I'm so excited to start a new blogging series to help YOU in planning your own wedding. As you can imagine, I've seen lots and lots of weddings- some have gone so effortlessly, and some have, well, not gone as smoothly. One of the many hats I wear on any wedding day is time-keeper! I help brides know when they need to step in their dress, when the groom needs to be downstairs for the first look, what time the reception starts and photos need to be done.
In my opinion, one of the most important things you really have to nail down (after your photographer, of course! ha) is a solid time-line. This is something I am so happy to build for each of my brides- in thorough detail based on their specific wedding day, and I'm excited to share with you how you can create a time-line to help keep everyone on schedule!
I start out by discussing with my bride what their wedding day will look like! Pretty simple!
Some of the questions we go over are:
-What time will the ceremony be?
-Are you going to be doing a first look, a first-look no peek, a first-look with your Dad?
-How many family photos are you planning on needing (there's a blog post on this coming!)
-What time does the reception start?
-Are you doing a send-off?
With those questions, I can start building an outline and plugging in the main details: (below is an example for a beginning time-line WITH a first look):
5:00 Ceremony Begins
5:30 Ceremony Ends / Cocktail Hour Begins
Extended Family Photos
6:00 Reception Begins
10:00 Send-off
With these details, I start adding in our additional information. I know that I want my brides and grooms to be 'in hiding' at least 30 minutes before a ceremony so all of their guests that arrive early don't see them. This couple wants to do a first look, so we are able to do the Bride & Groom photos, the bridal party photos, and the immediate family photos before the Ceremony even begins!
So just by getting those questions answered, I am able to fill out this 8 hour time-line of the wedding day!
2:00 Photographers arrive- shoot detail photos, Bride & Groom getting ready/dressed
2:45 Bride & Groom First Look
3:30 Bridal Party Photos- Girls/Guys/Combined
4:00 Immediate Family Photos
4:30 Bride & Groom in Hiding
5:00 Ceremony Begins
5:30 Extended Family Photos
6:00 Reception Begins
8:15 Bride & Groom Sunset Photos
10:00 Send-off
I'll be back with the Planning Your Wedding Series to go over topics about the Reception Time-Line, creating quick & painless Family Formal Photos, Getting Ready, etc. I would LOVE to hear your input if there's anything else you would like to see in this series! Planning a wedding can be SO overwhelming- but it doesn't have to be! Keep in mind, when hiring me as your wedding day photographer, I help you with this process every step of the way!
