The Best Wedding Timeline for a Stress Free Day

A wedding day is made up of a bunch of different moments, decisions, emotions, and things to do that it can be very overwhelming to plan everything out just right. That’s why I’m going to give you my secret sauce to a stress free wedding day, and that’s the time line for the wedding day. I’m going to break it all down and spill the beans on what makes my wedding days run so smoothly!

In this post I’m going to cover all of the following:

• Prepping for the timeline

• Why starting with the guys sets the day up for success

• Grooms details

• Groom and groomsmen prep

• Candids with the guys

• Having plenty of Hair and Makeup Artists

• What’s needed for bridal details

• Candids while getting ready

• Getting the dress on and sharing that moment with your mom

• Should you do a first look with your bridesmaids?

• Creating special moments throughout the day

• First look with your groom, pros and cons

• Couples portraits

• Wedding party photos

• Family formals and how to make them efficient

• Ceremony tips photographers and videographers want you to know

• Sunset and night time photos

• Receptions and getting pics with everyone

• Dancing and party shots

• Exit strategies and how to make them magical

Preparing the Timeline

The first step in having a stress free wedding day is being prepared for the day beforehand. This all starts basically once you decide to marry someone. There are a few decisions that you’ll make along your journey that will directly affect the timeline and how the wedding day will flow. Decisions like how many bridesmaids you are going to have, are going to be doing a first look with each other, is the dress complicated to get into, are you doing a traditional ceremony or shortened service, how many family members are coming to the wedding that need to be included in the family formals, or what kind of exit are you doing. All of these decisions, and more, will directly impact the timeline of the wedding day and need to be considered.

Love and Legacy couples get a personalized timeline appointment about 2 months or so before their wedding day so that we can put all of these decisions into an actionable plan for your wedding day. This goes beyond just the coverage of the day for us as a photographer, though we’ll put that into consideration as well, but the goal is to be able to provide you with a timeline that you can pass around to everyone involved with the wedding. This includes your wedding party and all the vendors for the day.

At the end you’ll be able to download a sample timeline for a standard wedding day with ideal time for everything on the wedding day. Be sure to grab that and as you make decisions think about how this is going to affect the flow of the day as a whole. Making decisions through that lens will give you the perspective and help you plan for a stress free wedding day from the beginning.

Why the Guys should go First

(Approximately 1 hour)

Let’s face it, guys are typically not the most punctual individuals. I’ve personally done weddings where a groomsmen showed up right before the wedding start time and missed all of the photos. So here’s the thing and how you should pitch this to your groom and his groomsmen. Tell them that they get to go first and get all of their photos done first so that they can relax the rest of the day until it’s go time. This always puts it into perspective for them. Plus if the guys are going to be drinking all day, it helps prevent what I like to call the drunk smile in all the photos.

I always want to be there for the guys and build that rapport with them at the beginning of the day rather than trying to get to know them just for the reception. So the best time for the guys to get ready is first thing when I arrive to the venue. I’ll come poke my head into the bridal suite to say hey and introduce myself to everyone, and then I’ll duck out and head over to where the groom is getting ready and get started with his details.

Details for the Groom – 15 minutes

Most photographers don’t think about this, but the wedding day is just as much the grooms day as it is the brides, albeit he didn’t do much of the planning for it, he is still one of the most important people on the day. He is dressing up to look his best and has picked out special and significant items to wear for the wedding. I always like to start by grabbing his shoes, belt, cufflinks, watch, wedding ring, tie, cologne, flask, cigar, and any other sentimental items he might have from his dad/grandad. I’ll arrange these and photograph these in a way to document what he is wearing for the day and to set the story up in the album. I’ll also grab the suit and do a shot or two of it hanging somewhere as well.

Groom and Groomsmen Prep – 15 minutes

This part of the day can be optional based on the comfort level of the groom. What sets Love and Legacy Studios apart is that we document the authentic story of your wedding day as it unfolds. All stories have a beginning, and the most logical beginning on the wedding day is the preparation of the groom showering, shaving, dressing, for the big day. These awesome candid moments allows you to see a story unfold in your album, and not just full of pretty pictures. Having imagery from the perspective of you shaving set’s the story up in a way that allows But like I said, this is an optional coverage and not every groom takes us up on this.

