Professional Tips When Creating Your Wedding Timeline
When preparing your wedding timeline, there are a few main points that you may not take into account, so I want to start with those before giving you my preferred timeline.
1) Your hair and makeup WILL take longer than you think they will. If you leave yourself less than 3 hours for hair and makeup, you will screw yourself over on time. It takes a while for your hair stylist and makeup artist to get set up. You and your bridal party will be chatting and drinking mimosas. You want this part of your wedding day to be relaxed, and you can’t be relaxed if you only give yourself (and your 4 bridesmaids) an hour and a half to get everything done. Make sure to ask your stylist how much time you should leave.
**The questions that you will have to ask early on are:
* Am I going to go to a salon or are they coming to me?
* How many stylists and makeup artists will I have to hire?
* How many girls in my bridal party will be using the hired stylists and makeup artists?
2) If you run late, the first (and usually only) thing that gets cut is photography. Your wedding is on a timeline, and your venues have deadlines. Your ceremony will have to start on time. Dinner will start on time. So- what gets cut? Photography time. And unfortunately, if you lose that time, you will either have to make up for it during the reception (when you are supposed to be celebrating) or you just lose those photos.
3) Leaving yourself too much time is much better than not enough, so just err on the side of caution.
4) Doing a first look gives you more time between the ceremony and reception. If your ceremony and reception are scheduled close together, I would highly recommend a first look so you do not miss out on your “couples” photos due to time restraints.
5) Groom getting ready shots are only guaranteed if you do the 8 hour package or a package with a second shooter. We can try, but they are not guaranteed.
6) Take into account drive time. Then add another 10 minutes. By the time you gather everyone together to leave, double check that you have all of the things you need, stuff dresses into vehicles, drive to the venue, get out with your dresses, and figure out where to go or what to do next, a quick 15 minute trip can easily turn into a half hour. Always leave more time than what Google Maps says that it will take you when it comes to drive time.
7) If you want to leave the venue to do photos, try to keep it as close as possible to the next venue. If you only have an hour in between the ceremony and reception, you will use a big chunk of that time driving. Make sure you choose your location wisely, and try to schedule this “in between” time at least an hour and a half apart.
8) The more people you add to a photo, the longer it will take to snap the photo. Between hunting people down, posing, lighting, and taking enough photos to ensure no one was blinking, one pose could take 5 minutes. I encourage large group photos, but be aware that they do take longer, and account for that time when doing your timeline.
Moral of the story is that you are paying a lot for photography. Please make sure you don’t stress yourself out by not leaving yourself enough time. The earlier that everyone can start their morning, the more relaxing your day will be AND will ensure that you will have enough time for the photos you are paying for.
If you have any questions about your wedding timeline, budget friendly wedding ideas, and of course, photography- let me know! You can contact me at becky@beckysteffensphotography.com or by phone at 313-605-1692.
