Your venue is booked, an incredible team of vendors is in place, and invitations have been sent out. The day you have been dreaming of is quickly approaching and it is time to begin thinking about how it will actually flow! After all, you want to make sure you have enough time to capture all of those pretty photos. Introducing your “Wedding Day Timeline”. If you have hired a planner or day of coordinator, chances are they will be putting one together for you. If not, I would be happy to help! Having the honor of being a part of over a hundred weddings in the past few years has given me a good idea about how much time needs to be allotted for each portion of the day, especially the parts that have to do with photography. First, let me explain how much time I would LOVE to have to capture important moments during the day. No worries if your wedding does not allow for this much time, I can work faster if needed. 🙂
Girls Getting Ready- 90 minutes
I suggest having me arrive an hour before you get into your wedding gown. This is when you would usually be getting the finishing touches on your hair and make-up. During this time, I love not only photographing you and your girls primping and having a good time, I also love capturing the details you have so carefully chosen. If you could have your dress, shoes, full invitation suite, any jewelry, and rings (engagement ring and both bands) laid out, that would be great! The last half hour I like to capture you getting into your dress and and a few posed photos with any immediate family present or bridesmaids.
Guys Getting Ready- 45 minutes
The guys getting ready is usually much more laid back than the girls. My second shooter usually captures the groom putting on his jacket, shoes, and tie, and any special details like cuff links or fun socks. They would also capture candids of the guys hanging out together. Most times, this takes place around the same time I am photographing the girls getting ready.
Bride and Groom Portraits- 45 minutes
I would LOVE 45 minutes to capture bride and groom portraits. Some wedding days allow for less, some for more. While it is easy for me to shoot all day, I can work faster if needed.
Thirty minutes is a good amount of time to capture the bridal party. If you know you have a larger bridal party (12 bridesmaids/groomsmen on each side or more), talk to me about allowing additional time to capture these important photos.
Family Portraits- 30 minutes
Thirty minutes also works well for family portraits. If you know you have a large family, please let me know so we can plan accordingly.
Sunset Photos- 15 minutes
If we have taken your portraits earlier in the day, sneaking out again for sunset can allow for some BEAUTIFUL images. If you would like to set aside 15 minutes for sunset photos, please let me know.
Night Portraits- 15 minutes
The same goes for night photography! When the sky turns that dusky blue, my heart melts! Consider setting aside 15 minutes in the evening to capture some unique couple portraits.
Now that you know how much time would be great from a photography stand point, the next step is to list out the times each event will take place on YOUR wedding day. I have provided a blank timeline below. Simply fill in the time each event will take place on the blank line provided. To fill it out electronically, click here.
Blank Timeline (Please write N/A if not applicable 🙂 )
Bride and Bridesmaids Begin Getting Ready: _________
Bride Personally Starts with Hair and Make-up: _________
Amy Arrives: _________
Groom Gets Ready: _________
Bride Gets into Dress: _________
Groom Travels to Ceremony: _________
Bride Travels to Ceremony: _________
———————————————————————————
First Look + Bride and Groom Photos: _________
Bridal Party Portraits: _________
Immediate Family Portraits: _________
———————————————————————————
Arrive at Ceremony: _________
Ceremony Begins: _________
Ceremony Ends (YAY! YOU’RE MARRIED!): _________
Receiving Line (usually takes 30 minutes): _________
Family Portraits: _________
Leave for Reception or Photo Location: _________
Arrive at Reception or Photo Location: _________
Bridal Party Photos: _________
Bride and Groom Photos: _________
Cocktail Hour: _________
Reception Begins: _________
Reception Ends: _________
Reception Tradition Times
Grand Entrance: _________
First Dance: _________
Toasts: _________
Father/Daughter Dance: _________
Mother/Son Dance: _________
Cake Cutting: _________
Bouquet/Garter Toss: _________
Grand Exit/Sparkler Exit: _________
Any Additional Traditions (Anniversary Dance/Entire Wedding Guest Photo, etc): _________
I suggest filling this out 4-6 weeks before your wedding and emailing it to me. This will allow me to create a photography timeline specific for your day.
Sometimes a visual helps! I am definitely the type of person who loves to see examples. 🙂 Whether you are planning a first look, mid-day ceremony, or are excited about seeing each other for the first time when walking down the aisle, I have put together a sample timeline for you! The trick to easily customizing one for your day? Simply change the ceremony time to match your wedding day, then adjust the times before and after, keeping the same intervals. Don’t worry if your wedding doesn’t follow the patterns of one of the three below. Every day is different! If you are one of my couples and would like help with your timeline, email me and we will work on it together! amy@amyrizzutophotography.com.