Let me talk about the elephant in the blog post – I’m not taking naked pictures of you in the shower. The best way to do this is to wear swim trunks or underwear, and with the use of creative angles and lighting no one will ever know, or see, anything they aren’t suppose too. (Part of the timeline talk-through that I have with my couples will include a conversation about this.)

Candids for the Guys – 30 minutes

As we flow through getting ready with the guys, we’ll have you all get dressed in your suits at the same time, in the same room. This allows us to get images of everybody together helping one another with ties, cuff links, and just having a good time together. I’ll have already found a place with the best lighting and will have everyone positioned there. There’s very little instruction from us during this point. I just want you and your guys to be present in this moment and enjoy each others company. If you got them a gift, this is the perfect time of the day to give it to them. We’ll capture their authentic reactions and moments.

Once everyone has gotten ready, then we’ll do a few photos of everyone hanging out while dressed up. These will be a little more posed in the sense that I’ll give you guys something to do, like toasting, or hanging out at the bar, or whatever you and I can come up with that you might want as an epic groomsmen photo from the beginning of the day.

Once we wrap up with photos, all the guys can dress down and just relax, turn on the TV and watch football, or whatever might be on that day.

Bridal Prep and Having Enough Time

(Approximately 4-6 hours)

Having enough hair and makeup artists – Time Varies

The most crucial piece of advice I can give to a new bride is this – make sure you have enough time for everyone getting their hair and makeup done. If you’ve ever gone to the salon for a special event; prom, formals, someone else’s wedding, then you should know it takes about a solid hour per person. As the bride you’ll need about an hour and a half. So let’s do the math on this, because trust me – this will make or break your day! (For my math people, take the total number of people getting hair and makeup done divided by the number of hair and makeup professionals plus the time for the bride equals the minimum time you need to budget for)

Let’s assume you have 6 bridesmaids, your mom, your mother-in-law, and you getting both hair and makeup done. Let’s also assume that you hire 1 hair stylist and 1 makeup artist for the morning of your wedding. That’s a combined total of 9.5 hours of hair and makeup. But because you have 1 of each hair and makeup you can divide that in half, so basically you’ll need a minimum of 5.5 hours of time in the morning to get everyone ready.

If you plug your numbers into this equation and see that you’ll need to schedule more time than you want just for getting ready, then you’ll need to add more hair and makeup artists to cut that time down.

For photos, most brides don’t want to be photographed first thing in the morning without at least a little bit of makeup on. So as we are planning out the timeline we’ll take that into consideration and adjust the start time for the ladies accordingly. I always like to start off with the details first either way.

Bridal Details – 30 Minutes

Details are a great connection piece of the story puzzle for the album. It would feel weird if one page is of the guys hanging out and then the next is a completely different vibe and of the ladies getting ready. The details or location shots help the story progress naturally and in a way that’s pleasing to the viewer. (Think about a tv show, when a scene changes they set the location by showing a wide shot of where the next scene is, then a medium shot to narrow you into a specific location, and then a tight shot of the characters at that location.)

Included for all of my brides is this list of details that should be prepared beforehand so that I can grab the box and get started right away:

• 2 invitation suites

• Shoes

• Necklace

• Earrings

• Bracelet

• Engagement Ring (Cleaned)

• Wedding band

• Grooms Wedding Band

• Ring Boxes

• Hair Pieces

• Sentimental Items

• Garters

• Perfume

• Extra decor items (ribbons, fabric swatches, etc.)

• Bouquet

• Extra Flowers from Florist

• Veil

• Dress

• Custom Wooden Hanger

• Special Underwear

Having all these items gathered together will help me move quickly through this process. I also like to make sure that in addition to the flat lay photo of the details that I get images of the details being used on your person. So for example, an image of the necklace on your neck, earrings in your ear, or putting on perfume. Specifically for the dress, make sure that the first thing you do when you get to the bridal suite is to pull it out of the bag, and if it needs steaming, start steaming.

