Timeline Guide

A guide for planning your big day

Will you be having a first look?

If the answer is yes I have some tips for you!

If you plan on doing a first look with family or your wedding party I highly suggest giving yourself 30 minutes per group. This way you all can chat and your loved ones can get some photos with you before the ceremony.

If you plan on doing a first look with your partner I highly suggest giving yourself an hour. This way you two can have a calm moment before the ceremony and get some photo/video time before your guests arrive.

Are you able to get some formal family photos done before the ceremony?

If your family is at your venue with you before the ceremony I highly suggest getting your formal photos done before the ceremony so you have less formal photos after. This can save you time that you can then spend with your guests or getting other formal photos with guests that arrive just before the ceremony.

I will help you create this formal photo list so we can ensure you get photos with all the VIPs in your life. To estimate the time for these photos take the number of groupings and multiply it by 3 minutes. So if you have 20 different groupings x 3 minutes for each group you should estimate 50 minutes. I’m sure you can see how getting some of these photos done before the ceremony can be a benefit if possible.

Should you plan for sunset photos/videos?

YES!!! Once again, YES! you absolutely should! Sunset is generally the best time for lighting and capturing some really beautiful visuals. We don’t have to take a bunch of time for this, generally about 30 minutes or less in front of the camera is perfect.

Don’t know when sunset would be for your day? That is totally ok! I got you. I have resources to not only look up when the sun will set on your day but also specific to where you’re having your wedding. Tall trees, high mountains and sometimes cloud coverage all can cause some variation in the timing of your sunset.

What would all day coverage look like?

Here is a timeline I made with a couple for all day coverage with a partner first look. Their ceremony was at 4:00 pm and sunset was at 7:55 pm.

10:00 am – 1:30 pm Hair and makeup on-site

11:00 am Photographer/Videographer arrive

11:00 am – 12:30 Partner A getting ready photos, their wedding details and venue photos 

12:00 pm Partner A change in the small white cabin

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Partner B getting ready and their wedding details

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Couple first look and couples photos

2:30 pm Wedding party photos

3:30 pm Guests arrive

4:00 pm Ceremony begins 

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Family photos

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Cocktail hour for guests 

6:00 pm Dinner Service Begins (Vendors will follow wedding party in dinner line)

6:30 pm First dance

6:45 pm Toasts x 3

7:15 pm Sunset photos/videos  

8:00 pm Cake cutting 

8:30 pm Couple fake send off 

9pm Photographer/Videographer leave

What would part day coverage look like?

Here is a timeline I made with a couple for part day coverage without any first looks. Their ceremony was at 5:00 pm and sunset was at 8:10 pm.

2:30 pm Photographer/Videographer arrive

2:30 – 3:00 pm Partner A getting ready photos and their wedding details

3:00 – 3:30 pm Partner B getting ready photos and their wedding details

3:30 – 4:30 pm  Partner A with their wedding party photos then partner B with their wedding party photos

4:30 pm Guests arrive  

5:00 pm Ceremony 

5:30-6:30 pm Family photos 

6:30 pm Toasts x 2

7:00 pm Dinner (Vendors will follow wedding party in dinner line) 

7:30 pm First dance

7:45 pm Cake cutting 

7:50 pm Sunset photos/videos 

8:15 pm Tosses 

8:30 pm Photographer/Videographer leaves