Hi All,

I am so excited to be guest blogging on Alyson’s blog! I am a photographer, and I love all things weddings & events. Today I will discussing wedding day timelines. Being a photographer my main concern with the timeline is ensuring we have ample time to get the photos of the day but in order for this to happen seamlessly the whole day needs to go smoothly. Generally, I photograph things as they happen but there are a few exceptions that must be accounted for in the wedding day timeline.

Wedding day timelines have a lot of benefits and purposes. Wedding day timelines are a good basis for the wedding day; setting a pace for the day and keeping things on track. It also sets clear expectations, allowing family and friends to know when they need to be where (for photos, transportation, etc.).

A few tips for your wedding day timeline. Start with the meat and potatoes (my husband always uses that phrase!). What time does your ceremony start? What time does it end? Is there a cocktail hour, if so, what time? What time does your reception start? What time does your reception end? Get those into the wedding day timeline because those are the core of the wedding day.

Think about transportation, how long will it take to get from the getting ready site to the ceremony site, and from ceremony to the reception? Make sure you leave margin for travel time. Time of day, week day/weekend, Holiday Season, traffic from vacationers, all this plays a part in your travel time. Try to leave extra time in case the unexpected comes up!

Start adding in vendors. What time is the makeup artist arriving? How long did they tell you it would take? What time is the photographer arriving? When is the cake being dropped off? When will flowers be delivered?

You’ll see below, this is a wedding day timeline from a recent wedding I shot.

The bride was working with a planner, who did an amazing job, and then the bride and I worked together to add in the allotted time for the photos. For this wedding, the planner’s wedding day timeline (not included) is much more detailed than mine because they note things like prelude music, lining up the bridal party for the ceremony, final walk through of reception space, etc. (You can include these too!! Details, details, details).

For my clients, I prefer to arrive about 30 minutes prior to bride putting on her dress. This allows me to get detail shots (about 15 minutes) and some getting ready photos before the bride puts on her dress. I LOVE capturing my clients when they put their dress on. It’s such a special moment.

You’ll notice that there are specific times for certain photos. For this wedding I had a second photographer with me, so we were able to do bride photos and groom photos during the getting ready. At 2:30 we scheduled ALL family photos at the church after the ceremony-the bride let everyone know prior to the ceremony which was super helpful because then we could dive right into the different family groupings after the ceremony before anyone departed.

Having a wedding day timeline of the reception not only keeps the pace of the event, but also allows all your vendors to know what to expect. For this wedding, I knew running to the washroom at 7:15 wouldn’t work, so I could plan accordingly.

If you have specific wedding day timeline questions comment below and I’ll happily help where I can! Or shoot me an email.

Happy Planning!

Katy

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