Candids of the Bridesmaids While Getting Ready – 60 Minutes

Once the details are finished I’ll return everything to where I found it and turn my attention to the bridesmaids as they are hanging out, getting hair and makeup done. By this point if everything has gone according to the plan so far, most of them should be done with hair and makeup by this point and you should be finishing your hair and moving into makeup. Everyone should still be in their robes/PJs still so that when you finish we can do some fun shots in the robes. I’ll be there capturing things as they unfold, the laughs, the smiles, the details, the moments in between the moments.

Once you’ve finished we will do some fun shots, like popping a bottle of champagne, or throwing confetti, or a moment that we’ve talked about you wanting to make sure is captured. I always recommend having one of your makeup artist stay behind for some final “fake-up” shots where we’ll do any final touchups needed or do the last setting spray before the day really gets going for you.

Another great tip is to make sure that you get extra lipstick or gloss, mascara, makeup blotting wipes, just in case you need anything after your makeup artist has left.

The last moment that I’ll set up for this time is for the bridesmaids to pull their dresses down and off the hangers for some fun candid moments that will elude to them getting dressed, which flows perfectly into a page of your album where you are getting your dress on.

Putting on the Wedding Dress – 30 minutes

One of my favorite parts of the day for me is seeing the look on a brides face as she is getting into her dress on the wedding day. It brings up so much emotion and reality to the day that it’s a beautiful moment to capture on a wedding day. I start it off by having you pull the dress down from hanging up and admiring the dress while still in your robe/pjs/lingerie. Once we’ve captured that moment and are ready to get in the dress we’ll have your mom, or whomever you have helping you into the dress, come into the room at that time.

Now here’s another elephant in the blog post. I’m a guy tasked with photographing a bride getting dressed. I will always talk with you beforehand at the timeline meeting about what you are comfortable with. However, I will typically stay in the room with my back turned until you are covered and then I’ll turn around to capture the moments from there.

This moment is so special that I always love to just let the moment develop and capture those emotional interactions between you and your mom. I’ll set the scene by placing you guys in the best lighting that will be most flattering, and just let things happen naturally. Once you are all buttoned into the dress you’ll let turn around for those first moments with mom in your dress. Yes, I’ll have tissues on hand for any tears that might well up!

Alternate First Looks – 10 minutes each

Some moments that brides want to capture are first looks with people of importance in their lives. This could be your bridesmaids, your Dad, Brother, or maybe your kids if you are combining families. These are so special and deserve a space on your wedding day to encapsulate the energy, emotion, and authentic reactions of your wedding VIP list.

I recently become the proud dad of my first daughter, Nora. Being a girl dad, even for just a short time, has shifted my perspective on first looks with dad, and I can’t help but get emotional during these moments as your dad is preparing to give away his daughter to be married. It’s a sweet moment that you’ll want to remember for years to come and be able to share with your kids one day.

These moments don’t take up a ton of time, but i would limit them to no more than 2 on your wedding day. Meaning that if you choose to do a look with your bridesmaids and dad, then that should be it. You want to save some of the suspense for when you walk down the aisle after all.

Bridal Portraits – 30 minutes

After we do the alternate first looks is the best time of the day to grab a few bridal portraits outside. We’ll grab a few while we are inside immediately after you are fully dressed as well, but this will be more of a time dedicated to you in your dress at the venue. If we have a tight timeline once we layout the day then this is a section of the day that we can condense into the couples portrait time.

Creating Special Moments Throughout the Day

I’m going to add this here before going any further. Make time for the moments that are important to you and discuss with your fiancé, photographer, and planner about bringing those ideas to life. This is after all your wedding day and we are here to execute on your vision for the big day. Do you want extra time with the girls getting ready, plan for it. Do you want to do a first look of the reception together as a couple, consider it happening. Whatever you want is our responsibility to make happen.

