Hey there, bride!

Okay, so planning is going well, you have booked your big vendors and now you are working on the little details and the timeline. That pesky timeline… But have no fear, I gotchu.

Disclaimer:  This timeline is solely based off every photographers dream timeline. Nothing else.

This is how I scheduled my timeline for my wedding.

First: How long do I have my venue for on my wedding day? What time do guests need to be leaving?

• For me, my guests need to leave by 10:30 and everyone needs to be off the property by 11! I also have my venue for the entire day.

Second: How long do you have your photographer on your wedding day? What time will she or he arrive? Do I need to add more hours?

• Most photographers packages are 8 hours on a wedding day, so my photographer will arrive at 2:30, if I want her to stay until the very end, which I want her to!

Third: VERY IMPORTANT. What time is the sunset and are you doing a first look? This should determine what time your ceremony is and I will explain why in a second.

• My sunset is at 8:30 and I am doing a first look (because they are awesome, check out this post to see why). So most of my photos are going to be taken before the ceremony, the only images after the wedding are going to be family formals (30 minutes) and just married sunset photos (30 minutes).
• If you choose not to do a first look, then you need to plan for all photos to be taken after the ceremony: family formals (30 minutes), bridal party portraits (30 minutes), just married portraits (30 minutes), sunset portraits (20 minutes). I know, a lot of portraits, but I promise you will not regret it after the wedding.

Why am I telling you all this mumbo jumbo?

Timelines are obviously not as easy as you think, and if photography is an important aspect of your day (which it should be haha), making sure that you have sunlight after the ceremony is important (especially if you don’t plan on doing a first look)!

My brides are hiring me because they love my work and my style (well and me, of course, but that doesn’t play into this). If there isn’t sunlight, I can definitely still take portraits with my flash, but your images won’t be what you see on my blog or on my website!

Overall: This is how much time your photographer needs in order to give you the images you are looking for!

Details:  1 hour

Getting Ready: 30 minutes

First Look: 30-40 minutes

Bridal Party: 30-40 minutes

Family Formals: 30 minutes

Just Married Portraits: 20-30 minutes

Sunset Portraits: As much time as you will give me!

(Pretty picture because this post needs a picture, and this beautiful bride’s blog post went up yesterday! Emily allowed me to make her timeline for her, and her day was a photographer’s dream! She has SO many beautiful images because of it!) Keep scrolling to the end!

And if you are curious, this is what my wedding timeline looks like…

2:00-3:00 Details

3:00-3:30 Getting Ready Portraits

3:30-4:00 First Look/ Portraits

4:00-4:30 Bridal Party Portraits

4:30-5:00 Bride in Hiding

5:00-5:30 Ceremony

5:30-6:00 Family Formals

6:00-6:30 Join Cocktail Hour or Begin Reception

6:30-7:45 First Dances and Eat

7:45-8:20 Sunset Portraits

8:20-10:30 RECEPTION

This is still a very rough draft and my photographer is definitely going to let me know her thoughts, but I am giving her plenty of light to work with, which is what she wants to see!

If you EVER need help with your timeline, always feel free to contact me! Timelines are so important when it comes to photography and getting all the images you are looking for! I hope this blog post gives you an idea on how to start it though!

Happy Planning Brides to Be!

xoxo