The Perfect Wedding Timeline

So the truth is, perfection is hard to come by. To have a perfect wedding timeline for everyone would be difficult. BUT, I have been a part of enough weddings to know what is the ideal timeline where you get to enjoy yourself AND everything goes off without a hitch.First off, there are two versions of this. Kind of like choose your own adventure, but with wedding timelines. The first is the more modern – “First Look Timeline.” The second of course is the traditional – “Let’s Save that Moment for the Wedding Timeline.” Both are perfect in their own way depending on what is most important to you. I’m going to stick with the traditional first. Here is how this would turn out. Let’s say the wedding ceremony is at 5:30 pm.2pm – Photographer arrives about 30 minutes before the bride is ready. During this time I would get shots of the details (rings, dress, invitation, etc.)

2:30 pm – All of the bridesmaids are ready as well as the mother-of-the-bride and the bride gets dressed with the help of her mother and maid-of-honor.

2:45 pm – Bridal Portraits – the moment you’ve been waiting for and the moment you feel the most beautiful you’ve ever been. Love. This. Time.

3:00-3:30 pm – Bridesmaid photos – Let’s go somewhere cute and have some laughs. You’ll get photos with all the bridesmaids individually and as a group.

3:30 pm – Groom Portraits – Getting ready photos with the groomsmen and some individual shots of the groom getting ready and indoor groom portraits.

4:00 pm – Groomsmen photos – Usually a little harder to wrangle than the girls, but we get the job done.

4:30 pm – Everyone done with photos until the ceremony. Meanwhile, I get shots of all of the ceremony and reception details before any guests arrive.

5:30 pm – Ceremony time. MAGIC.

6:00 pm – Family portraits – starting with the larger groups and working our way down to the immediate family on both sides.

6:15 pm – Wedding Party Portraits – Such a good part. Everyone finally together!

6:30 pm – Couples Portraits – The actual moment we have all been waiting for. Let’s fit 1000 photos in 20 minutes, shall we?

7:00 pm – Reception starts. From here it is a slow roll through all of the traditions. Food first obviously, then toasts, dances, cake cutting, and the optional bouquet and garter toss. This part is more up to you.

Okay. So. We are already far into this post, but I’ve only done one of the two timelines! Ah. Okay, actually it’s easy. If you want to do a First Look (really love this option), the timeline would simply change like this:

2:00 pm – Details

2:30 pm – Bride gets ready and Bridal Portraits.

3:00 pm – Groom gets ready and Groom Portraits.

3:30 pm – First Look! (followed by couples portraits)

4:00 pm – Wedding Party comes out and we get all of the combinations. Full wedding party, just bridesmaids etc.

The rest goes the same except we only have family photos left! There is also time for some sunset photos later of the bride and groom when we sneak off from the reception.

So there you have it. But really it’s just a suggestion. It’s only perfect if you get to enjoy every minute of your wedding day.

Best,

Abby

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM