Three Tips For a Perfect Wedding Timeline | Denton Wedding Photographer

Three Tips For a Perfect Wedding Timeline

When planning your wedding, figuring out a wedding timeline can be super stressful. But as someone who’s photographed hundreds of weddings, I have a few tips to share that might make the process simpler for you, your wedding party, your photographer, and everyone else involved.  I give all my couples a wedding timeline up until the ceremony.  I like the DJ to do their own thing during the reception and I just follow along on their wedding timeline to make sure I’m aware of when important events happen.

• Start with the sunset time and the time you need to be out of the reception. Check with your venue and all their policies to determine what times best fit you entering the venue and when you have to be fully out of there.  A typical ceremony and reception are 5 hours long and you need to allow decorating time and getting ready. Will your ceremony be outside? That time may need to be based off the sunset time to ensure you have enough light. Talk with your photographer about the amount of time needed to capture everything. A good wedding planner can base your timeline around all the important details too.

• Decide on whether or not to have a first look with your groom. This will majorly impact times. If you are having a first look, your start time will be earlier, since it will be done before the wedding ceremony. On the plus side, this secures that your look will still be flawless for your portraits and you’ll also be able to spend more time with guests at the reception. You should also decide if you want family photos done before or after the ceremony. If your ceremony is near sunset, you will need to make sure you allow photography time before it gets too dark. All of these factors will determine your start time for the day, and what time your hair and makeup team needs to arrive.   I like to start shooting two to three hours prior to your ceremony to get all the getting ready details and all the photos I can prior to the ceremony regardless of a first look or not.

• Don’t forget the details. Any professional wedding photographer should know how to stay flexible and roll with the punches. But it’s still very, very helpful if they’re given an idea of when important moments like toasts will be happening. You’ll want to look back through your photos and remember every detail, so it would obviously be devastating if your photographer wasn’t prepared for something you failed to mention. Make sure that any event you want to be photographed is given at least a time estimate. That way, your photographer will know to be ready for it, and you’ll feel confident that your reception will flow in a timely manner.  Having a solid timeline with your DJ and photographer is super important to keep things flowing.

Last but not least, don’t forget to stay flexible. There will be bumps in the road on your wedding day, but as long as you wind up as husband and wife, it’s nothing that can’t be adjusted! Make sure each of your vendors has a copy of your wedding timeline and rest easy knowing they’re professionals who have done this before. Happy wedding planning!