Photography timelines are a must for a stress free wedding day!

One of the first things we like to do once you are booked it start your photography timeline!

With proper planning we can help you have a stress-free wedding day where things runs on time, people are ready to take pictures when we need them, and we have creative freedom to do our job and serve our clients well.  Here is a look and how and why we allow a certain amount of time for each part of the day.

Sample Timeline:

12:00 Getting Ready & GR Details

12:45 All Hair and Makeup Finished **(This is usually where things get behind)

1:00 Wedding Dress and Accessories on

1:30 First Look / Bride and Groom Portraits

2:30 Wedding Party

3:00 ImmediateFamily Portraits

3:30 Everyone Inside as guest arrive / We take Reception and Ceremony details

4:30 Ceremony Begins

5:00 Ceremony Ends

5:10 Bride and Groom

5:30 Bride and Groom Joins the Cocktail Hour (optional)

6:00 Grand Entrance to Reception

Getting Ready:

First, We always give ourselves plenty of time to shoot getting ready details such as jewelry, the shoes, the dress, cufflinks, makeup being done, etc. We capture some of our favorite candids during this time as well.

The First Look:

Next, we move onto the First Look. Again, we schedule a specific amount of time for this. This means we can let you relax and enjoy hanging out with each other for 10-15 mins before we start portraits. We recommend this be a private time for you, It’s hard to feel romantic taking photos with an audience. 

Also, if worse comes to worse and things run late during the getting ready process, we don’t need to use the full amount of couple time we have also scheduled some time after the ceremony.

You can relax through the first look, while we grab a few portraits, and just move right into the wedding party and make up some time if needed.

Next on your photography timeline we move onto the wedding party, then onto 30 minutes of family portraits.

Family Portraits:

Next, Doing the family portraits BEFORE the ceremony accomplishes a number of things:

1. There are no distractions so we can move quickly (no pulling people from the bar during cocktail hour)
2. We save that amazing light after the ceremony for couples portraits.
3. The family can immediately enjoy the cocktail hour and greet their wedding guests right after the ceremony.

Believe me, family portraits can be the most stressful part of the day, but with proper planning  it can be relaxing and stress-free. Doing them before the ceremony is a game changer!

Details:

Once we’re done with family photos, it’s time to hide the couple away as wedding guests start to arrive.

The hour before the ceremony is the best time to capture all of the wedding reception details. Things are usually set up by this time and we are able to capture the space before any guests enter the area. This is also another buffer in case things run long and allows you to be hidden away in case guests arrive early.

“This is the only way we’re able to capture as many details as we do, we make them a priority and we schedule time specifically for this purpose.”

Of course, if the ceremony and reception are at different locations, then we make sure that the details are ready to be photographed during the cocktail hour and that guests are held back until we’ve been able to capture everything.

Couples Portraits Part Two:

Finally, our favorite part of the day! The light will be beautiful, you will be excited, and you can relax while we get some amazing couples portraits. This also serves as an insurance policy in the event we have a rainy day. Having two opportunities during the day for portraits is always a safer bet.

Usually we only need to shoot for about half of the cocktail hour, and then you can choose to join your guests, and enjoy those specialty cocktails and appetizers that you picked out. Or take a break and spend some time with each other before the craziness of the reception. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy your wedding day!

This type of schedule has brought us amazing results, not only are we shooting according to the best light of the day, but we’re allowing for vendors or people that may run late. Having built in “buffers” is essential for a wedding day timeline.

This is a basic guide to give you an idea of what your day could look like. Your photography timeline with be unique to your wedding day.

• Venue: JW Marriott Savannah Georgia
• Hair and Makeup: Beyond Beautiful by Heather
• Coordination: Love Actually Weddings and Events
• DJ: Will Smith Music
• Florals: Kato Floral Design
• Gown: Bridals by Lori
• Cake: Wicked Cakes of Savannah
• Officiant: Rev. Schulte