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Sample First Look TimelinE For 10 Hour Day!

Getting Ready with The Girls!

The photographer arrives and starts taking getting ready photos with the ladies. Tips – have the wedding dress and all the accessories (earrings, necklaces, veil, etc.) prepared for the photographer. If you are making a Champaign toast with your girls, make sure to source the Champaign glasses early.

11:00  –  11:30 a.m.

11:40 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Boys Getting Ready Shots

Generally, I will start getting ready shots with the ladies. Once the ladies are ready to get into their dress, I will go to the groom’s room and get getting ready photos. Tips – have the groom’s suit and accessories (pocket squares, boutonnieres, bowtie, socks, etc.) ready for the photographer. If possible, get a suite, especially if you have a big groom’s party. The groom’s room tends to get cluttered and messy during the getting ready process. Try to minimize the messiness.

12:10 – 12:25 p.m.

Bride Getting into Dress

Determine the day before your wedding who you want to help you get into your dress. Tip - Leave the earrings for last so that I can get some beautiful portraits of you putting on your earrings.

12:40 – 1:10 p.m. 

First Look Photos

Decide where you want to do your first look before your wedding day. Also, determine who you want to see you doing your first look. Tip – consider doing your first look in private. It is more romantic and unique when it is just the two of you.

1:20 – 1:50 p.m. 

Couple’s Photo Session

This follows the first look and is an excellent opportunity to get some genuine portraits of both of you as a couple. Tips – don’t focus on posing and your looks ( I promise you will be drop-dead gorgeous). Instead, focus on being in the moment. Let your guards down and be authentically you. My goal in the couple’s session is to capture the love expressed for each other.

2:00 – 2:20 p.m. 

Wedding Party’s Photo Session

Following the couple’s photo session, I will go straight into photographing your wedding party. Tip – make sure that Maid of Honor (MOH) and bridesmaids have their bouquets for the photo session.  

2:30 – 2:50 p.m. 

Family’s Photo Session

If possible, it is a good idea to get the family photos out of the way right after your wedding party’s session. This way, you can go to the cocktail hour right after your ceremony. Tip – be sure to let your family members know what time and where they need to be for photos.

3:00 – 3:30 p.m. 

Time to Freshen Up

Consider scheduling approximately 30 minutes before the ceremony starts for freshening up. Tip – many venues will have a bridal suite that you can go to and have something refreshing to drink, freshen up your makeup and hair before walking down the aisle.

3:30 – 4:00 p.m. 

The Ceremony

Time to get married! Tips – when you are walking down the aisle, keep your head up so that I can get shots of you looking down the aisle at your partner and not on the floor. When you are at the altar, try to stand facing each other so that your guests are not looking at your backs. When exchanging rings, try to slow down the process and allow your guests to see the process. Hold the first kiss a little longer than usual to give the photographer time to get a couple shots.

4:10 – 4:20 p.m. 

Signing The Marriage License

Plan to take 10 - 15 minutes to sign the marriage license. Tip – it is a good idea to make sure that the location chosen for signing the marriage license is adequately lit and free of cluttered.

4:30 – 4:50 p.m. 

Family’s Photo Session

If you didn’t do a family photo session before the ceremony, you would do it after signing the marriage license. Tips – think of where you would like to have your family photos taken before the wedding day. Designate someone who knows the family well to organize and direct the family members where they need to be for the pictures.

4:30 – 5:30 p.m. 

Cocktail Hour

This is a pre-reception event. Think of it as a formal happy hour – it allows your guests to have a drink and a bite as they catch up and socialize before the reception starts. Tips – take a few minutes to meet and socialize with your guests during the cocktail hour. Also, don’t forget to eat something!

5:45 p.m. 

Grand Entrance

The grand entrance is the start of the reception. Your DJ or MC will announce the bridal party as they enter the reception space. Your MC will ask your guests to stand as they introduced you for the first time as Mr. Mrs. Tips – the way you enter your reception spaces is all up to you. There is no right or wrong way to do your grand entrance. I have seen everything from sparkled grand entrance to no grand entrance. Whatever you do, just make sure it is uniquely you and have fun.