Another way to look at this is what I do for all of my couples. I simply go throughout the day looking for the best lighting possible where your moments are going to be. If the view is spectacular, but the sun creates weird shadows on your faces, I’m going to change the position or location if necessary. My aim as your wedding photographer is to capture your moments in an authentic and timeless way while also making sure that you, and everyone else is looking their best for the photos! No one wants to print out unflattering photos of themselves.

The Pros and Cons of a First Look

(Approximately 1 hour)

The Cons

When people talk about a first look there’s always going to be those that are for it and against it.

1. Tradition

   Some of the things people say to defend the traditional way is that it ruins that moment coming down the aisle for you guys. If this moment of surprise and reaction of your groom coming down the aisle is the one thing that you want to have captured then by all means go for it.

2. Getting Ready Earlier

   True, having a first look will often mean that you are going to need to start earlier in the day getting ready. This is especially true in the Winter months when the sun is gone by 5:30 in the afternoon.

3. Non-Ideal Lighting

   Light during the 2-5 pm timeframe is generally not the best light to photograph in, unless it’s an overcast day. However an expert wedding photographer should be able to find amazing lighting conditions at any venue during the harsh sunlight hours.

The Pros

1. You Don’t Feel Rushed

   By having a first look moment with your fiancé you can relax throughout the day knowing that things are going to run smoothly and that even if things run behind a little, there’s still time to capture everything on the wedding day.

2. Get Everything Done Before the Ceremony

   When you have to cram everything into 45 minutes after the ceremony there will be moments, photos, that you’ll have to sacrifice in order to stay within that timeframe. And you can’t easily extend that time because you’ll have guests waiting on you at cocktail hour. I work off of a 3 hour rule of thumb for all the portraits on a wedding day, 1 hour for the couple, 1 hour for the wedding party, and 1 hour for family formals. Trying to fit 3 hours into 45 minutes is tough, stressful, and chaotic.

3. True and Genuine Reactions

   Some of my grooms have been the type of guys that don’t like to get emotional in front of a bunch of people, much less their closest friends and family. Having a private first look moment allows both of you to freely express yourselves. *Pro Tip – make sure that you are both mic’d up for this moment if you are having a video done.

4. Private Dinner

   When you do a first look, are relaxed, get all the formals out of the way before the ceremony, you actually can plan to have a real private dinner for like 20 whole minutes! Seriously, being able to actually sit down and enjoy a meal as husband and wife for the first time is incredible!

My advice is to talk with your photographer about a first look and what they suggest for you and your wedding day. Every couple is unique and this answer is always going to depend on you as the couple and what you want.

(For the purposes of this article and guide, I’m going to continue as if a first look is happening.)

Couples Portraits

As the first look is unfolding we are just documenting every little detail from the expressions, to the hands, to the kisses, to the embrace, everything! I’ll never interrupt a moment, so I let this take as long as it takes, usually about 5 minutes or so. Once the moment has passed and you start looking at us like, what’s next, I’ll step in and set you guys up for a few photos and then we’ll flow right into the couples portraits. I’ll have already done my location scouting and discussed your wants with you guys, and found some great places for portraits. So we’ll make our way around to those spots at the venue and capture some truly magically moments for you guys.

The Wedding Party

(Approximately 1 hour)

As the Couple Portraits are wrapping up your bridesmaids and groomsmen should be joining us for some group wedding party photos. I’ll start with everyone together, usually paired up with who they are walking in/out with for the ceremony. If there’s more than 4-5 pairings, I’ll start stacking couples some in front of the others. I’ll also put the maid of honor by the bride and the best man by the groom.

After a few formal shots with differing poses then I’ll switch things up to do some fun shots like the tunnel, walking, etc. Next I’ll start with the ladies and do bride and bridesmaid formals, individuals, and solos of each bridesmaid. After that, we’ll finish out the wedding party photos with the groom and groomsmen, group shots and individuals with the groom.

Family Formals

(Approximately 1 hour)

Most of the time the family formals do not take this long, however for those that have massive immediate families, I want to make sure that there is enough time to capture every grouping possible. I highly recommend limiting those included in family formals to just your immediate families with any grandparents that are able to make it. Don’t worry though, Aunt Sally and Uncle Bob can get their pics with you during the reception.

