How to Create the Best Wedding Timeline for Photographs

Hey there! If you clicked on this post, you are most likely someone in the midst of planning your wedding (CONGRATS) or a photographer trying to put together the most IDEAL timeline for photos - but you have no idea where to begin!

I totally have been there.  When first starting in the wedding industry, I had only ever attended weddings - so I never really understood how long each part of the day took - and how much a wedding could run behind!!!

If you are lost on where to start with your wedding timeline, then you’ve come to the right place.  As a wedding photographer, I have crafted a custom wedding timeline for all of my couples, ranging from 6 hour to 10 hour days and have figured out the ideal amount of time for each part of the day!  Below, I have listed out a sample timeline with ranges of times - what I would consider the minimum amount of time to the maximum amount of time that you should alott for each part of the day. That way, you can customize your own timeline based on what parts of the days are most important, how long the day will be, and even parts that you won’t need!

I have also created this schedule as a first look timeline, as that is usually the most ideal for portraits - but you can always switch the timeline around based on your own needs!

GETTING READY AND DETAILS - 1-1.5 HOURS

For getting ready time, I usually suggest no longer than 1-1.5 hours for the photographer to be present.  Usually, people are still waking up or don’t want to be photographed without their makeup almost finished.  I also would recommend 30 minutes-1 hour solely on wedding details (rings, jewelry, invitations, etc.) so these shots have time to be set up beautifully

FIRST LOOK AND PORTRAITS - .5-1 Hour

For first look(s), I usually try to plan around 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the flow of the day.  I estimate that the first look itself takes about 15 minutes (just so I have time to set it up, and if we are in another location), and then about 15-45 minutes for the pre-ceremony portraits 

BRIDAL PARTY PORTRAITS - 30-45 Minutes

30-45 minutes should be plenty of time to get all of the bridal party portraits completed on a wedding day - and even less if you have 4 or less in the bridal party.

IMMEDIATE FAMILY PORTRAITS - 15-30 MINUTES

I always recommend making a list that you can run through for immediate family portraits, as it makes everything run quickly!  I usually plan for 30 minutes in case people are running late or lighting needs to be setup, but usually these only take about 15 minutes (if you are in a time crunch)

PRE-CEREMONY BREAK, CEREMONY DETAILS - 30 MINUTES

Always plan for at least 30 minutes between the end of pictures and the beginning of the ceremony.  That will leave time for everyone to relax as well as plenty of time to get all of the ceremony details photographed.

CEREMONY - 1 Hour

Now, this is probably very deceiving → wedding ceremonies are rarely longer than 20-30 minutes.  Ie always tack on an extra 30 minutes because many couples choose to do different guest greetings at the end of their ceremony!  

EXTENDED FAMILY PORTRAITS - 15-30 minutes

I only recommend a couple extended family portraits a wedding since it can be overwhelming to organize a lot of people - but you should definitely have 15-30 minutes planned for these, even if there are only a few portraits to take (again, it’s difficult to organize the more people you add in)

RECEPTION - 1-3 hours

I usually don’t plan in time to stay to photograph an entire reception (unless an exciting exit is planned).  Dancing can be up to 2-3 hours itself, and you probably don’t need 1000+ dancing photos. Make sure to plan all of the main events to occur in the first 1-2 hours (cake cutting, first dances, speeches, eating, bouquet/garter toss, etc) so you get the most out of your time.

GOLDEN HOUR PHOTOS - 15 MINUTES

ALWAYS MAKE TIME FOR GOLDEN HOURS PHOTOS!  Depending on the time of year, this can happen before or after the ceremony, or at some point during the reception.  These are always my favorite photos of the day, since you get the best lighting at this time. Plus, who doesn’t want more portraits???

There you have it!  A sample timeline to help you plan out your wedding day - ALSO - remember that weddings tend to run late - so if you feel like you may need some extra time, ALWAYS add it on - you can always use more time to take more photos, but you can never get back the time you lost!!!