6:00 p.m. 

The First Dance

In most cases, couples generally follow up the grand entrance with the first dance. The first dance is the first time you both dance together as newlyweds. Tip – if you are not fond of dancing, consider taking some dancing lessons before your wedding.

7:00 – 7:30 p.m. 

Golden Hour Portraits

Golden hour is the time of evening when the lighting is gorgeous and makes for creating beautiful portraits. This is not always possible due to the weather, timing, and location of your wedding. Tip – confirm with your photographer the time for the golden hour photo session and make sure you include it into your wedding day timeline.

7:00 – 8:00 p.m. 

Dinner & Toast

During dinner, I will take a break and get something to eat. I also use this time to download and back up photos. Toasts are usually given towards the end of dinner, and I will be ready by then to capture all the toasts. Tips – to keep things moving, consider selecting the people you want to give toast rather than having an open mic toast where anyone can come up and give a toast. Also, think about setting some timeline for speaking.

8:00 p.m. 

Cutting the Cake

Time for some dessert! Cutting of the wedding cake is a long-standing wedding tradition symbolizing fertility and prosperity. Tips – ensure that the cake is placed in a location with enough lighting for photography. There should be adequate space around the cake to allow both of you to stand comfortably while cutting the cake. When cutting the cake, consider standing to one side so that your guests can see you cutting the cake and feed the first slice to each other.

8:20 p.m. 

Bouquet & Garter Toss

Another long standing tradition. For the bouquet toss, the bride tosses her bouquet to a group of single ladies, and whoever catches the bouquet is said to be the next person to get married. The garter toss is similar to the bouquet toss, except that it is for single men. Also, the groom must first remove the garter from the bride’s leg. Tip – feel free to replace the bouquet and garter toss with another event such as the shoe game.

8:30 p.m.

Open Dance Floor

The dance floor is open up for everyone to dance. Tip – usually, I will start packing up my gear during the open dance floor. This is an excellent time to let the photographer know of any other photos that you would like.

9:00 p.m.

Photo Coverage Ends!

I always find the couple and ask them if they need any other photos before I break down my gear. I then thank them and tell them what to expect next. Tips – don’t push your important events to the last minute. Make sure that your wedding timeline is built with a little cushion between each event.

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Sample No First Look TimelinE For 10 Hour Day!

Getting Ready with The Girls!

The photographer arrives and starts taking getting ready photos with the ladies. Tips – have the wedding dress and all the accessories (earrings, necklaces, veil, etc.) prepared for the photographer. If you are making a Champaign toast with your girls, make sure to source the Champaign glasses early.

1:00 – 1:30 p.m.

1:40 – 2:10 p.m.

Boys Getting Ready Shots

Generally, I will start getting ready shots with the ladies. Once the ladies are ready to get into their dress, I will go to the groom’s room and get getting ready photos. Tips – have the groom’s suit and accessories (pocket squares, boutonnieres, bowtie, socks, etc.) ready for the photographer. If possible, get a suite, especially if you have a big groom’s party. The groom’s room tends to get cluttered and messy during the getting ready process. Try to minimize the messiness.

2:20 –2:40 p.m.

Bride Getting into Dress

Determine the day before your wedding who you want to help you get into your dress. Tip - Leave the earrings for last so that I can get some beautiful portraits of you putting on your earrings.

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. 

The Ceremony

Time to get married! Tips – when you are walking down the aisle, keep your head up so that I can get shots of you looking down the aisle at your partner and not on the floor. When you are at the altar, try to stand facing each other so that your guests are not looking at your backs. When exchanging rings, try to slow down the process and allow your guests to see the process. Hold the first kiss a little longer than usual to give the photographer time to get a couple shots.

4:05 - 4:20 p.m. 

Signing The Marriage License

Plan to take 10 - 15 minutes to sign the marriage license. Tip – it is a good idea to make sure that the location chosen for signing the marriage license is adequately lit and free of cluttered.