TIMELINE
Having a well thought out timeline is crucial to the flow of the day and will allow you to relax and enjoy everything rather than feeling rushed. Arranging events in a certain way can also save you a couple hours of photography coverage and save you some money!
When you are one month out from your wedding, I will have you help me work on your timeline. If you hire a coordinator, they will more than likely do this for you. If you want to begin working on your timeline before the one month mark, just email me a copy and I will help you!
A few things to note when making your timeline are listed below.
Allow extra time for getting ready, this always seem to run late. If getting ready runs late, so does everything else, and to get the night back on time, typically the portrait time gets cut short! If you hire two photographers, please note that we always shoot the guys and girls getting ready together. Unless there is a special circumstance where we need to split up we have found it easiest and quickest to do this together! We only need 30 minutes with the groom for getting ready photos, if you chose to have these done. We need 45 minutes to an hour with the bride. If you have gifts for each other or the wedding party and you think it will take them a long time to open and read everything, please allot extra time for getting ready images. Read the ‘Getting Ready’ page for more details.
Deciding the time of your ceremony can be a difficult decision. If you are concerned about photographs at the ceremony, remember to avoid the hours of 11am-2pm. This is when light is directly overhead and very harsh. The other thing to consider in an outdoor ceremony is the direction of the sun. It is best to have the sun rising and setting in the direction of the aisle, and not side lit. If it is side lit, one of you will be in bright light and the other in a shadow and it will be very difficult to properly expose for both of you. Read the ‘Ceremony’ page for many more tips!
For family photos I require approximately 30 to 45 minutes. This of course varies based on the list you send me. Keep in mind it takes two to four minutes for each combination. Make sure if photos are not at the ceremony site you allow for travel time. Read the ‘Family Photos’ page for more details and a sample list.
For formal photos with the wedding party and just the two of you, if you have a limo, leave extra time as they tend to drive slower than regular vehicles & make sure you notify us ahead of time so we can prepare our photo locations to ensure the limo can access all of them. Typically we need 20 to 45 minutes with the wedding party & 30 to 45 minutes with the bride and groom. Make sure you allow for travel time. If you will be hungry at this stage in the day, allow extra time to stop for food or pack it ahead of time to keep in the limo. If you do not have alcohol in your limo and you plan on stopping at a liquor store, make sure you leave extra time. If your reception venue has nice surroundings, leave 15 minutes for sunset photos of just the two of you later in the evening. Read the ‘Portraits’ page for more tips.
For the reception & cocktails, if you would like decor/detail photos of the room, make sure you discuss this with me so I can schedule time to do this before all of the guests arrive! Typically it is best to do the cake cutting right after dinner, and speeches to follow that. If things run later than expected we can always stay later. We only bill you in 30 minute increments so if you don't need a full extra hour that’s not a problem! Just make sure you let us know what events you would like covered. That way if things are still going on we wont interrupt anything to chat about it! Read the ‘Reception’ page for more details and tips.