Wedding Photography
Planning the wedding day timeline ...
The secret to a relaxed and happy wedding day!
Your wedding day schedule can literally make or break your wedding day...
It’s the backbone & foundation of the wedding day, and allowing enough time for everything that unfolds on the day, will pay dividends and deliver a stress-free and enjoyable day for you and your fiance.
The timeline is critical as it impacts many people on the day, including;
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The Bride & Groom
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Bridal Party
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Families
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All the service providers, like car hire, celebrant, church officials, and reception venue service providers, entertainment...
... and importantly, impacts heavily on the quality and type of images that can be created by the Professional Photographers on the day!
Most couples may not have a clear idea of how the wedding day will unfold, generally as it's the first time, whereas AwesomePhotoz has a wealth of experience gained from decades of weddings, which has shown us what works, and what doesn't!
It all starts with your ceremony time...
Working forward and backwards from here is the key!
Lock in your ceremony time first – then work backwards to allow enough time for all the photography and travel times required.
Once the times for photography of the Bride & Bridesmaids, and Groom & Groomsmen, has been established, this will provide the time to work backwards from, for everyone to start to get ready.
General rule of thumb is -
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A minimum of an hour, to an hour and a half, with the Bride and Bridesmaids
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Just to clarify, this means with the Bride and Bridesmaids being fully ready and spending this time with the photographer
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So plan you getting ready time, like waking up, breakfast, getting hair & makeup done, and getting dressed, to make sure you have the full time for photos
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A minimum of 40 minutes with the Groom & Groomsmen at the ceremony prior to the Bride's arrival
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So it's important for them to be there on-time, so the photos can be done in a relaxed manner, not rushed
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Alternately, the Groom & Groomsmen may be photographed at the location where they are getting ready, which requires further discussions based on your individual situation - this would also require 40 minutes.
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- REMEMBER - travel time also must be allowed between these locations.
EXAMPLE - 3.00pm ceremony
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12.30pm- Bride ready for photos
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2.00pm - Photos finished - Photographers depart for Groom
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Travel - 20 minutes (Example only)
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2.20pm - Groom at the Ceremony
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2.50 - Bride arrives at ceremony
TO NOTE - Times for the Bride & Bridesmaids preparations would then run back from 12.30.
Back to the ceremony...
Now it's a matter of factoring in 1) the length of ceremony, and then 2) allowing time for the Bride & Groom to enjoy greeting and chatting with their guests afterwards, and then 3) moving to the family photos.
The time allowed for greeting guests and family photos does vary with individual circumstances, and this is something we have a lot of experience with, and will guide you through.
General rule of thumb is -
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A minimum of 20 minutes for greeting & chatting
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This definitely varies with the size of your wedding and number of guests
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A minimum of 30 minutes for family photos
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Again, this definitely varies with the size of your wedding and number of guests
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The total time here, including the ceremony (Assume 30 minutes) would then be 1 hour & 20 minutes
EXAMPLE - 3.00pm ceremony, 4.20pm wrap up.
NEXT - The location shoot for the Bridal Party.
The location shoot...
Allowing enough time here = Fun + Awesome Photos!
There are two factors that are critical to consider here...
#1 - What time is sunset?
#2 - What time is the reception?
The absolute best/premium time for the location shoot is an hour or so prior to sunset. This provides great soft light and then often a warm, red/yellow background to work with also.
As we know, sunset times vary between seasons, so this is a critical consideration when looking at the timetable for your day.
We recommend a minimum of one hour (1.5 hours preferred) for the location shoot, and remember travel time needs to be allowed from the ceremony location, and then from the shoot location to the reception.
General rule of thumb is -
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A minimum of 1 hour at the location (1.5 hours preferred)
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This can vary with your specific requirements
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EXAMPLE - 3.00pm ceremony, Depart for the location at 4.20pm (Travel time 20 minutes, as an example)
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4.20pm- Depart Ceremony
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4.40pm - Arrive at shoot location
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Location Shoot (1 hour as an example)
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5.40pm - Depart for reception
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Travel - 20 minutes (Example only)
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6.00pm - Arrive at reception