Are you an upcoming bride/groom and contemplating what shots you want to be captured at your wedding and have no idea where to start with your timeline? I am here to help.
Firstly, I want to recommend hiring a professional wedding day coordinator. Normally, inclusive wedding venues typically provide you with a day-of wedding coordinator who steps in about 6-8 weeks before your wedding day and takes over with all of the decorations, communications, and all of the above. I have worked with some amazing coordinators, so if you are a client of mine and would like to see my preferred I would love to provide those companies for you to make your wedding a smooth experience.
Every single wedding day is so unique and personal to the couple -- what I am going to provide is a simple timeline that is very general to get the point across for what it typically looks like. The less you schedule into the day, the more stress-free the day will be. Just keep that in mind when you are creating a schedule for your wedding day!
When I make photography timelines for my clients, I provide a detailed shot-list of what will be taken. That list is also very general, and I always allow my clients to show me inspiration for shots they would like and let them give me a shot-list of things they would like also. I am very transparent with my clients that no shots are guarantee. Especially if it is just me, with no second shooter. I do try my best to cover all of the preferred shots, but I am human so please understand and be mindful that sometimes weddings go off course and go by so fast so it may get missed.
Now that I have covered all the disclaimers, without further ado let's get into the nitty gritty of wedding timeline and shot-lists!
Typically Wedding Timeline & Shot-List
When creating wedding timelines you should start off with the ceremony time & end time and go from there when creating events around those two times. For this timeline, I am going to use a ceremony start time of 5:00pm (which is typical for summer weddings) and an exit of 9pm (with photographer/videographer coverage of 8 hours).
I am going to do this timeline without a first look -- because I do now that most wedding couples don't do first looks but if you are you are able to complete a majority of the photos before the ceremony, just keep that in mind!
1:00pm | Photographer(s)/Videographer arrives - Details & Getting Ready Photos |
1:30pm | Groom/Groomsmen Portraits |
2:00pm | Bride Getting In Dress |
2:15pm | Bridal/Bridesmaids Portraits |
2:45pm | Details of Ceremony & Reception |
3:00pm-4:30pm | Buffer Time Before Ceremony |
5:00pm | Ceremony |
5:30pm | Family Photos Immediately After Ceremony |
6:00pm | Full Bridal Party |
6:15pm | Mr. & Mrs. Photos |
6:45pm | Reception Entrance |
6;45pm | First Dances Immediately Following Entrance |
7:00pm | Dinner |
7:45pm | Toasts |
8:15pm | Cake Cutting |
8:20pm | Open Dance Floor |
9:00pm | Formal Exit! |
Okay, so generally this is what a wedding timeline looks like. A lot of these things are relative by vendor. Although this is a general timeline, I hope you now have a better understanding of what it will look like. Use this list as an idea not as your shot-list because it isn't perfect (this is just a roughly put together one) and your wedding day coordinator will do a much better job at organizing your wedding day better. But, nonetheless, I really do hope this helped!
Happy Wedding Planning!
- Olivia xoxoxo