It’s almost time! Your dream wedding day is almost here! It’s just a couple of months away and you couldn’t be happier!! But while you’re busy trying to cross everything off your fully loaded to-do list… keep in mind that you STILL have one thing that is vital when planning for your wedding day! For today’s Wedding Wednesday I’m going to tell you busy Brides about one very important part of planning for your wedding day…and that’s YOUR WEDDING DAY TIMELINE!

Your wedding day timeline is VERY important when planning for your wedding.  When creating your wedding day timeline, you should create a timeline that includes your entire day-from start to finish. From the morning of getting ready routine all the way to the sparkler exit! Believe me, it’s a whole lot to squeeze in to only one day, but in the end…you (& your family & friends involved with your wedding day!) will be glad that you were organized and created a timeline not only for YOU to reference, but for everyone else as well…including your vendors! 

About 8 to 10 weeks prior to a wedding day, I help all my Emma Loo Brides create a timeline that’ll best fit their entire wedding day that includes a timeline that’ll make the most of your wedding day photography coverage.  Since not all of my Wedding Day Collections are created equally, your wedding day may only be covered by me for only 6 hours versus a full 8 or 10 hour collection.  I make sure to work with my Emma Loo Brides very closely to come up with a wedding day timeline that will best fit their personalized wedding coverage, making sure that EVERYTHING is photographed and covered while I’m there & I’m sure not to miss anything!

Creating a wedding day timeline is very important to help keep your wedding day organized, running on time, and making sure that you’ll get absolute most out of ALL of your vendors! If you have an organized timeline that shows start times for ALL of your vendors and when they should be making their drop-offs, deliveries, or start to set up for your wedding day, it’ll take the guesswork out of your wedding party, and the stress off of you on your wedding day.

When I create a timeline for an Emma Loo Bride, I make sure to let her know that this is just a Photography Timeline and it’s treated like a reference point of how to create your very own FULL wedding day timeline.  I’ve seen A LOT after shooting my 60+ weddings, and I’ve seen many organized wedding days and how smoothly they run AND I’ve also seen those crazy unorganized wedding days where no one knows where to be or at what time.  So, judging only by personal experience from the past weddings that I’ve been a photographer at, AND even from my VERY OWN WEDDING… I try to help my Brides create a timeline that will best ensure the MOST amount of their PHOTOGRAPHY coverage for their wedding day.

Now, if I’m being honest here…my own wedding day timeline was absolutely CRAZY! It was well over 14 pages AND it was color-coded…and you should’ve HEARD the responses I got from some immediate family members when I sent the timeline their way.  However, I was thinking like a photographer on my wedding day (at least, I was TRYING to Cheyenne! 😉 Hopefully it worked! Lord, bless Cheyenne+Geoff! They were SO patient with us on wedding day!) and my timeline definitely could attest to that! Since we couldn’t afford to hire a Wedding Planner, I had to do everything on my own…AND go to school full time…AND work a full time job…AND run a business…it was SO tough on me, so I knew that if I didn’t keep it organized…I would be a wreck! With the timeline, I wanted to make sure my family knew EXACTLY when and where to be when it came to Bridal Party portraits and Family Formal Portraits because I didn’t want to waste any time having to wait on a missing Uncle or a MIA Bridesmaid. And plus, it took A LOT of stress off of me because all I had to answer to the many, many questions I was asked the days leading up to our wedding day was simply “It’s on the timeline…look there.”  You can see a small sample of our own Wedding Day Timeline below…keep in mind…it WAS 14 PAGES! 😉 

Here’s some things to keep in mind when planning for YOUR OWN Wedding Day Timeline….(& when you want to “think like a Photographer” to make the MOST out of your Portrait time and Photography Coverage!)

+ALWAYS plan for hair and makeup to RUN OVER at least 15-20 minutes…or more depending on how many Bridesmaids need to get hair/makeup done.  It never fails, hair and makeup ALWAYS runs over and runs into your tight portrait time…unless you’ve hired a true profes, then they rock it out & get done EARLY!  The “getting ready” and “getting dressed” images are just as important as say your First Kiss or First Dance, and you don’t want to be rushing through those images, especially being stressed out because you’re running late.  ENJOY those moments while your Bridesmaids button up your gown and your Mom helps you put on your necklace that just so happens to be the one that she wore in her wedding! SOAK IN those moments because those moments are ones to be cherished! Plan on starting your hair and makeup VERY early in the day and try to have the last hair/face getting done as soon as your photography coverage begins. 

