Obviously no two weddings are exactly the same, but if you find yourself wondering what the average amount of time each portion of your wedding photography will take, this page is for you!
I've created two sample timelines that should help you get an idea of how the timeline should be laid out. With an 8:30 sunset time, these timelines are obviously best suited for a summer wedding, but you should be able to look up the sunset time on your wedding date and adjust for that and your ceremony time.
Then if you keep scrolling, I've written each important section a little advice column that will hopefully get you thinking about the reasoning behind each item's time allowance and make it easier for you to customize for your number of coverage hours, etc.
As always, reach out if I can help further with this! I'd SO much rather answer a million questions about your timeline than not have the time we need to get great shots on your wedding day. Xo!
479-200-7919
hello@corriechilders.com
How To Use This Resource
10:00a - Bride + Bridesmaids begin prep
10:50a - Photographer arrives
11:00a - Dress/ bridal details photos
11:30 - Bride hair/makeup touchups/girls getting ready photos
11:45 - 2nd photographer takes guys getting ready photos
12:15 - Put on dress
12:30 - Bride + Groom give gifts
12:40 - Parent gifts
12:55 - Bridals
1:25 - First look (groom portraits done while he waits)
1:40 - Bride + Groom portraits
2:00 - Wedding party portraits
2:30 - Photographer shoots ceremony details
2:50 - Formal family photos
3:40 - Bride put away, photographer shoots reception details
4:30 - Ceremony
5:00 - Formal entrance into reception
7:30 - Couples "golden hour" portrait session
8:30 - SUNSET
9:45 - Sparkler Exit
10:00 - Photographer coverage ends
IDEAL TIMELINE
(WITH FIRST LOOK)
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IDEAL TIMELINE
(WITHOUT FIRST LOOK)
10:00a - Bride + Bridesmaids begin prep
10:50a - Photographer arrives
11:00a - Dress/ bridal details photos
11:30 - Bride hair/makeup touchups/girls getting ready photos
11:45 - 2nd photographer takes guys getting ready photos
12:15 - Put on dress
12:30 - Bride + Groom give gifts
12:45 - Parent gifts
12:55 - Bridals + Bride with bridesmaids
1:30 - Groom portraits + Groom with groomsmen
2:00 - Photographer shoots ceremony details
2:30 - Photographer shoots reception details
4:00 - Ceremony
4:30 - Formal family photos (guests go to cocktail hour)
5:15 - Combined wedding party portraits
5:30 - Bride + Groom portraits
6:00 - Formal entrance into reception
7:30 - Couples "golden hour" portrait session
8:25 - Faux Birdseed Exit at dusk
8:30 - SUNSET
10:00 - Photographer coverage ends
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Ideal Time Allotment – 20-30 minutes
Ideal Time of the Day – Morning
Ideal Location – Bridal Suite or Hotel Suite
Advice – Having 20-30 minutes for details lets me get that perfect photo of the dress, rings, shoes, bouquets, and the other details of the day.
There are times when a hotel room is too crowded or simply unappealing; we have to take the details all the way down to the lobby or even outside. This can take some time, but as you can see from the results, it’s well worth the additional work.
Details
Ideal Time Allotment – 60 minutes
Ideal Time of Day – Morning or Early Afternoon
Ideal Location – Bridal Suite or Hotel Suite
Advice – Having an hour of preparation is ideal for my style. During this time, we are getting close ups of the makeup and hair being applied as well as the candid moments and the bridesmaids and groomsmen get ready for the day. Keep in mind that these are some of the most emotional and fun times of the day, so you don’t want to cut it short.
Usually the lead shooter will be with the bride while the second shooter will be with the groom. It doesn’t take guys an hour to get dressed, so the second shooter may also hang out with the bride for a while (especially when it's time to put her dress on).
Bride & Groom Prep
Ideal Time Allotment – 15 minutes
Ideal Time of the Day – After you're both dressed
Ideal Location – Bridal Suite or Hotel Suite
Advice – If you're giving each other a letter or a gift (or if you're giving your parents something), be sure to put that on the timeline and give it about 10-15 minutes. Sometimes it can take a few minutes to track the relevant people down!
Gift Giving (bride and groom or parent gifts)
Ideal Time Allotment – 30 minutes
Ideal Time of the Day – Right after you're ready
Ideal Location – Bridal Suite, Hotel Suite, Venue Lobby, or Venue Garden
Advice – Right after prep is the best time for individual portraits of the bride and groom (separately). Besides makeup and hair being completely fresh, the day hasn’t gotten hectic yet so we can take our time and get those perfect portraits.
If something on the timeline needs to be fluid, this is generally the thing that can move to later in the day if needed. Bride and groom portraits can really be done any time (you just may not look as fresh if we're doing them hours after you finished getting ready).
Individual Portraits
Ideal Time Allotment – 15-30 minutes
Ideal Time – 2-3 hours before ceremony
Ideal Location – Venue Grounds, Large Venue Porch (shaded areas with natural light)
Advice – The first look should be around 15-30 minutes. During this time, the bride and groom enjoy seeing each other for the first time on the wedding day and we take some basic portraits of the two of you.
Ideally we are saving the bulk of your couples photos for golden hour (see the “couples session” section below). However, if there is no other time in the day, it is best to allocate another 30-45 minutes here so that we make sure we have enough photos of just you two.
