How to plan your wedding photography timeline (part 1)

I generally send a list of questions to my clients when they aren’t sure how much time they are going to need for their wedding day photos. This is a very important step in how to plan your wedding photography timeline. It often contains info that the client has not even thought of as yet. So it also helps to get the client in the right frame of mind and thinking about these things before they meet with a wedding coordinator for instance.

But Answering these questions helps me to put a rough timeline together which can then be tweaked later if necessary.  Below are some of the questions I would typically ask. Having an idea of wedding photography budget also helps me to see what package will suit your pocket as well.

• Will everything be happening at the same venue?
• Will the bride and groom both be getting ready at that venue?
• Do you want everything covered from getting ready to end of reception formalities?
• What time is the ceremony?
• What time would you like the reception to start by?
• Do you have a set budget and if so what is it?

If you aren’t sure what time to have your ceremony then its best to work backwards from the wedding couple photos. Although it is possible to have the photos earlier if necessary, the best results will be during the golden hour.So what is the golden hour ? its that beautiful time where the sun is low in the sky and creates an almost golden glow over everything, hence its name.

This is normally the last hour before sunset and gives you the best light. As you don’t want to have your guests waiting around too much after the ceremony you can work backwards from this. Remember that sunset times do change throughout the year.For example, if sunset is at 6 pm then you want the couple photos to be between 5.30 to 6 pm. Bridal party photos would be before that from around 5-5.30 and family photos 4.30 to 5 pm.

So your ceremony should be finishing around 4.30 pm in this case. I generally allow an hour for the ceremony as there is a lot to consider – the bride is normally a few minutes late, the walk-in takes time, as does the signing and confetti after the ceremony. So, in this case, you would look at having your ceremony around 3.30 pm.

It is important to remember that nothing is set in stone on your wedding day and things often run overtime. So to avoid getting stressed over time always try and allow extra in case things do run over. And remember things can be moved around. Your photographer should be flexible enough to allow this as long as they know what is happening beforehand.