timeline
a wedding day
In order to make sure your wedding day goes as smoothly as possible, we will create a custom timeline that is specific to your day! This will help ensure all the moments are documented and that you have the best lighting possible for photos! We will create this according to your ceremony time and send it your way to review. This is a sample timeline based off of our typical 8 hours of coverage, but some wedding days may be longer!
1:00
5:00-5:30
5:30-6:00
6:30
9:00
6:00-6:15
4:00
2:00-2:30
1:10
2:30
2:45-3:15
3:15-4:00
We will arrive, scout locations & begin photographing you and your bridesmaids as y’all are getting your hair & make-up done!
You can relax, because almost ALL the photos are done before the ceremony! You will stay hidden away as guests arrive and we will photograph the reception details!
Our photography coverage will end at 9:00pm. If you’re planning for an exit, it would happen then. Or if you wanted to keep partying you could do a staged exit with your bridal party or close family at this time!
And then y’all are off to the reception! Besides taking a few minutes for dinner, we will photograph everything that happens from the entrance, dances, cake cutting, toasts, and party dancing!
Time to officially get MARRIED!!
Right after the ceremony we will have all your family gather together and we will photograph the family combinations you listed in your questionnaire that we will send you a month before the wedding.
A few final portraits now that y’all are officially Mr. & Mrs.!!
We will then photograph your dress, rings, invitation suite, jewelry, & shoes.
This is when we do staged “getting ready” photos. For example, we will have your mom or a bridesmaid do the last few buttons on your dress. We will also have you put on your shoes and jewelry for photos.
Time to see your groom! For those who opt for a first look, that will happen next. This allows for most of the bride & groom portraits & all the bridal party photos to be done before the ceremony.
Now portraits of just the two of you! After y’all have had a few minutes together, we will take some photos of y’all together.
Then it’s bridal party time! We’ll do the girls, the guys, and everyone together, along with individual ones of you and bridesmaids and your groom with each of his groomsmen.
If you or your planner want to draft up your own timeline, here are the increments of time we prefer to have!
Details : 1hr
Getting Ready: 30-45 mins
First Look & Portraits: 45 mins
Bridal Party: 45 mins
Family Formals: 30 mins
Just Married Portraits: 15-20mins
We want you to have a stress free day so you can focus on getting married and not all the other details. We also want you to get the most out of your photography experience which means allowing us to focus solely on capturing your wedding day as it unfolds.
A wedding planner will do everything from help you choose the right vendors, create a master timeline AND execute it, design your reception, pin boutonnieres, etc. Your planner will be the person to point everyone in the right direction and be responsible for how the day runs. They will be the go-between for all your vendors and where you can direct all questions and concerns throughout the day. That's not a job you want to have or make a family member do!
Hiring a Wedding Planner
the benefits
- arrive before you do, and leave after you
- design your reception & ceremony space including the linens, signage, florals, lighting, etc.
- create mood boards and an aesthetic for your day
- reserve your rentals (those cute reception chairs and patterned tablecloths!)
- set up all decorations
- communicate with vendors
- visit venues with you
- coordinate the logistics of multiple venues
- track budgets
- create floor plans and seating charts
- keep the timeline running smoothly
- pin on boutonnières
- insure all your details are in place
- coordinate the ceremony
- wrangle bridal party and family members :)
- communicate with DJ & caterers on reception timeline
- keep the timeline running smoothly
- pin on boutonnières
- insure all your details are in place
- coordinate the ceremony
- wrangle bridal party and family members :)
- communicate with DJ & caterers on reception timeline
Whether you prefer to do more of the planning yourself or want someone to handle all the little details, we highly suggest you choose one of these options for your wedding day. We promise it will be worth it!
Full Service Planners vs Day-of Coordinators
Full Service Planning
Day-of Coordination
Things to think about
Planning a photography friendly wedding day
If your ceremony is outside, think about where the sun is! For the best ceremony and recessional photos, it is best to have the sun behind the officiant or off to the side.
If you do a first look, it is best to end your ceremony 1-1.5 hours before sunset. This allows for enough light to still take a family photos & a few "just married" photos afterwards! If you are not doing a first look, it is better to end your ceremony at least 2 hours before sunset to allow enough light for photos!
We will be there to capture all the important moments! We totally understand your guests love snapping a quick iPhone photo to document the day, but we would encourage those photos to be taken at the reception so that we can capture all the moments of the ceremony!
One of the most common occurrences on wedding days: the bridesmaids aren't quite ready when it's time to start photos. Even though we can almost always make up time and get things back on track, it makes things so much easier to plan with your hair & make up artist to be ready ahead of schedule!
If you do a first look, it is best to have around 4 hours before the ceremony and 4 after! If you are not doing a first look, typically we need closer to 3 hours before and more time after. Without a first look we prefer to have 1 hour after the ceremony to do family photos, full bridal party, and bride & groom portraits.
Is there any greenery? Is there enough room to do a full bridal party photo? If your wedding venue property is limited, there is always the option of going to a location close by for photos that has a better variety of scenery!
where is the sun?
how much time before sunset?
consider having an unplugged ceremony
Plan to be ready extra early
how much time for photos?
what does the space outside look like?
the power of
florals
They add elegance! Florals can make any wedding feel fancy!
They add a pop of color. And texture! Photos of the florals up against you and your bridesmaids dresses are always out favorites!
If your reception space or ceremony spot doesn't feel put together, add some florals and it is always a simple but impactful touch!
They're just pretty. I mean let's face it, flowers are just so fun to photograph!
Florals + your details = magic. We usually will ask your florist if they have any spare flowers we can borrow for your invitation suite photos and ring shots!
Your bouquets can serve as center pieces on tables! No need to be done with your flowers after the ceremony. You can get even more use of them by using your bouquets as reception decor.
They bring your color scheme for the day together. If you want to include multiple colors in your wedding day color palette, the best way to do this is to add the color in your bouquets!