Down the Aisle
3pm- Bridal Prep/Groom Prep- Details, Finishing Touches on Hair and Make-up
4pm- Bride Gets into Dress
4:30pm- Travel to Ceremony Site/Relax before walk down the aisle
5pm- Ceremony Begins
5:30pm- Ceremony Ends- YOU’RE MARRIED!!!
5:45pm- Family Portraits
6pm- Bridal Party Photos/Cocktail Hour Begins
6:20pm- Bride and Groom Portraits
6:50pm- Prepare for Grand Entrance
7pm- Reception Begins/Grand Entrance
7:05pm- First Dance
7:15pm- Toasts/First Course
7:30pm- DANCING!
8pm- Dinner Served
8:30pm- Father/Daughter and Mother/Son Dance
8:45pm- DANCING!
9:30pm- Cake Cutting/Bouquet + Garter Toss
9:45pm- DANCING!
11pm- Reception Ends
First Look
1pm- Bridal Prep/Groom Prep- Details, Finishing Touches on Hair and Make-up
2pm- Bride Gets into Dress
2:30pm- First Look!!!
2:35- Bride and Groom Portraits
3:30pm- Bridal Party Photos
4pm- Immediate Family Portraits
4:30pm- Touch-ups/Prepare for Walk Down the Aisle
5pm- Ceremony Begins
5:30pm- Ceremony Ends- YOU’RE MARRIED!!!
6pm- Cocktail Hour Begins- Bride and Groom attend Cocktail Hour
6:50pm- Prepare for Grand Entrance
7pm- Reception Begins/Grand Entrance
7:05pm- First Dance
7:15pm- Toasts/First Course
7:30pm- DANCING!
8pm- Dinner Served
8:30pm- Father/Daughter and Mother/Son Dance
8:45pm- DANCING!
9:30pm- Cake Cutting/Bouquet + Garter Toss
9:45pm-DANCING!
11pm- Reception Ends
Mid-Day Ceremony
11:30am- Bridal Prep/Groom Prep- Details, Finishing Touches on Hair and Make-up
12:30pm- Bride Gets into Dress
1pm- Photos with Bridesmaids/Groomsmen and immediate family separately
1:30pm- Travel to Ceremony Site/Relax before walk down the aisle
2pm- Ceremony Begins
3pm- Ceremony Ends- YOU’RE MARRIED!!!
3:05pm- Receiving Line
3:30pm- Family Portraits
4pm-Travel to Location/Reception for Photos
4:30pm- Bridal Party Portraits
5:00pm- Bride and Groom Portraits
6pm- Cocktail Hour- Bride and Groom Attend
6:50pm- Prepare for Grand Entrance
7pm- Reception Begins/Grand Entrance
7:05pm- First Dance
7:15pm- Toasts/First Course
7:30pm- DANCING!
8pm- Dinner Served
8:30pm- Father/Daughter and Mother/Son Dance
8:45pm- DANCING!
9:30pm- Cake Cutting/Bouquet + Garter Toss
9:45pm- DANCING!
11pm- Reception Ends
A few additional things to remember…
Travel Time
Travel times are an easy thing to forget to include in the timeline. Make sure you account for how long it is going to take to get from the getting ready location to the ceremony, the ceremony to the reception, etc. Build in extra time just in case you are running behind or if you hit traffic. Also, make sure to account for how you are going to get from place to place (cars, limousine, party bus, etc).
Buffer Time
It is rare a wedding day is running exactly on time. Hair and make-up can take longer than expected, a bridesmaid could leave behind her bouquet, or you could hit traffic. Adding a little extra “buffer time” into the timeline is a great idea and will allow for a very relaxed and stress free day.
Reception Timing
Most of the time, your band/DJ will put together your reception timeline since they are the ones announcing your first dance, cake cutting, etc. Once you receive your reception timeline from them, feel free to send it over. 🙂
RELAX
If things go off course, not to worry! You will still walk down the aisle, still marry the one you love, and still dance your butt off at the reception. I am an expert at working quickly when needed and promise you will still have beautiful images to remember such a special day in your lives.
Great post Amy!
Aww… You used our picture too! So sweet of you, Amy Rizzuto
Great post and extremely helpful!
Yay! love this post, especially the different timeline options 🙂
[…] for Your Engagement Session, Getting Ready for the “Getting Ready” Portion of Your Day, Creating Your Wedding Day Timeline, and many more. It also holds copies of the Wedding Worksheet and Wedding Timeline, two forms I […]