First Look
Ideal Time Allotment – 25-35 minutes
Ideal Time -
First Look Timeline: Before Ceremony
No First Look Timeline: After Ceremony
Ideal Location - Venue Lobby, Venue Grounds, Park, Downtown, Off-site Location (open shade preferred)
Advice – Wedding Party Photos should be around 25-35 minutes. During this time, we get a variety of shots in a variety of poses. We start off with the basic, classic photos and move on to some more fun shots! We know how much your wedding party means to you, so we'll also get pictures with you and each one of your bridesmaids or groomsmen individually.
If you're not doing a first look, we will try to take the bride/bridesmaids and groom/groomsmen photos before the ceremony to save time during cocktail hour.
Wedding Party Photos
Ideal Time Allotment – 20-30 minutes
Ideal Location – Ceremony Site
Ideal Time – at least 1 hour before ceremony time
Advice – Allow 30 minutes for me to take pictures of the ceremony site, completely set up with no guests or vendors in the area.
This usually needs to be at least an hour before ceremony start time, because some guests begin to arrive super early!
Ceremony Venue & Details
Advice – Formals will take around 45 minutes to an hour depending on the number and size of groupings and usually take place before the ceremony (if you do a first look), or after the ceremony (if you don't do a first look). Doing them before the ceremony means your guests aren't waiting as long for you to arrive at the reception!
Plan on 3-5 minutes per group. For example, if you have 10 groups, schedule in a 30-50 minute time slot.
I recommend being very organized, with a list of groups (I'll ask you to send that to me before the wedding) and helpers from each side of the family to help round people up. It's very important that everybody be present so we can make good time and get every grouping!
Formal Family Photos
Ideal Time Allotment – 20-30 minutes
Ideal Time – Before the ceremony
Ideal Location – Reception site
Advice – Please allow 30 minutes for pictures of the reception room, completely set up with no guests or vendors in the area.
Similar to the ceremony details, this is the only opportunity we have to capture the beauty of the reception room prior to guest arrival.
Don't forget about travel time, if necessary!
Reception Venue & Details
Ideal Time Allotment – 30-45 minutes
Ideal Time – 1 hour before sunset time
Ideal Location – Venue Grounds, Large Venue Porch, Rooftops, Downtown
Advice – By far the most beautiful light of the day will be "golden hour" - that time about one to one and a half hours before sunset...and we don't want to miss out on that on your wedding day.
Obviously the time of year will dictate when golden hour will fall, but I highly encourage you to schedule some time for us to get outside and get those magical golden hour portraits even if it means leaving your reception for a bit.
And if you are doing a formal exit later in the night, we can grab your wedding party when we're done shooting at dusk and do a little sparkler or confetti shoot while the light is soft and gorgeous!
Couples Session
see a golden hour sparkler photo
Ideal Time Allotment – 30-45 minutes
Ideal Time – 1 hour before sunset time
Ideal Location – Venue Grounds, Large Venue Porch, Rooftops, Downtown
Advice – By far the most beautiful light of the day will be "golden hour" - that time about one to one and a half hours before sunset...and we don't want to miss out on that on your wedding day.
Obviously the time of year will dictate when golden hour will fall, but I highly encourage you to schedule some time for us to get outside and get those magical golden hour portraits even if it means leaving your reception for a bit.
And if you are doing a formal exit later in the night, we can grab your wedding party when we're done shooting at dusk and do a little sparkler or confetti shoot while the light is soft and gorgeous!
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Couples Session
Ideal Time Allotment – 25-35 minutes
Ideal Time – just before or just after dusk, or at the end of the reception
Ideal Location – In front of the venue, on a long sidewalk, through the parking lot to the getaway car
So many of my couples are opting to do a faux exit earlier than the time they're actually planning to leave. There are a few reasons:
I. More of your guests (namely the older crowd and those with kids) will still be around for your exit and see you off!
II. Doing a faux exit early means my coverage end time isn't dependent on when you actually want to leave your wedding and vice versa (like if my 10 hours are up at 9pm but you want to party until midnight)!
III. If you're doing something other than sparklers that doesn't light up brightly (bird seed, confetti, rose petals, streamers, glow sticks, etc), those can look downright phenomenal right at dusk or shortly before while we still have some natural light. I can light those kinds of exits with flash if we do your exit in the dark, but I wouldn't necessarily say birdseed or rose petals photograph the best with flash.
If you're using something other than sparklers, another option would be to line up your guests and do a "formal exit" right out of your ceremony doors so we don't even have to worry about it for the rest of the night!
Formal Exit
Table Shots – Table shots are when you go around visiting tables. There are two options for photography during this time. (1) You can take formal pictures with each of these tables or (2) we can simply focus on photojournalism, capturing the smiles and hugs as you mingle with each table. If you’re planning on doing formal table shots, please keep in mind that these will take about 3-5 minutes per table. For example, 20 tables would require 60-100 minutes of time.
Travel Time - make sure you include plenty of time for travel/traffic if we're going off site for anything, or if we are going to separate locations for ceremony and reception.
Extra Time - If you find yourself building your timeline and having a little more time than I've said is required, that's OKAY! I can almost guarantee it will be used for something (99% of weddings run behind) so please don't try to fill it if you don't have to, especially if it's before the ceremony.
Additional Timeline Details