BLOG: Wedding Timeline

wedding timeline

HOW MUCH TIME DO I NEED FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF MY WEDDING DAY

From my experience, I have found that a full wedding day, from start to finish, requires approximately 10-12 hours to capture.
But as no two weddings are exactly the same, the chronological order of the points listed below might vary slightly, but for most weddings, this is how I distribute myself within a wedding schedule to ensure I cover absolutely everything on the day.

GETTING READY: 2 HOURS

In this part I take the detail shots with the accessories of the bride and groom.
If both are in the same location, I always check in with the bride first, before her final prep starts, in order to style and shoot the dress, shoes and accessories ahead of schedule.
Heading to the the groom, I capture him and his guys getting ready with all the laughter that often goes along with figuring out / remembering how ties work again.
Back to the bride, we get shots of her wearing the dress along with her mom/bridesmaids during final touch ups.

FIRST LOOK: 15MIN

In case the couple decides to see each other before the ceremony we should think of a place where the First Look is gonna happen.
I will get you to your spots and coordinate you.

When the moment happens I’ll document it without interfering and give space for you guys to enjoy this special moment.

COUPLE PHOTOSHOOT: 45MIN - 1HOUR

Rather you are having your photos before or after the ceremony, this is the moment of the day where you get to be alone with your soulmate. It’s the time we go to a reserved place, if possible, and take some nice shots.

I do my best to capture your essence as a couple with some naturally guided posing + prompts.
If we have a gap during the day, it's awesome to get some golden hour photos with the flattering warm light. About one hour before sunset. Setting aside 15-20 minutes for this is ideal.

CEREMONY: 45MIN - 1 HOUR

I like to be at the ceremony place at least 10min before it starts so I have time to capture the suspense of the groom and guests all awaiting the bridal party's arrival. During the ceremony I will be covering the proceedings and the guests reaction in a documentary way.
After the ceremony it's time for the confetti/bubbles, usually followed by lots of congratulatory hugs and kisses.

TOAST & CAKE & GROUP PHOTOS: 1h30

During the toast, snacks & cake cutting I capture candid moments of the guests mingling. After a while it's nice to get the group photos.

The amount of time will depend on how large is your family/close friends group but in general we should reserve around 20min for this moment.

DINNER: 1h30 - 2HOURS

When dinner starts I take photos of people settling down, toasting and the celebrating.
The moment the meal is served is the time I take a break to eat something myself so the guests can eat without a camera pointing at them.
During dinner I take a break to reload my batteries, upload some of the photos and rest a bit. However, I am always somewhere close by and ready to shoot in case someone decides to give a speech.

PARTY: 1 HOUR

During this time it's all about capturing moments of the couple and all their guests having fun. Once I have covered the dance floor photos sufficiently and hopefully even captured a few silly moments as well, I always confirm with the couple that everything has been covered before heading home.