+Speaking of getting dressed…make sure ALL BRIDESMAIDS have their dresses STEAMED BEFORE the Wedding Day, or at least WAY BEFORE photography coverage begins.  There’s SO many times when a 20 minute portrait time had to be cut short because Bridesmaids weren’t ready in time because they took 15 minutes to steam their dresses! Make sure your Maid-of-Honor tells the rest of the Bridesmaids to be prepared and have their dresses ready to go by Wedding Day!

+Getting into your gown is something that we ALWAYS seem to rush! In the past, I used to have my Brides get dressed fast as lighting and get to portraits in time. Now, after having my own wedding and realizing that those moments when you are getting your dress on and your older sister is tying up the back and your Mom is putting in your veil…THOSE moments are some to be cherished and Brides need to ENJOY them! Now, I ask my Brides to start their photography coverage AT LEAST an HOUR (or more would be BEST!) BEFORE you get into your gown.  That way I have enough time to shoot your Bridal Details and then enough time to let you enjoy and savor in those moments when you get dressed. 

+Allow at least 25-30 minutes (or more would be BEST!!) for Romantic Portrait time! (These images are the ONLY time that you two will be ALONE on your Wedding Day! And these images will be the ones that ADORN your WALLS for many years to come! Make the most of your portrait time!) If you are considering doing a First Look, allow at least 10 minutes for the First Look. 

+Allow an additional 15-20 minutes for Bridal Party Portraits! This will either be immediately following your First Look and Romantic Portraits or follow Family Formals.  Either way, we’ll need enough time to capture these images of your FULL Bridal Party…and allow more time if your Bridal Party is more than 6 Bridesmaids and 6 Groomsmen! We’ll need more time for a bigger crowd.

+Have ALL YOUR BRIDAL DETAILS in one place by the time your photography coverage begins.  Since I usually start shooting the Bridal Details FIRST, having these sweet details all together in one area will save enough time! I usually can take all these details within 30 minutes…but if you have all your details in one bag/box where I can just easily get to them, it only takes me about 15-20 minutes…which means more candids and getting ready shots!

+Allow for 10 minutes of Reception Details shot UNTOUCHED! This means your reception needs to be set up and ready to go about 40 minutes prior to your Ceremony! I usually shoot  the empty reception shot right before the ceremony if its all in the same location, or I shoot an empty reception shot during the last 5-10 minutes of your cocktail hour if in a different location.  Make sure you allow for this empty space shot if you want to capture your reception details fully.

+Family Formals will take some time! We usually shoot these Family Formals immediately following the ceremony because that’s what your families and your guests are expecting.  MAKE A LIST of your family members that you want shots with during this Family Formal time.  This list should include the Family Members FIRST and LAST NAME as well as their relationship to the Bride or Groom.  On Wedding Day, I have the list and run through the list calling your family members BY NAME and making sure that I’ve photographed you and your Groom with everyone you wanted a portrait with.  It’s always best to have TWO LISTS as well! One list for Family Formals immediately following the ceremony that includes your closest family and immediate family members, and one list for the RECEPTION that can just be more candid and can include your college roommates, or your great-Aunt and Uncle.

+Depending on if you choose to do a First Look or not, allow for at least 60 minutes-75 minutes of portrait time between the ceremony and reception.  I always make sure that I can get the images done within 50-55 minutes, but we always allow for enough time just in case. If you choose to do a First Look before the Ceremony and shoot your Bridal Party and Romantic Portraits ahead of time, then only allow for 15-20 minutes of Family Formal Portrait time.

+Take at least 5 minutes before your reception introductions to freshen up, reapply your lip color, maybe change into a reception dress, or simply bustle your gown! This will take some time, and it’s especially important to do it NOW before your reception than having to leave it later on!

+Build in insurance to your timeline! Make sure important Wedding Day events, especially Portraits, don’t go back-to-back just incase something were to happen in-between those times.

+Let’s say your reception ends at 11:00pm but you only have photography coverage until 9:00pm! Instead of adding additional hours in for your photography coverage, be smart about your timeline! You don’t need 1,000 dancing images! If you plan ahead of time with your band/DJ, make sure that he/she plays a couple of “dancing songs” to get everyone movin’ and groovin’ out on the dance floor! This usually happens right after cake cutting.  Were you planning on doing a Formal Exit as well? Do a fake one instead right before your Photography Coverage ends! Include JUST your Bridal Party and have your Bridal Party help capture the Formal Exit with you! 

+If you’re planning for some sort of Formal Exit from your reception, allow for 10 minutes to get it set up! Hard to believe, but it takes a while for your guests to move from Point A to Point B, and we want to make sure everyone is involved and waving you both goodbye as you make your getaway!

+RELAX & Have fun!

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