I always ask my couples a few questions during the final meeting before the big day.

1. Are there any family dynamics that I need to be aware of when posing families together?

2. Do you want individuals with your respective families, ie. Bride with Brides family and Bride and Groom with Brides family or just Bride and Groom with Brides family?

3. Who can you appoint to help with gathering people for each grouping?

That last one is super important, because unless I’m super close with your family then I’m not going to know who these folks are or what they look like. Having a sibling, cousin, close family friend, from each side, assist with this will help keep this efficient and moving forward.

When we discuss the family formals I’ll have a detailed list of each grouping that you’ll fill in the names for so that we know ahead of time who needs to be present for the family formals.

The Ceremony

Rest for the Bride and Groom – 30 minutes

I always insist that the hard end time for photos is 30 minutes before the ceremony start time. This way you, your groom, and all of your wedding party can step inside into the AC, cool off, and rest your feet for a few moments before the ceremony begins. During this time is when we usually give you a break from having a camera in your face and go photograph the details of the ceremony and reception if it’s at the same location. If the reception is at a different location, then I’ll send my second photographer ahead of everyone before the ceremony is over to capture those details before your guests arrive.

I also use this time to go over the game plan one last time with the team just to make sure everyone knows the game plan, where to be, what moments they are responsible for, and when to be in place for the first kiss.

After you’ve rested you’ll want to line up about 5 minutes before the ceremony start time so that we can kick everything off right on time.

Tips for the Best Ceremony Photos

• During the processional make sure to remind all of the wedding party to keep their heads up and smile towards the front. Far to often I’ve seen the tops of heads, scowls, or RBF as your wedding party is coming down the aisle.

• Forget the unplugged ceremony signs and get creative about how you communicate to your guests about having an unplugged ceremony. Have your officiant make a polite but firm announcement, or have a cell phone check like a coat check. One of my favorite way’s I’ve seen recently is to create a moment during the ceremony that your guests can pull out their phones for a photo.

• Make sure that the seats aren’t way away from where you guys are standing, especially if you aren’t going to be speaking into a mic.

• Make sure that your maid of honor fixes the train of the dress every time you move.

• Communicate any traditions, rituals, unity ceremonies, secrets with your photo and video team. We want to be prepared for whatever you have in store so that we can capture it in the best way possible.

• The first kiss. Guys I’m talking to you now. KISS YOUR WOMAN! Don’t shy away from it, don’t just give her a millisecond peck! Kiss her like you’ve never kissed her before! Wrap your hands around her waist, pull her in close and tight, and give her the best kiss she’s ever had. Don’t be afraid to bend her back a little bit. It’s totally normal for the first kiss to be a passionate one that lasts a little bit longer than you think it should.

• Ask, and then remind, the officiant before the ceremony to slide out of the way for the photos. My favorite is when he has moved out of the way before he even starts to announce the first kiss!

• After you have been announced as Husband and Wife and you are walking down the aisle, be sure to look at each other, and get excited! Throw your hands up in the air, smile big and laugh with excitement! About half way down the aisle I’ll have you stop and do a dip and kiss, lift, or something for a photo op that will make a great full spread in your album!

Ceremony times will vary depending on the couple, but for those that want a quick and easy ceremony, plan for an even 30 minutes. Any time left over will just be absorbed by the reception!

Sunset and Nighttime Photos

(Approximately 45 minutes total – Not all at once)

Depending on the time of sunset on your wedding day, I’ll grab you guys for a few minutes to get some fun creative shots at sunset during the golden hour! If this is right after the ceremony then we’ll basically roll right into those photos after the ceremony before you go to your dinner.

Night shots are a little bit different. After we have been capturing the dance floor party for a good bit, we’ll step out to set up for one of our favorite shots for each couple, the Champagne spray shot! Once we have our lights set up we’ll come grab you guys, and the wedding party if you want, to participate in spraying the champagne!

Reception and Party Time

(Approximately 4 hours)

The Agenda

Every reception will have a few things in common. Such as an entrance, first dances, cutting the cake, and the tosses. There’s no set in stone rule on when you should do these things or that you have to do any of them. Assuming that you are going to do all of these things during the reception, here’s my opinion on when to do them.

