It should go without saying that you can plan your day the way you see fit. However in my experience as a photographer and videographer, there are certain wedding day schedules that seem to flow a little better than others. Before I lay out what I think is an ideal timeline for many brides, I’ve dropped some considerations for you to take note of. Of course plan your day your way, hopefully you can take some tips from this that helps your day flow just that bit better!
Ceremony timing
This is a crucial one. Pretty much the whole day will centre around what time you choose to have your ceremony, more specifically what time it finishes.
Many ceremonies are around 15-25 minutes long, however some religious ceremonies may be up to 2 hours or longer!
The example I’ll lay out at the end will be based around a 20 minute ceremony, but feel free to adjust the schedule around your ceremony- just consider the end time of your ceremony as the notable piece of information in planning.
Hiring a videographer?
Fantastic! I’m sure you’re going to love what they capture for you. One thing to note however, is that they’ll need to be at your ceremony location up to an hour before it starts in order to set up multiple cameras and multiple audio sources. This is to ensure the capture of your ceremony goes smoothly. Photographers will need to be there early too, particularly if they’re working with the videographer. However if they’re working alone, they may only need to arrive around 20-30 minutes before your ceremony.
Accounting for Travel time
I’ve captured weddings where the couple are getting ready, married and having their reception all on the one site. Super easy! However I’ve also had weddings where there’s almost an hour’s travel time between locations.
When planning your day, consider how long it will take to get to your ceremony or reception, so you can work out what time your make up needs to be finished, what time you want to be in your dress and what time your photographer and videographer need to leave.
Sunset Photos
Following on from your ceremony, most couples opt to have a photo/video session with their photographer and/or videographer. The most beautiful time of day to do this is the hour leading up to sunset.
In my experience, planning your ceremony to finish around 1.5 hours before sunset on your date, means once you’ve had congratulations from friends and family, taken any family and group photos, and taken bridal party photos, you’re left with around 45 minutes to an hour of just you and your new husband/wife where you can relax and get those shots that you’ll share with friends and family later- and maybe even hang on your wall.
Just remember to bring forward your ceremony to account for any travel time between your ceremony and portrait locations.
Getting Ready in Two Locations
So you and your future husband/wife are getting ready separately? Cute!
In my experience, the best way to capture the two of you is to start with the groom and groomsmen for around 30 minutes, then head over to the girls for around 1.5 hours. There tends to be a lot more happening over with the girls and more things to capture, hence the longer time. I’ll lay out what this could look like below.
Your Reception Schedule
Your photographer and videographer are going to need to enter your reception before you to prepare for your arrival. It’s a good rule of thumb to allow around 15 minutes for set up of audio, cameras and flashes before your grand entrance.
Lastly, if you have events planned going up until 12am at your reception that you want captured, then you’ll need to hire your photographer and/or videographer for longer. In my experience, rounding up your formalities by around 9/9.30pm makes for a wonderful flow to the evening, and is also when people can let their hair down and simply party the rest of the night away after a long day.
The Schedule!
Spill the beans already! What does an ideal schedule look like Luke? Ok! I’ve got you covered. The below timeline is based around a sunset of 6.30pm, capturing video and photo for 10 hours, and 20-30 minutes travel time between locations. It goes a little something like this;
12pm – Arrive and capture the boys getting ready
12.30pm Leave the boys
1pm Arrive with, and capture the girls getting ready
2.30pm Leave the girls for the ceremony
3pm Arrive at, and set up for the ceremony
4pm Ceremony commences
4.30pm Ceremony finishes. Congratulations from friends and family, family photos are taken, perhaps a group photo too
5pm Head to portrait location
5.20pm Capture whole Bridal party
5.40pm Capture Bride & Groom alone
6.40pm Head to reception
7pm Arrive at reception, couple takes a short break and photographers and videographers get set up
7.15pm Grand Entrance
7.40pm Speeches
8.15pm More speeches (if required)
8.45pm Cut the cake & bridal toss
9.15pm Father/daughter dance, mother/son dance & First Dance
9.30pm Open dance floor
10pm Photographer and/or Videographer finish up
Finishing up
There is no one size fits all when it comes to almost anything in life. The same goes for wedding schedules. I’ve seen many beautiful weddings that can look a little different to the above. However, hopefully you’re now armed with some useful information to consider as you plan your big day.
Think you’ve got some useful tips? Have I missed or got something wrong above? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Both I, and other readers will appreciate it.
Much love and happy planning! xo
