more common than you may think. Instead of saving your exit until the very end, you can plan a faux exit with just the members of your bridal party and a few family members! This allows us to have more control over these shots and the party NEVER has to stop! In most cases, no one even notices that the couple is missing for a few minutes! Also, it’s almost impossible to tell that the whole wedding party isn’t there waving sparklers and sending off the happy couple! This idea allows our couples to save money and still have all of the shots that they dreamed of! If not, consider letting your guests start exiting 30 minutes before your coverage ends. It typically takes a while for everyone to pile out and for you two to have your last private dance together. It’s best not to schedule your last photo op at the same time your coverage ends.

Questions to Ask When Creating Your Timeline

1. What time is the sunset on our wedding day?

2. Do we want a first look?

3. Does our venue have flexibility in our ceremony start time?

The last question is if you’re getting married at a venue that will host both your ceremony and reception - in fact, the timelines below are specifically for that type of venue, as 90% of the weddings I photograph take place in one location!

Allocating Time on Your Wedding Day

Before we get to seasonal timelines, we need to establish general guidelines for how long things take on the wedding day. Depending on if you’re having a first look and if there’s travel involved, I sometimes start up to 5 hours before the ceremony.

• 1 hour for details and getting ready: if there’s one thing I love to photograph, it’s all those wedding day details! When I arrive on-site, the bride is typically in final getting ready stages of hair and makeup, and I spend that time photographing the invitations, shoes, jewelry, and anything else important to the couple!

• 30 minutes for getting dressed: this allows time for all the stages of getting dressed and pictures of the couples separately with their friends and family.

• 30 minutes for first look: if this is taking place on a site other than the getting-ready location, make sure to account for extra time for travel!

• 15 minutes for family photos: this is for family photos on each side of the family. For instance, one partner with just their parents, the other with just their parents, etc.

• 30 minutes for combined family portraits: these can take place before or after the ceremony depending on if the couple has had a first look.

• 30 minutes for wedding party portraits: these sometimes also take place before the ceremony with a first look.

• 20 minutes for sunset portraits: a must on your wedding day! Depending on the season, sometimes this is during cocktail hour, and for summer weddings, during the reception!

• Travel time: if everything is in one location, this makes this nice and easy! If you’re going to 2-3 locations on your wedding day, it’s critical you note this time in your timeline and determine how people will get where they’re going! Many times when things run behind on a wedding day, it’s because people weren’t sure where they needed to be or how they were supposed to get to their destination.

The First Look

Ah, the first look! You’ve likely heard of the first look by now, where the couple see each other before the ceremony. This is a highly personal decision, but there are a few cases where I definitely recommend it on your wedding day.

You want a lot of portraits and variety on your wedding day.

If you look at my recommended times for portraits, I suggest 90 minutes for all of those pictures on your wedding day, at minimum. Without a first look, all those portraits need to be squeezed into cocktail hour. I’ve done it many times, but couples that choose a first look definitely get more images and more variety in their portraits simply because we have more time and can go to different locations within the venue.

You won’t have any sunlight left after your grand entrance into your reception.

This is primarily for late fall or winter weddings. When a couple gets married in the summer, the sun can set at 8:00 PM or later. This means I get “bonus” time where I can take them out during dinner for another 20 minutes and get some gorgeous sunset portraits. Having extra time in the evening helps to not only get beautiful sunset images, but it’s there in case portraits during cocktail hour took longer than anticipated.

What To Do If You Want Your Ceremony at Sunset

Ceremony sunsets are absolutely gorgeous! The light is soft and typically “wraps” around the couple in an extremely flattering and romantic way!

If you want sunset ceremony images, then I definitely recommend a first look so you can get important portraits completed prior to the ceremony. Otherwise you may run out of natural light during cocktail hour. There’s always residual light after the sun goes past the horizon, but it doesn’t last long!

Times:

• January: 5:30pm

• February: 6PM

• March: 1st-13th: 6:30pm

  • 14th-31st: 7:30pm

• April: 7:30pm

• May: 8pm

• June: 8:15PM

• July: 8:15PM

• August: 8PM

• September: 7:15PM

• October: 6:30pm

• November: 1-6th: 6:30pm

  • 7th-30th: 5:30pm

• December: 5:30pm

  
  

Fall Wedding Timelines

(September, October and November)

Fall Wedding Timeline Without a First Look

Ideal ceremony time - 4:30 PM

1:30: Details and getting ready

2:30: Get dressed

3:00: Individual family photos

3:30: Wedding party photos

4:00: Pre-ceremony portraits conclude / photograph ceremony site and guests entering

4:30: Ceremony (30 minutes)

5:00 - 5:20: Family portraits

5:20 - 5:40: Wedding party portraits

5:40 - 6:00: Married couple portraits

6:15: Grand entrance into reception

Fall Wedding Timeline With a First Look

Ideal ceremony time - 4:30 PM

12:30: Details and getting ready

1:30: Get dressed

2:00: First look

2:45: Individual family photos, followed by combined family photos

3:30: Bridal party photos

4:00: Pre-ceremony portraits conclude / photograph ceremony site and guests entering

4:30: Ceremony (30 minutes)

5:00 - 5:30: Any additional family portraits / bridal party portraits the couple wants

5:30 - 6:00: Married couple portraits

6:15: Grand entrance into reception

Spring Wedding Timelines

(March, April and May)

Depending on the time of the year and your region of the country, weather can be unpredictable

Spring Wedding Timeline Without a First Look

Ideal ceremony time - 5:00 PM

2:00: Details and getting ready

3:00: Get dressed

3:30: Individual family photos

4:00: Bridal party photos

4:30: Pre-ceremony portraits conclude / photograph ceremony site and guests entering

5:00: Ceremony (30 minutes)

5:30 - 5:50: Family portraits

5:50 - 6:10: Bridal party portraits

6:10 - 6:45: Married couple portraits

7:00: Grand entrance into reception

Spring Wedding Timeline With a First Look

Ideal ceremony time - 5:00 PM

1:00: Details and getting ready

2:00: Get dressed

2:30: First look

3:15: Individual family photos, followed by combined family photos

4:00: Bridal party photos

4:30: Pre-ceremony portraits conclude / photograph ceremony site and guests entering

5:00: Ceremony (30 minutes)

5:30 - 6:00: Any additional family portraits / bridal party portraits the couple wants

6:00 - 6:45: Married couple portraits

7:00: Grand entrance into reception