Obviously you’ll start off by being announced into the reception. If you want to include your wedding party that’s great. Make sure to communicate all of these plans with your photo and video team so that we are prepared to capture everything for you. If the party plans on doing dances, skits, or something rehearsed we need to know that as well.

After being announced you should flow right into the first dance. I think it makes the images look amazing when the bridal party is still standing around the dance floor admiring the dance. It allows for interesting background to these moments. Now some couples don’t want to dance for the entire song, so you should have a chat with your DJ/Band before the wedding about this and make sure they know to only play a portion of the song. After the couples dance is the Father and Daughter dance, followed by the Mother and Son dance.

From here you can do a couple of things, you can release everyone to get their food if they’ve been waiting on you to eat, or you can go right into cutting the cake so people can enjoy desert.

A fun way to include everyone in your photos is to play photo-roulette. This is where you have 1 song to go around to each table and take a photograph with that table so that you can ensure that you have a picture with everyone at the reception. It’s a lot of fun and will get your guests into the mood. If this isn’t something you’d like to do, then no worries. I’ll still be like your personal paparazzi for the night, following you around for a bunch of different photo ops throughout the night.

Once the party gets going and people are on the dance floor, we’ll jump out there with them in the middle of everything and capture the energy. I suggest letting your DJ decide when the garter toss and bouquet toss will happen. You don’t want to do it too early that people are shy to get out there, or too late when most of the guests have left.

A VIP List

As a photographer I’ve spent time photographing people that are on the dance floor, love the camera, and then come to find out that she was someone’s plus one that the bride and groom don’t really like. So I’ve started asking my brides for a list of 10-15 people that are VIP’s in their lives. This can be grandparents, an uncle that’s like a dad, this could be friends, or mentors. Whoever they might be capturing them enjoying your wedding day and capturing moments that you spend with them are going to be so much more important to you than someone’s drunk date on the dance floor.

The Exit

No matter if you plan on a fake exit earlier in the night or a real exit to end the evening, you need to give some thought to how this will work. Some key questions to think about…

1. What kind of send off do I want? (Sparklers, bubbles, confetti, etc.)

2. What do I envision this looking like in photos? (Include these in your mood board on Pinterest.

3. Are there any restrictions that we need to be aware of?

4. Do we need transportation at the end of the night?

Let me give you a couple of things to do to make the exit photos some of the best ones of the entire day.

Walk slow – don’t run

I think especially if you are doing sparklers our natural tendency is to run through the fire sticks that could burn us. But there are ways to prevent this from happening, like having each line take an extra step back. This gives you plenty of clearance but I can still get everyone in the shot. If you aren’t doing sparklers then this is a non issue. I know it’s the end of the night and you are excited for what’s next, but walking fast or running through the line takes you out of the moment. Be present with your guests, give them hugs as you walk down, fist bumps, high fives, whatever you want to do. Just enjoy the moment!

The dip and kiss

About half way through I’ll have you guys stop, let your groom dip you back and kiss you. Everybody lined up loves when this happens, they always go crazy for you guys and cheer even louder! If your dress doesn’t allow for an easy dip then we can do a lift, or a spin, or belly-button to belly-button kiss. Whatever we do, it’ll be awesome!

Romantic photos in the car

Depending on your ride and if you are having a driver for the exit will really determine the type of shot we can get here. But when I think about the album design and layout, it’s always great to have an ending to the story of your wedding. Driving away in a car signifies that you are headed into the future. It’s the perfect way to end your album.

Conclusion

Alright, that is everything that goes into making a stress free wedding day timeline. I know, it’s a TON of information and something that I don’t expect for you to do all on your own. I always work with brides from the very beginning to help build this out over time and customize it to their needs.

If you haven’t yet found a photographer for the wedding and want to ensure that your wedding day is as stress free as possible, then I’d love to schedule a time with you to chat about your wedding and how I can help you achieve your dreams! Just simply fill out this form below and I’ll be in touch as soon as possible!